transgenic zebrafish habenula projection to the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN)

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Tokyo, Japan (UK PRWeb) 10 October 2010

A new study on the behavior of zebrafish is by researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute has a key role for a brain region called the nucleus habenula discovered in the development of fear responses. The discovery provides valuable information for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disorders.

survival of every living organism depends crucially on the measures taken in response to situations that are frightening. Fear responses are also important for the welfare of the people, therefore, the dysfunction to be related to a variety of mental disorders. But while many have been part of the brain, the memory of experiences in connection brought fear, the nerves, how these experiences are translated into the selection rule of conduct remains a mystery.

To solve this mystery, the researchers analyzed the neural pathways in the zebrafish, a model organism with a single brain, to an evolutionarily conserved region called the nucleus habenula in all vertebrate species. With fluorescent markers, they identified a particular path connecting the nuclei of the lateral habenula (HBL), the dorsal interpeduncular nucleus (DIPN), a structure, the regions in the mammalian brain involved in modulating anxiety-related behavior could correspond. transgenic zebrafish with this kind of silence were then conditioning tasks and fear to control the population exposed.

To their surprise, the researchers found a significant difference between the groups: while the normal zebrafish learned a flight response to the sight of a stimulus (red light conditioned stimulus) associated with a call fear stimulus (shock, unconditioned stimulus), responded transgenic fish, frozen, indicating that a response strategy affected. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the results for the first time, connect the selection depending on the experience of fear responses to a particular brain region, opening new avenues for research and promising ideas in mental disorders such as

PTSD.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Hitoshi Okamoto


Laboratory of Developmental Biology Gene Regulation

RIKEN Brain Science Institute

Tel / Fax: +81- (0) 48-467-9712

Brain Science Research Planning Section

RIKEN Brain Science Institute

Tel: +81 (0) 48-467-9757 Fax: +81 (0) 48-467-4914

Ms Tomoko Ikawa

(Agent IP)

Global Relations Office

RIKEN

Tel: +81- (0) 48-462-1225 Fax: +81- (0) 48-463-3687

E-mail: koho (at) RIKEN jp (dot)

Reference:

Masakazu

Agetsuma, Hideyuki Aizawa, Tazu Aoki, Ryoko Nakayama, Mikako Takahoko, Midori Goto, Takayuki Sassa, Ryunosuke Amo, Toshiyuki Shiraki, Koichi Kawakami, Toshihiko Hosoya, Shin-ichi Higashijima and Hitoshi Okamoto is critical to the habenula experience -dependent changes of fear responses in zebrafish, Nature Neuroscience (2010).

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