Received from a Judge: Let me know why/how you chose Zebrafish as well as Venlafaxine. Also, what led you to the methodology of choice. Respectfully, Sigma Xi Judge
Student Response: I decided to use Zebrafish as they are a scientific standard. Much work has been completed with them and they have had their genome mapped out. Also, at the institution I worked at, we were encouraged to minimize animal suffering, and zebrafish younger than 7 days old are said to not be capable of feeling pain to the same degree as fully developed rodent species that many other pharmaceutical studies tend to utilize. Previous studies doing similar work (using venlafaxine on aquatic vertebrates) used much larger species that were typically predators i.e. bass, but didn't yield conclusive results. I suspected this was because the dose of venlafaxine found in waterways is so small that it would only affect a very low-mass species, like Zebrafish.
Another reason why Zebrafish were used is because they've been an emerging choice for many scientists studying neurological disorders like depression and are replacing the lab mouse. In fact, I would say my study actually confirms/strengthens the potential for zebrafish models in neuromodulatory research because the fish expected in ways similar to what would be expected of humans (and somewhat similar to what was observed in mice on antidepressants) at those concentration levels.
Another thing that's important to note is that I chose larval zebrafish as the larval members of any species tend to be the most vulnerable and it was important for me that my study capture the largest range of potential ecological consequences of unregulated venlafaxine levels. Venlafaxine was used because it is the most common antidepressant found in waterways and the second most prescribed antidepressant As for my methodology of choice, I decided to use the phototaxis assay as zebrafish have a natural aversion to the light (scodotaxis) as a built in predator avoidance mechanism. It follows that their avoidance to light could indirectly be used as a measure of anxiety. It also seemed like the most relevant test considering I was attempting to gauge the effects on an antidepressant. The other anxiety testing option is called the novel tank diving test and it allows us to measure anxiety by measuring how likely the fish is to explore its new environment. That method didn't appeal to me as much because the phototaxis assay was much easier to measure and it felt more relevant with larval fish because I felt some fish might not even be strong enough to fully swim to the bottom of the tank.
Received from a Judge:
ReplyDeleteLet me know why/how you chose Zebrafish as well as Venlafaxine. Also, what led you to the methodology of choice. Respectfully, Sigma Xi Judge
Student Response:
I decided to use Zebrafish as they are a scientific standard. Much work has been completed with them and they have had their genome mapped out. Also, at the institution I worked at, we were encouraged to minimize animal suffering, and zebrafish younger than 7 days old are said to not be capable of feeling pain to the same degree as fully developed rodent species that many other pharmaceutical studies tend to utilize. Previous studies doing similar work (using venlafaxine on aquatic vertebrates) used much larger species that were typically predators i.e. bass, but didn't yield conclusive results. I suspected this was because the dose of venlafaxine found in waterways is so small that it would only affect a very low-mass species, like Zebrafish.
Another reason why Zebrafish were used is because they've been an emerging choice for many scientists studying neurological disorders like depression and are replacing the lab mouse. In fact, I would say my study actually confirms/strengthens the potential for zebrafish models in neuromodulatory research because the fish expected in ways similar to what would be expected of humans (and somewhat similar to what was observed in mice on antidepressants) at those concentration levels.
Another thing that's important to note is that I chose larval zebrafish as the larval members of any species tend to be the most vulnerable and it was important for me that my study capture the largest range of potential ecological consequences of unregulated venlafaxine levels.
Venlafaxine was used because it is the most common antidepressant found in waterways and the second most prescribed antidepressant
As for my methodology of choice, I decided to use the phototaxis assay as zebrafish have a natural aversion to the light (scodotaxis) as a built in predator avoidance mechanism. It follows that their avoidance to light could indirectly be used as a measure of anxiety. It also seemed like the most relevant test considering I was attempting to gauge the effects on an antidepressant. The other anxiety testing option is called the novel tank diving test and it allows us to measure anxiety by measuring how likely the fish is to explore its new environment. That method didn't appeal to me as much because the phototaxis assay was much easier to measure and it felt more relevant with larval fish because I felt some fish might not even be strong enough to fully swim to the bottom of the tank.
Best,
Abdullah Afridi