Effect of Hippotherapy on Motor Proficiency and Function in Children with Cerebral Palsy Who Walk.

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of hippotherapy on physical capacities of children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Thirteen children (4-12 years old) with cerebral palsy classified in Gross Motor Function Classification System Level I or II were included in this prospective quasi-experimental ABA design study. Participants received 10 weeks of hippotherapy (30 min per week). Gross motor function and proficiency were measured with the Bruininks-Oseretski Motor Proficiency short form [BOT2-SF]) and the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 [GMFM-88] (Dimension D and E) twice before the program (T1 and T1'), immediately after (T2), and 10 weeks following the end of the program (T3). RESULTS: Mean scores for dimensions D and E of the GMFM-88 Dimension scores (p = .005) and three out of the eight items of the BOT2-SF (fine motor precision (p = .013), balance (p = .025), and strength (p = .012) improved between baseline and immediately after intervention; mean scores immediately following and 10 weeks following intervention did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Hippotherapy provided by a trained therapist who applies an intense and graded session for 10 weeks can improve body functions and performance of gross motor and fine motor activities in children with cerebral palsy.

Long-lasting effects of dexamethasone on immune cells and wound healing in the zebrafish.

This study assessed the lasting impact of dexamethasone (DEX) exposure during early development on tissue repair capacity at later life stages (5, 14, and 24 days post fertilization [dpf]) in zebrafish larvae. Using the caudal fin amputation model, we show that prior exposure to DEX significantly delays but does not prevent wound healing at all life stages studied. DEX-induced impairments on wound healing were fully restored to normal levels with longer post amputation recovery time. Further analyses revealed that DEX mainly exerted its detrimental effects in the early phase (0-5 hours) of wound-healing process. Specifically, we observed the following events: (1) massive amount of cell death both by necrosis and apoptosis; (2) significant reduction in the number as well as misplacement of macrophages at the wound site; (3) aberrant migration and misplacement of neutrophils and macrophages at the wound site. These events were accompanied by significant (likely compensatory) changes in the expression of genes involved in tissue patterning, including up-regulation of FKBP5 6 hours post DEX exposure and that of Wnt3a and RARγ at 24 hours post amputation. Taken together, this study provides evidence that DEX exposure during early sensitive periods of development appears to cause permanent alterations in the cellular/molecular immune processes that are involved in the early phase of wound healing in zebrafish. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing that antenatal course of DEX is associated with immediate and lasting alterations of the immune system in rodent models and humans. Therefore, the current findings support the use of the larval zebrafish model to study the impact of stress and stress hormone exposure in immature organisms on health risks in later life.

Effect of acute stresses on zebra fish (Danio rerio) metabolome measured by NMR-based metabolomics.

We applied an acute stress model to zebra fish in order to measure the changes in the metabolome due to biological stress. This was done by submitting the fish to fifteen minutes of acute confinement (netting) stress, and then five minutes for the open field and light/dark field tests. A polar extract of the zebra fish was then subjected to (1)H nuclear magnetic spectroscopy. Multivariate data analysis of the spectra showed a clear separation associated to a wide range of metabolites between zebra fish that were submitted to open field and light/dark field tests. Alanine, taurine, adenosine, creatine, lactate, and histidine were high in zebra fish to which the light/dark field test was applied, regardless of stress, while acetate and isoleucine/lipids appeared to be higher in zebra fish exposed to the open field test. These results show that any change in the environment, even for a small period of time, has a noticeable physiological impact. This research provides an insight of how different mechanisms are activated under different environments to maintain the homeostasis of the body. It should also contribute to establish zebra fish as a model for metabolomics studies.

Early experience of a novel-environment in isolation primes a fearful phenotype characterized by persistent amygdala activation.

Prolonged maternal separation (MS) activates the neonate's hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis causing elevated basal and stress-induced corticosterone levels that may initiate amygdala-dependent fear learning. Here we test the hypothesis that the adult fearful phenotype is programmed by the pup's stressful experience during prolonged MS rather than by prolonged maternal absence per se. For this purpose, Wistar rat pups were exposed, on postnatal-day (pnd) 3, to: (i) repeated-MS in home-environment (HOME-SEP), 8h-MS daily for three days with the pups remaining together in the home-cage; (ii) repeated-MS in a novel-environment (NOVEL-SEP), with the same separation procedure, but now the pups were individually housed in a novel-environment during the 8h dam's absence; (iii) repeated handling, which consisted of daily brief (15 min instead of 8h) MS in the home-altogether or in a novel-environment individually (HOME-HAN and NOVEL-HAN, respectively); (iv) no-separation/no-handling (NON-SEP/NON-HAN) control condition, in which pups were left undisturbed in their home-cage. Compared to HOME-SEP rats, the NOVEL-SEP rats showed one day after the last MS enhanced stress-induced amygdala c-Fos expression and ACTH-release, despite of reduced adrenal corticosterone secretion. The higher amygdala c-Fos expression, ACTH-release and reduced corticosterone output observed postnatally, persisted into adulthood of the NOVEL-SEP animals. Behaviorally, NOVEL-SEP juvenile rats displayed deficits in social play, had intact spatial memory in the peri-pubertal period and showed more contextual fear memory compared to HOME-SEP in adulthood. Finally, NOVEL-HAN, compared to HOME-HAN, displayed increased stress-induced corticosterone output, no deficits in social play and reduced contextual fear. In conclusion, programming of an adult fearful phenotype linked to amygdala priming develops if pups are repeatedly isolated from peers in a novel-environment, while away from the dam for a prolonged period of time.

Acute effects of neonatal dexamethasone treatment on proliferation and astrocyte immunoreactivity in hippocampus and corpus callosum: towards a rescue strategy.

Dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid, has been used to treat respiratory distress syndrome in prematurely born infants. Despite the important short-term benefit on lung function, there is growing concern about the long-term outcome of this treatment, since follow-up studies of prematurely born infants have shown lasting adverse neurodevelopmental effects. Since the mechanism underlying these neurodevelopmental impairments is largely unknown, the aim of the present study was (i) to investigate the acute effects of neonatal DEX treatment on the developing brain; and (ii) to block specifically the effects of DEX on the brain by central administration of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist mifepristone. Long Evans rat pups were injected subcutaneously with tapering doses of DEX or saline (SAL) on postnatal days (pnd) 1, 2 and 3. Separate groups received intracerebroventricular injections with mifepristone prior to DEX treatment. On pnd 4 and 10, pups were sacrificed and brains collected for analysis of cell proliferation (Ki-67) and astrogliosis (GFAP). We report that neonatal DEX treatment reduced hippocampal cell proliferation on pnd 4, an effect that was normalized by pnd 10. Although on pnd 4, GFAP expression was not affected, DEX treatment caused a significant reduction in the number and density of astrocytes in hippocampus and corpus callosum on pnd 10, which was normalized by mifepristone pre-treatment. These acute alterations in the neonate brain might underlie later functional impairments reported in DEX-treated animals and humans and further illustrate the impact of early GR activation on brain development.

Testing the cumulative stress and mismatch hypotheses of psychopathology in a rat model of early-life adversity.

BACKGROUND: In the present study, we tested both the cumulative stress and the mismatch hypothesis of psychopathology. For this purpose the combined effects of early-life adversity and later-life stress exposure on behavioral markers of psychosis susceptibility were studied in male Wistar rats. METHOD: Experiment I: rat pups divided on the basis of the levels of their maternal care experience in low, medium or high maternal care groups, were reared post-weaning in groups (Exp. IA) or in social isolation (Exp. IB) and tested at adulthood under basal conditions or after an acute corticosterone (CORT) administration. Maternal care levels were assessed by measuring the dam's licking and grooming (LG) the first postnatal week of life. Experiment II: rat pups exposed as neonates to daily sessions of 8h of maternal separation (MS) on postnatal days 3, 4 and 5 either altogether in their home cage (HOME SEP) or alone in a novel environment (NOVEL SEP), were reared post-weaning in groups and tested at adulthood under basal conditions. Adult testing included behaviors marking psychosis susceptibility: apomorphine-induced gnawing (APO-gnawing), acoustic startle response and its modulation by a prepulse stimulus (PPI). The behavior of the Medium LG offspring was used as baseline reference for all the three experiments. RESULTS: Experiment I: Low maternal LG history alone had limited effects on the behavior of Wistar offspring, although increased acoustic startle and increased PPI, at high prepulse intensity levels, were observed. When low maternal LG history was combined with post-weaning social isolation, basal APO-gnawing was decreased and PPI increased, compared to High LG and Med LG offspring. This reflects attenuated psychosis susceptibility. High LG offspring reared in isolation displayed, however, the highest APO-gnawing and the lowest PPI levels among rats reared in social isolation, which is indicative for increased psychosis susceptibility. These findings support the mismatch hypothesis. For demonstration of the cumulative stress hypothesis an injection of CORT in the adult Low LG offspring was required that increased APO-gnawing and reduced PPI. This CORT-induced PPI disruption was greatly enhanced after additional isolation rearing. The High LG group, either socially housed or reared in isolation, was resistant to the acute effects of CORT at adulthood. Experiment II: MS increased psychosis susceptibility only in NOVEL SEP rats that had experienced MS in the context of early social isolation. These individuals displayed increased adult APO-gnawing and reduced PPI, if reared post-weaning in a condition that does not match with their early life social environment (i.e. group housing). This finding supports the mismatch hypothesis. CONCLUSION: The outcome of environmental manipulations on developmental programming of psychosis susceptibility depends on the interplay of early-life adversity and later-life stressors in a manner that supports the mismatch hypothesis. However, evidence for the cumulative stress hypothesis arises if vulnerable individuals are exposed in later life additionally to excess of the stress hormone CORT.

Behavioral profiling of zebrafish embryos exposed to a panel of 60 water-soluble compounds.

The zebrafish is a powerful whole animal model which is complementary to in vitro and mammalian models. It has been shown to be applicable to the high-throughput behavioral screening of compound libraries. We have analysed 60 water-soluble toxic compounds covering a range of common drugs, toxins and chemicals, and representing various pharmacological mechanisms. Wild-type zebrafish larvae were cultured individually in defined buffer in 96 well plates. They were exposed for a 96h period starting at 24h post fertilization (hpf). A logarithmic concentration series was used for range-finding, followed by a narrower geometric series for LC(50) determination. LC(50) values were determined at 24h intervals and behavioral testing was carried out on day 5. We used the visual motor response test, in which movement of individual larvae was analysed using automated video-tracking. For all compounds, LC(50) values were found to decrease as the embryo developed. The majority of compounds (57/60) produced an effect in both the basal (lights on) and challenge phases (lights off) of the behavioral assay. These effects were either (i) suppression of locomotor activity (monotonic concentration-response); (ii) stimulation then suppression (biphasic response); (iii) stimulation (monotonic response). We conclude that behavioral assays with zebrafish embryos could be useful for pharmaceutical efficacy and toxicity screening. The precise phenotypic outcome obtained with behavioral assay varies with compound class.

Large-scale analysis of acute ethanol exposure in zebrafish development: a critical time window and resilience.

BACKGROUND: In humans, ethanol exposure during pregnancy causes a spectrum of developmental defects (fetal alcohol syndrome or FAS). Individuals vary in phenotypic expression. Zebrafish embryos develop FAS-like features after ethanol exposure. In this study, we ask whether stage-specific effects of ethanol can be identified in the zebrafish, and if so, whether they allow the pinpointing of sensitive developmental mechanisms. We have therefore conducted the first large-scale (>1500 embryos) analysis of acute, stage-specific drug effects on zebrafish development, with a large panel of readouts. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Zebrafish embryos were raised in 96-well plates. Range-finding indicated that 10% ethanol for 1 h was suitable for an acute exposure regime. High-resolution magic-angle spinning proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that this produced a transient pulse of 0.86% concentration of ethanol in the embryo within the chorion. Survivors at 5 days postfertilisation were analysed. Phenotypes ranged from normal (resilient) to severely malformed. Ethanol exposure at early stages caused high mortality (≥88%). At later stages of exposure, mortality declined and malformations developed. Pharyngeal arch hypoplasia and behavioral impairment were most common after prim-6 and prim-16 exposure. By contrast, microphthalmia and growth retardation were stage-independent. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that some ethanol effects are strongly stage-dependent. The phenotypes mimic key aspects of FAS including craniofacial abnormality, microphthalmia, growth retardation and behavioral impairment. We also identify a critical time window (prim-6 and prim-16) for ethanol sensitivity. Finally, our identification of a wide phenotypic spectrum is reminiscent of human FAS, and may provide a useful model for studying disease resilience.

Zebrafish embryos and larvae: a new generation of disease models and drug screens.

Technological innovation has helped the zebrafish embryo gain ground as a disease model and an assay system for drug screening. Here, we review the use of zebrafish embryos and early larvae in applied biomedical research, using selected cases. We look at the use of zebrafish embryos as disease models, taking fetal alcohol syndrome and tuberculosis as examples. We discuss advances in imaging, in culture techniques (including microfluidics), and in drug delivery (including new techniques for the robotic injection of compounds into the egg). The use of zebrafish embryos in early stages of drug safety-screening is discussed. So too are the new behavioral assays that are being adapted from rodent research for use in zebrafish embryos, and which may become relevant in validating the effects of neuroactive compounds such as anxiolytics and antidepressants. Readouts, such as morphological screening and cardiac function, are examined. There are several drawbacks in the zebrafish model. One is its very rapid development, which means that screening with zebrafish is analogous to "screening on a run-away train." Therefore, we argue that zebrafish embryos need to be precisely staged when used in acute assays, so as to ensure a consistent window of developmental exposure. We believe that zebrafish embryo screens can be used in the pre-regulatory phases of drug development, although more validation studies are needed to overcome industry scepticism. Finally, the zebrafish poses no challenge to the position of rodent models: it is complementary to them, especially in early stages of drug research.

The newborn rat's stress system readily habituates to repeated and prolonged maternal separation, while continuing to respond to stressors in context dependent fashion.

Adrenal corticosterone secretion of newborn mice rapidly desensitizes to repeated maternal absence. The present study investigated the effects of novelty exposure, maternal care and genotype on this phenomenon. Maternal separation (MS) took place on postnatal days (pnd) 3-5. In Wistar rats, the degree of novelty in the MS-environment was varied by exposing pups to: (i) "home separation": pups remained in the home cage; (ii) "novel separation": pups were placed individually in a novel cage. Maternal care was recorded on pnd 1 to 4. To investigate the effect of genotype, we also examined Long Evans in the "home separation" condition. Basal and stress-induced ACTH and corticosterone levels were measured. Adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and melanocortin receptor-2 (MCR-2) proteins served as markers for adrenal function. We show, in both rat strains, that the rise in plasma corticosterone induced by a single 8h-MS on pnd 5 was abolished, when this separation procedure had also been performed on pnd 3 and 4. Habituation to maternal absence occurred irrespective of housing conditions. However, pups in the "home separation" condition received less maternal care upon reunion than those placed in the "novel separation". These "home separation" pups appeared more responsive to a subsequent acute novelty-stressor, and their adrenal TH and MCR-2 were higher. Long Evans rats appeared more stress responsive than the Wistars, in the home separation condition. In conclusion, separation environment, maternal care and genotype do not affect adrenal desensitization to repeated 8 h-MS itself, but may modulate the adrenal stress-responsiveness of separated pups.

Patterns of avoidance behaviours in the light/dark preference test in young juvenile zebrafish: a pharmacological study.

The light/dark preference test is commonly used to assess anxiety-like phenotypes and validate the pharmacological effects of neuroactive compounds. This test has been recently adapted for adult zebrafish but has not yet been characterized and pharmacologically validated for young juvenile zebrafish. In the present study, we provide a detailed description of the pattern of exploratory behaviours encountered in juvenile zebrafish when exposed to the light/dark preference test. We report that juveniles display strong dark-avoidance behaviours in this test. Specifically, juveniles spent significantly less time, displayed high latency to enter and moved significantly less in the dark compartment relative to the white compartment of the testing apparatus. The expression of these dark-avoidance behaviours was significantly attenuated and increased by commonly used anxiolytic (diazepam, buspirone, ethanol) and anxiogenic (caffeine but not FG-7142) drugs, respectively. We also show that the expression of dark-avoidance behaviours can be significantly reduced in a manner similar to what is achieved with anxiolytic drugs, simply by decreasing the contrast between the white and dark zones, which made the dark zone less dark. Taken together, these findings provide the first pharmacological validation of the light/dark preference test for juvenile zebrafish and ascertain the nature of dark-avoidance behaviours as anxiety-like behaviours in young juvenile zebrafish. This behavioural-based assay is also versatile and can accommodate drug screening of both anxiolytic and anxiogenic compounds while eventually amenable to automation and high-throughput capacity in a near future.

The use of the zebrafish model in stress research.

The study of the causes and mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders requires the use of non-human models for the test of scientific hypotheses as well as for use in pre-clinical drug screening and discovery. This review argues in favor of the use of zebrafish as a novel animal model to study the impact of early (stressful) experiences on the development of differential stress phenotypes in later life. This phenomenon is evolutionary conserved among several vertebrate species and has relevance to the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Why do we need novel animal models? Although significant progress has been achieved with the use of traditional mammalian models, there are major pitfalls associated with their use that impedes progress on two major fronts: 1) uncovering of the molecular mechanisms underlying aspects of compromised (stress-exposed) brain development relevant to the etiology of psychiatric disorders, and 2) ability to develop high-throughput technology for drug discovery in the field of psychiatry. The zebrafish model helps resolve these issues. Here we present a conceptual framework for the use of zebrafish in stress research and psychiatry by addressing three specific domains of application: 1) stress research, 2) human disease mechanisms, and 3) drug discovery. We also present novel methodologies associated with the development of the zebrafish stress model and discuss how such methodologies can contribute to remove the main bottleneck in the field of drug discovery.

Development of individual differences in stress responsiveness: an overview of factors mediating the outcome of early life experiences.

RATIONALE: Human epidemiology and animal studies have convincingly shown the long-lasting impact of early life experiences on the development of individual differences in stress responsiveness in later life. The interplay between genes and environment underlies this phenomenon. OBJECTIVES: We provide an overview of studies investigating the impact of early life experiences on the development of individual differences in neuroendocrine stress responsiveness in adulthood and address (1) impact of environment on later stress phenotypes, (2) role of genetic factors in modulating the outcome of environment, and (3) role of nonshared environmental experience in the outcome of gene × environment interplays. We present original findings where we investigated the influence of nonshared experiences in terms of individual differences in maternal care received, on the development of stress phenotype in later life in rats. RESULTS: Environmental influences in early life exert powerful effects on later stress phenotypes, but they do not always lead to expression of diseases. Heterogeneity in response is explained by the role of particular genetic factors in modulating the influence of environment. Nonshared experiences are important in the outcome of gene × environment interplays in humans. We show that nonshared experiences acquired through within-litter variation in maternal care in rats predict the stress phenotype of the offspring. CONCLUSION: The outcome of early experience is not deterministic and depends on several environmental and genetic factors interacting in an intricate manner to support stress adaptation. The degree of "match" and "mismatch" between early and later life environments predicts resilience and vulnerability to stress-related diseases, respectively.

Improving gross motor function and postural control with hippotherapy in children with Down syndrome: case reports.

The purpose of this case report is to describe the impact of an 11-week hippotherapy program on the gross motor functions of two children (respectively 28 and 37 months old) diagnosed with Down syndrome. Hippotherapy is a strategy that uses the horse's motion to stimulate and enhance muscle contraction and postural control. The children were assessed by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and accelerometry. The results indicate that both children improved on many dimensions of the GMFM. Power spectral analysis of the acceleration signals showed improvement in postural control of either the head or trunk, because the children adopted two different adaptative strategies to perturbation induced by the moving horse.

Translating rodent behavioral repertoire to zebrafish (Danio rerio): relevance for stress research.

The current study provides a detailed description of the pattern of exploratory behaviors encountered in adult zebrafish when exposed to a novel/unfamiliar environment using the light/dark box and open field tests. We also document the impact of an acute stressor (restraint stress) given just prior the onset of behavioral testing. We report the following main findings: (1) zebrafish display anxiety-like behaviors including dark-avoidance (in light/dark box test) and thigmotaxis (in open field test), (2) upon exposure to a novel environment (first 2 min), zebrafish display place preference for the outer zone of the testing apparatus where they seek escape via the transparent wall, and exhibit high locomotor activity accompanied by high swimming speed, (3) thigmotaxis, behavioral hyperactivity, and swimming speed habituate (decrease) over time, (4) prior history of stress attenuates the natural tendency to engage in dark-avoidance behavior and thigmotaxis, reduces attempts to escape via the transparent wall, and greatly increased behavioral hyperactivity and swimming speed. Stress-induced patterns of behavior normalize to levels comparable to that of non-stressed controls by the end of the 5-min test session. Taken together, these findings suggest that novel environment can elicit anxiety-like behaviors in zebrafish such as dark-avoidance and thigmotaxis and the prior history of stress greatly affects patterns of exploration, defensive behaviors, and coping strategies in the light/dark box and open field tests. These findings are consistent with previous findings in rodents and support the usefulness of such behavioral paradigms in zebrafish.

Loss of limbic system-associated membrane protein leads to reduced hippocampal mineralocorticoid receptor expression, impaired synaptic plasticity, and spatial memory deficit.

BACKGROUND: The limbic system-associated membrane protein (LAMP) promotes development of neurons of limbic origin. We have previously shown that genetic deletion of LAMP results in heightened reactivity to novelty and reduced anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Here, we demonstrate a critical role of LAMP in hippocampal-dependent synaptic physiology and behavior. METHODS: We tested spatial memory performance, hippocampal synaptic plasticity, and stress-related modalities in Lsamp(-/-) mice and their littermate control mice. RESULTS: Lsamp(-/-) mice exhibit a pronounced deficit in spatial memory acquisition and poorly sustained CA1 long-term potentiation. We found reduced expression of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) transcripts in the hippocampus and reduction in the corticosterone-induced, MR-mediated nongenomic modulatory effects on CA1 synaptic transmission. Importantly, the impaired long-term potentiation in Lsamp(-/-) mice can be rescued by stress-like levels of corticosterone in a MR-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals a novel functional relationship between a cell adhesion molecule enriched in developing limbic circuits, glucocorticoid receptors, and cognitive functioning.

Brain development under stress: hypotheses of glucocorticoid actions revisited.

One of the conundrums in today's stress research is why some individuals flourish and others perish under similar stressful conditions. It is recognized that this individual variability in adaptation to stress depends on the outcome of the interaction of genetic and cognitive/emotional inputs in which glucocorticoid hormones and receptors play a crucial role. Hence one approach towards understanding individual variation in stress coping is how glucocorticoid actions can change from protective to harmful. To address this question we focus on four hypotheses that are connected and not mutual exclusive. First, the classical Glucocorticoid Cascade Hypothesis, in which the inability to cope with chronic stress causes a vicious cycle of excess glucocorticoid and downregulation of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) in the hippocampus triggering a feed-forward cascade of degeneration and disease. Second, the Balance Hypothesis, which takes also the limbic mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) into account and proposes that an integral limbic MR:GR imbalance is causal to altered processing of information in circuits underlying fear, reward, social behaviour and resilience, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and impairment of behavioural adaptation. The MR:GR balance is altered by gene variants of these receptor complexes and experience-related factors, which can induce lasting epigenetic changes in the expression of these receptors. A particular potent epigenetic stimulus is the maternal environment which is fundamental for the Maternal Mediation Hypothesis. The outcome of perinatal gene x environment interaction, and thus of MR:GR-mediated functions depends however, on the degree of 'matching' with environmental demands in later life. The Predictive Adaptation Hypothesis therefore presents a conceptual framework to examine the role of glucocorticoids in understanding individual phenotypic differences in stress-related behaviours over the lifespan.

Zebrafish development and regeneration: new tools for biomedical research.

Basic research in pattern formation is concerned with the generation of phenotypes and tissues. It can therefore lead to new tools for medical research. These include phenotypic screening assays, applications in tissue engineering, as well as general advances in biomedical knowledge. Our aim here is to discuss this emerging field with special reference to tools based on zebrafish developmental biology. We describe phenotypic screening assays being developed in our own and other labs. Our assays involve: (i) systemic or local administration of a test compound or drug to zebrafish in vivo; (ii) the subsequent detection or "readout" of a defined phenotypic change. A positive readout may result from binding of the test compound to a molecular target involved in a developmental pathway. We present preliminary data on assays for compounds that modulate skeletal patterning, bone turnover, immune responses, inflammation and early-life stress. The assays use live zebrafish embryos and larvae as well as adult fish undergoing caudal fin regeneration. We describe proof-of-concept studies on the localised targeting of compounds into regeneration blastemas using microcarriers. Zebrafish are cheaper to maintain than rodents, produce large numbers of transparent eggs, and some zebrafish assays could be scaled-up into medium and high throughput screens. However, advances in automation and imaging are required. Zebrafish cannot replace mammalian models in the drug development pipeline. Nevertheless, they can provide a cost-effective bridge between cell-based assays and mammalian whole-organism models.

Lifelong impact of variations in maternal care on dendritic structure and function of cortical layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in rat offspring.

Maternal licking and grooming (LG) exerts profound influence on hippocampal development and function in the offspring. However, little information is available on the effects of variations in maternal care on other brain regions. Here we examined the effects of variation in the frequency of maternal LG on morphological and electrophysiological properties of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the somatosensory cortex in adult offspring. Compared to low LG offspring, high LG offspring displayed decreased dendritic complexity, reduced spine density and decreased amplitude of spontaneous postsynaptic currents. These changes were accompanied by higher levels of reelin expression in offspring of high LG mothers. Taken together, these findings suggest that differential amount of naturally-occurring variations in maternal LG is associated with enduring changes in dendritic morphology and synaptic function in layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex.

Maternal care determines rapid effects of stress mediators on synaptic plasticity in adult rat hippocampal dentate gyrus.

Maternal care in the rat influences hippocampal development, synaptic plasticity and cognition. Previous studies, however, have examined animals under minimally stressful conditions. Here we tested the hypothesis that maternal care influences hippocampal function differently when this structure is exposed to corticosteroid and noradrenergic hormones, which are elevated during the early phase of a stress response. In the adult male offspring of Long-Evans dams characterised as high or low in maternal care (high LG and low LG) we (1) examined basal dendritic morphology in the dentate gyrus by Golgi staining; (2) investigated rapid modulation of in vitro long term-potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus by glucocorticoid and beta-adrenergic stimulation; (3) examined hippocampal and amygdala-dependent learning under stress using contextual and cued fear conditioning. We found differences in hippocampal dentate gyrus morphology in adult offspring of high and low LG mothers, with less dendritic complexity in low LG offspring. Under basal conditions LTP was lower in slices from low compared with high LG offspring. Hippocampal LTP was rapidly increased by either corticosterone (100 nM) or isoproterenol (1.0 microM) in low LG offspring, suggesting improved dentate plasticity during stress. This was mirrored in hippocampal but not amygdala-dependent learning, as low LG offspring showed enhanced contextual but not cued fear conditioning. We suggest that decreased pup LG during postnatal life may be adaptive in high-threat environments, potentially enhancing hippocampal function in the offspring under conditions of adversity.