Psychopharmacological effects of acute exposure to kynurenic acid (KYNA) in zebrafish

Effects of a non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, tiletamine, in adult zebrafish

“…In conclusion, consistent with high sensitivity to a wide spectrum of other NMDA antagonists, including MK-801, ketamine, PCP and kynurenic acid (Kyzar et al, 2012;Robinson et al, 2013), the present study demonstrates sensitivity of zebrafish to acute neurotropic effects of tiletamine (Fig. 1).…”

“…For instance, the use of mixed-sex zebrafish cohorts was appropriate here, given robust shared sedative/ataxic action of the drug observed, and as a common approach utilized in many adult zebrafish-based drug screens (Kyzar et al, 2012;Kyzar and Kalueff, 2016;Riehl et al, 2011;Robinson et al, 2013). However, considering the growing recognition of sex differences in biomedical research, and because they have already been reported for some CNS drugs in zebrafish (rev.…”

“…Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly gaining popularity as sensitive screens for small molecules, including various CNS drugs Kalueff et al, 2014;Riehl et al, 2011). Zebrafish express central NMDA receptors, and are highly sensitive to a wide spectrum of NMDA antagonists, including ketamine, PCP, MK-801 and kynurenic acid (Kyzar et al, 2012;Kyzar and Kalueff, 2016;Riehl et al, 2011;Robinson et al, 2013). Capitalizing on this, the present study aimed to characterize acute behavioral effects of tiletamine administration in adult zebrafish.…”

Perspectives on Zebrafish Models of Hallucinogenic Drugs and Related Psychotropic Compounds

“…The effects of MK-801, PCP, and ketamine on anxiety-like behavior seem to be in line with clinical and rodent literature that generally shows anxiolytic-like effects evoked by NMDA antagonism; 102−115 also see our recent data on anxiolytic-like profile in zebrafish evoked by another NMDA antagonist, kynurenic acid. 116 Interestingly, while ibogaine-treated zebrafish demonstrated no significant changes in time in the top, transitions to the top, and freezing duration, the drug elicited an anxiolyticlike phenotype in zebrafish by decreasing latency to the top (also note increased erratic movement and freezing bouts 70 ). Since ibogaine possesses "mixed" serotonergic and glutamatergic properties, this observation is generally consistent with behavioral effects in zebrafish exposed to other serotonergic and glutamatergic drugs discussed above ( Table 2).…”

Discovering novel neuroactive drugs through high-throughput behavior-based chemical screening in the zebrafish

“…Nevertheless, neuroactive drugs affect fish behavior in specific and reproducible ways via conserved molecular mechanisms. Adult zebrafish, differentially change their swimming and three-dimensional tank diving behaviors in response to many neuroactive compounds (Cachat et al, 2011; Grossman et al, 2011; Stewart et al, 2011; Kyzar et al, 2012a, 2013; Williams et al, 2012; Robinson et al, 2013; Stewart and Kalueff, 2014). In larvae, fish specific behaviors like spontaneous swimming (Wyart et al, 2009), the optokinetic reflex (Emran et al, 2007) and photomotor response (Kokel et al, 2013b) can be used to understand neuronal signaling, rapidly identify novel neuroactive compounds and predict their mechanisms of action (Kokel et al, 2010; Rihel et al, 2010).…”