What is it about?
The neurotransmitter serotonin has long been associated with aggression, but whether it promotes or inhibits aggressive behavior is complicated. We exploited the use of two common zebrafish phenotypes - leopard and longfin, which we previously shown to differ in behavior and in serotonin levels in the brain - to try to understand how serotonin shapes aggression.
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Why is it important?
We found that leopard zebrafish, which are less aggressive and have lower brain serotonin levels, can be made more aggressive by fluoxetine, a drug that boosts serotonin levels; longfin zebrafish, which are more aggressive and have higher brain serotonin levels, show the opposite effect, with fluoxetine decreasing aggression. Our findings show that both high and low serotonin levels can be detrimental, and that an "optimum level" is needed for proper regulation of aggressive behavior.
Perspectives
This article resulted from one of my first mentoring attempts with undergraduate students, and began as a simple experiment that produced lots of interesting ramifications.
Dr. Caio Maximino
Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Para
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Acute fluoxetine differently affects aggressive display in zebrafish phenotypes, Aggressive Behavior, September 2018, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21797.
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