TY - JOUR

T1 - Acute behavioral effects of deliriant hallucinogens atropine and scopolamine in adult zebrafish

AU - Volgin, Andrey D.

AU - Yakovlev, Oleg A.

AU - Demin, Konstantin A.

AU - Alekseeva, Polina A.

AU - Kalueff, Allan V.

PY - 2019/2/1

Y1 - 2019/2/1

N2 - Atropine and scopolamine are classical muscarinic cholinergic antagonists that exert multiple CNS effects. Belonging to a group of deliriant hallucinogens, these drugs induce delirium-like hallucinations, hyperactivity, altered affective states and amnesia. However, as deliriants remain the least studied group of hallucinogens, their complex and poorly understood profiles necessitate further clinical and preclinical studies. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly emerging as a powerful model organism for translational neuropsychopharmacology research. Here, we characterize acute behavioral effects of atropine (60, 90 and 120 mg/L) and scopolamine (60, 120, 180 and 240 mg/L) in adult zebrafish subjected to the novel tank (NTT), light-dark (LDT) and shoaling tests. Overall, atropine at 90 mg/L only mildly increased the NTT locomotor activity, scopolamine at 120 mg/L produced anxiogenic-like NTT effects without affecting other behaviors, and both drugs similarly disrupted zebrafish group behavior in the shoaling test. Collectively, this supports complex and partially overlapping deliriant-like effects of acute atropine and scopolamine in zebrafish. The behavioral sensitivity to these drugs suggests zebrafish as potential screens for cholinergic deliriant psychotropic agents, also necessitating further cross-species in-vivo experimental studies.

AB - Atropine and scopolamine are classical muscarinic cholinergic antagonists that exert multiple CNS effects. Belonging to a group of deliriant hallucinogens, these drugs induce delirium-like hallucinations, hyperactivity, altered affective states and amnesia. However, as deliriants remain the least studied group of hallucinogens, their complex and poorly understood profiles necessitate further clinical and preclinical studies. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly emerging as a powerful model organism for translational neuropsychopharmacology research. Here, we characterize acute behavioral effects of atropine (60, 90 and 120 mg/L) and scopolamine (60, 120, 180 and 240 mg/L) in adult zebrafish subjected to the novel tank (NTT), light-dark (LDT) and shoaling tests. Overall, atropine at 90 mg/L only mildly increased the NTT locomotor activity, scopolamine at 120 mg/L produced anxiogenic-like NTT effects without affecting other behaviors, and both drugs similarly disrupted zebrafish group behavior in the shoaling test. Collectively, this supports complex and partially overlapping deliriant-like effects of acute atropine and scopolamine in zebrafish. The behavioral sensitivity to these drugs suggests zebrafish as potential screens for cholinergic deliriant psychotropic agents, also necessitating further cross-species in-vivo experimental studies.

KW - Anxiety

KW - Atropine

KW - Deliriant hallucinogens

KW - Locomotion

KW - Scopolamine

KW - Zebrafish

KW - Hallucinogens/pharmacology

KW - Male

KW - Random Allocation

KW - Anxiety/chemically induced

KW - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug

KW - Animals

KW - Behavior, Animal/drug effects

KW - Scopolamine/pharmacology

KW - Female

KW - Models, Animal

KW - Animals, Outbred Strains

KW - Atropine/pharmacology

KW - Motor Activity/drug effects

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056653791&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.10.033

DO - 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.10.033

M3 - Article

C2 - 30366034

AN - SCOPUS:85056653791

VL - 359

SP - 274

EP - 280

JO - Behavioural Brain Research

JF - Behavioural Brain Research

SN - 0166-4328

ER -