Understanding how the brain functions is one of the most ambitious current scientific goals. This challenge will only be accomplish by a multidisciplinary approach involving genetics, molecular biology, optics, ethology, neurobiology and mathematics and using tractable model systems. The zebrafish larva is a transparent genetically tractable small vertebrate, ideal for the combination state-of-the- art imaging techniques (e.g. two-photon scanning microscopy, single-plane illumination microscopy, spatial light modulator microscopy and lightfield microscopy), bioluminiscence and optogenetics to monitor and manipulate neuronal activity from single specific neurons up to the entire brain, in an intact behaving organism. Furthermore, the zebrafish model offers large and increasing collection of mutant and transgenic lines modelling human brain diseases. With these advantages in hand, the zebrafish larva became in the recent years, a novel animal model to study neuronal circuits and behaviour, taking us closer than ever before to understand how the brain controls behaviour.

Behavioral and Neural Genetics of Zebrafish assembles the state-of-the-art methodologies and current concepts pertinent to their neurobehavioral genetics. Discussing their natural behavior, motor function, learning and memory, this book focuses on the fry and adult zebrafish, featuring a comprehensive account of modern genetic and neural methods adapted to, or specifically developed for, Danio rerio. Numerous examples of how these behavioral methods may be utilized for disease models using the zebrafish are presented, as is a section on bioinformatics and "big-data" related questions. - Provides the most comprehensive snapshot of the fast-evolving zebrafish neurobehavior genetics field - Describes behavioral, genetic and neural methods and concepts for use in adult and larval zebrafish - Features examples of zebrafish models of human central nervous system disorders - Discusses bioinformatics questions pertinent to zebrafish neurobehavioral genetics

This book offers representative examples from fly and mouse models to illustrate the ongoing success of the synergistic, state-of-the-art strategy, focusing on the ways it enhances our understanding of sensory processing. The authors focus on sensory systems (vision, olfaction), which are particularly powerful models for probing the development, connectivity, and function of neural circuits, to answer this question: How do individual nerve cells functionally cooperate to guide behavioral responses? Two genetically tractable species, mice and flies, together significantly further our understanding of these processes. Current efforts focus on integrating knowledge gained from three interrelated fields of research: (1) understanding how the fates of different cell types are specified during development, (2) revealing the synaptic connections between identified cell types (“connectomics”) using high-resolution three-dimensional circuit anatomy, and (3) causal testing of how iden tified circuit elements contribute to visual perception and behavior.

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic

Animal models and tests have become increasingly important for biomedical research, enabling a better understanding of pathogenic pathways involved in various human disorders. Over the last decades, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a very popular model organism in biomedical research. Recently, this fish has entered the waters of neuroscience and biological psychiatry, quickly becoming an indispensable model species in this field. With a high genetic homology to humans (~75% based on coding regions), it is not surprising that humans and fish are very similar physiologically (and behaviorally). Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that zebrafish can be an excellent model of human neuropsychiatric disorders. While some classical psychiatrists may not too easily be persuaded by this generalization, the current book “The rights and wrongs of zebrafish: principles of behavioral phenotyping and CNS disease modeling” explains, in a domain-by-domain manner, how exactly zebrafish models can be used to target a wide range of human brain disorders and aberrant phenotypes. The contributors to this book are leading international scholars whose work spearheads innovative zebrafish neuroscience research around the world. Written by top experts in the field, this book makes for a useful, balanced and up-to-date reading that outlines the use of zebrafish to study the pathological mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders.