PUBLICATION
Embryonic alcohol exposure alters cholinergic neurotransmission and memory in adult zebrafish
- Authors
- Gamba, B.F.G., Pickler, K.P., Lodetti, G., Farias, A.C.S., Teixeira, A.G., Bernardo, H.T., Dondossola, E.R., Cararo, J.H., Luchiari, A.C., Rosemberg, D.B., Rico, E.P.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-240805-20
- Date
- 2024
- Source
- Behavioural brain research 474: 115176 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- Alcohol, Cognition, Neurodevelopment, Neurotransmission, Zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
-
- Female
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders*/metabolism
- Memory/drug effects
- Brain/drug effects
- Brain/metabolism
- Pregnancy
- Behavior, Animal/drug effects
- Synaptic Transmission*/drug effects
- Synaptic Transmission*/physiology
- Ethanol*/adverse effects
- Ethanol*/pharmacology
- Central Nervous System Depressants/pharmacology
- Disease Models, Animal*
- Avoidance Learning/drug effects
- Zebrafish*
- Male
- Memory Disorders/chemically induced
- Animals
- PubMed
- 39098400 Full text @ Behav. Brain Res.
Citation
Gamba, B.F.G., Pickler, K.P., Lodetti, G., Farias, A.C.S., Teixeira, A.G., Bernardo, H.T., Dondossola, E.R., Cararo, J.H., Luchiari, A.C., Rosemberg, D.B., Rico, E.P. (2024) Embryonic alcohol exposure alters cholinergic neurotransmission and memory in adult zebrafish. Behavioural brain research. 474:115176.
Abstract
Alcohol is the most consumed addictive substance worldwide that elicits multiple health problems. Consumption of alcoholic beverages by pregnant women is of great concern because pre-natal exposure can trigger fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This disorder can significantly change the embryo's normal development, mainly by affecting the central nervous system (CNS), leading to neurobehavioral consequences that persist until adulthood. Among the harmful effects of FASD, the most reported consequences are cognitive and behavioral impairments. Alcohol interferes with multiple pathways in the brain, affecting memory by impairing neurotransmitter systems, increasing the rate of oxidative stress, or even activating neuroinflammation. Here, we aimed to evaluate the deleterious effects of alcohol on the cholinergic signaling and memory in a FASD zebrafish model, using inhibitory avoidance and novel object recognition tests. Four months after the embryonic exposure to ethanol, the behavioral tests indicated that ethanol impairs memory. While both ethanol concentrations tested (0.5% and 1%) disrupted memory acquisition in the inhibitory avoidance test, 1% ethanol impaired memory in the object recognition test. Regarding the cholinergic system, 0.5% ethanol decreased ChAT and AChE activities, but the relative gene expression did not change. Overall, we demonstrated that FASD model in zebrafish impairs memory in adult individuals, corroborating the memory impairment associated with embryonic exposure to ethanol. In addition, the cholinergic system was also affected, possibly showing a relation with the cognitive impairment observed.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping