Presenter(s): Laura Reich − Biology
Faculty Mentor(s): Adam Miller, Matt Smear
Poster 41
Research Area: Natural Science
Zebrafish behavior is strongly influenced by environmental stimuli, and olfaction (sense of smell) is a powerful driver of behavioral responses. Our overarching goal is to measure an odorant’s effect on a behavioral response and to understand the sensorimotor transformations that occur within the brain as the animal smells its world and reacts accordingly. As a first step towards this goal, we used a repetitive visual stimulus to induce the optomotor response, causing the zebrafish to swim in the direction of perceived motion. This method allows us to orient the larval zebrafish towards a region of water with an odorant of interest. This research specifically focuses on the impact of cadaverine, an odorant known to stimulate an aversive response, on larval zebrafish. We hypothesize that while a repetitive visual stimulus is in use, the distribution of larval zebrafish in a petri dish will differ when cadaverine is administered to a section of the water. Rather than moving with the visual stimulus, we predict that the fish will avoid regions with cadaverine, halting the optomotor response. This research serves to demonstrate that olfaction, the sense that is often forgotten and taken for granted, plays an important role in zebrafish and can potentially overcome visually-directed behavior.