Zebrafish models to study drug abuse-related phenotypes

Abstract

Mounting evidence implicates the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a promising model species for reward and addiction research. Modeling drug abuse-related behavior in both adult and larval zebrafish produced a wealth of clinically translatable data, also demonstrating their sensitivity to various drugs of abuse and the ability to develop tolerance. Several studies have also applied withdrawal paradigms to model the adverse effects of drug abuse in zebrafish. In this review, we summarize recent findings of a wide spectrum of zebrafish drug abuse-related behavioral and physiological phenotypes, discuss the existing challenges, and outline potential future directions of research in this field.