Contributions of Zebrafish Studies to the Behavioural Consequences of Early Alcohol Exposure: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The consequences of mild to severe exposure to alcohol during brain development is still a matter of debate and scientific investigation. The long-term behavioural effects of ethanol exposure have been related to impaired social skills and cognition. Zebrafish have become a suitable animal model to investigate the effects of early ethanol exposure because it is very feasible to promote drug delivery during early development.

Objective: The goal of the current report is to review existing behavioural studies addressing the impact of early alcohol exposure using zebrafish to determine whether these models resemble the behavioural effects of early alcohol exposure in humans.

Methods: A comprehensive search of biomedical databases was performed using the operation order: "ZEBRAFISH AND BEHAV* AND (ETHANOL OR ALCOHOL)". The eligibility of studies was determined using the PICOS strategy, contemplating the population as zebrafish, intervention as exposure to ethanol, comparison with a non-exposed control animal, and outcomes as behavioural parameters.

Results: The systematic search revealed 29 scientific articles as eligible. The zebrafish is presented as a versatile animal model that is useful to study FASD short and long-term behaviour impairments, such as anxiety, impaired sociability, aggressiveness, learning problems, memory impairment, seizure susceptibility, sleep disorders, motivational problems, and addiction.

Conclusion: This systematic review further promotes the use of zebrafish as a model system to study the pathophysiological and behavioural consequences of early alcohol exposure (PROSPERO CRD42020215072).

Keywords: Foetal alcohol syndrome; animal model; behavioural teratology; cognition; ethanol; long-term effects; neurodevelopment.