Strong static magnetic fields elicit swimming behaviors consistent with direct vestibular stimulation in adult zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) offer advantages as model animals for studies of inner ear development, genetics and ototoxicity. However, traditional assessment of vestibular function in this species using the vestibulo-ocular reflex requires agar-immobilization of individual fish and specialized video, which are difficult and labor-intensive. We report that using a static magnetic field to directly stimulate the zebrafish labyrinth results in an efficient, quantitative behavioral assay in free-swimming fish. We recently observed that humans have sustained nystagmus in high strength magnetic fields, and we attributed this observation to magnetohydrodynamic forces acting on the labyrinths. Here, fish were individually introduced into the center of a vertical 11.7T magnetic field bore for 2-minute

SUBMITTER: Ward BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3960171 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature