Fentanyl Induces Novel Conditioned Place Preference in Adult Zebrafish, Disrupts Neurotransmitter Homeostasis, and Triggers Behavioral Changes

Yuanzhao Wu, Anli Wang, Lixiang Fu, Meng Liu, Kang Li, Song Chian, Weixuan Yao, Binjie Wang () and Jiye Wang
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Yuanzhao Wu: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Anli Wang: National Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli Institute of Food Science, College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Lixiang Fu: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Meng Liu: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Kang Li: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Song Chian: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Weixuan Yao: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Binjie Wang: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China
Jiye Wang: Key Laboratory of Drug Prevention and Control Technology of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Criminal Science and Technology, Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou 310053, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Abuse of new psychoactive substances increases risk of addiction, which can lead to serious brain disorders. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid commonly used in clinical practice, and behavioral changes resulting from fentanyl addiction have rarely been studied with zebrafish models. In this study, we evaluated the rewarding effects of intraperitoneal injections of fentanyl at concentrations of 10, 100, and 1000 mg/L on the group shoaling behavior in adult zebrafish. Additional behavioral tests on individual zebrafish, including novel tank, novel object exploration, mirror attack, social preference, and T-maze memory, were utilized to evaluate fentanyl-induced neuro-behavioral toxicity. The high doses of 1000 mg/L fentanyl produced significant reward effects in zebrafish and altered the neuro-behavioral profiles: reduced cohesion in shoaling behavior, decreased anxiety levels, reduced exploratory behavior, increased aggression behavior, affected social preference, and suppressed memory in an appetitive associative learning task. Behavioral changes in zebrafish were shown to be associated with altered neurotransmitters, such as elevated glutamine (Gln), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine hydrochloride (DA), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). This study identified potential fentanyl-induced neurotoxicity through multiple neurobehavioral assessments, which provided a method for assessing risk of addiction to new psychoactive substances.

Keywords: zebrafish; fentanyl; shoaling; conditioned place preference; neurotransmitter (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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