TY - JOUR T1 - Induction of Short-Term Sensitization by an Aversive Chemical Stimulus in Zebrafish Larvae JF - eneuro JO - eNeuro DO - 10.1523/ENEURO.0336-19.2020 SP - ENEURO.0336-19.2020 AU - Adam C. Roberts AU - Joseph B. Alzagatiti AU - Duy T. Ly AU - Julia M. Chornak AU - Yuqi Ma AU - Asif Razee AU - Gohar Zavradyan AU - Umair Khan AU - Julia Lewis AU - Aishwarya Natarajan AU - Alisher Baibussinov AU - Jasmine Emtage AU - Meghna Komaranchath AU - Jared Richards AU - Michelle Hoang AU - Jason Alipio AU - Emma Laurent AU - Amit Kumar AU - C.S Campbell AU - Rebecca Stark AU - Javier Carmona AU - Anjum Hussain AU - Courtney Scaramella AU - Jenan Husain AU - Reed Buck AU - Ava Jafarpour AU - Miguel Garcia AU - Steve Mendoza AU - Gerardo Sandoval AU - Brandon Agundez AU - Amanda Fink AU - Emily Deutsch AU - Sarah C. Hernandez AU - Katsushi Arisaka AU - David L. Glanzman Y1 - 2020/10/01 UR - http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2020/10/01/ENEURO.0336-19.2020.abstract N2 - Larval zebrafish possess a number of molecular and genetic advantages for rigorous biological analyses of learning and memory. These advantages have motivated the search for novel forms of memory in these animals that can be exploited for understanding the cellular and molecular bases of vertebrate memory formation and consolidation. Here we report a new form of behavioral sensitization in zebrafish larvae that is elicited by an aversive chemical stimulus (allyl isothiocyanate) and that persists for ≥ 30 min. This form of sensitization is expressed as enhanced locomotion and thigmotaxis, as well as elevated heart rate. To characterize the neural basis of this nonassociative memory, we used transgenic zebrafish expressing the fluorescent calcium indicator GCaMP6 (Chen et al., 2013); due to the transparency of larval zebrafish, we could optically monitor neural activity in the brain of intact transgenic zebrafish before and after the induction of sensitization. We found a distinct brain area, previously linked to locomotion, that exhibited persistently enhanced neural activity following washout of allyl isothiocyanate; this enhanced neural activity correlated with the behavioral sensitization. These results establish a novel form of memory in larval zebrafish and begin to unravel the neural basis of this memory.Significance Statement We have discovered a form of short-term behavioral sensitization in zebrafish larvae. Because the larvae are translucent, neural activity related to sensitization memory can be optically monitored in the intact and, in some cases behaving, fish using a genetically encoded ratiometric calcium indicator, GCaMP6. Taking advantage of this capability, we succeeded in identifying a region in the hindbrain that may mediate, at least in part, the memory for sensitization in the zebrafish larva. These findings initiate an understanding of how activity in this region mediates a simple form of nonassociative memory in a relatively simple vertebrate animal. ER -