Abstract:Objective：To examine the validity of a new convulsion animal model using electrical stimulation in adult zebrafish.Methods: Adult zebrafish were randomly divided into subgroups (n=10 per group) and exposed to electric current (either 50 μA or 2000μA) for 1 second. In order to investigate the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on such animal model, adult zebrafish were pretreated with one of the following AEDs: diazepam, midazolam, phenobarbital, phenytoin, valproate and succinate, respectively, prior to delivering electrical stimulation.Results: The behavior profile during weak electrical stimulation (50μA, 1s) was characterized by scared twitch reaction, including forward channeling, jumping, swinging and circle swimming. The behavior profile during strong electrical stimulation (2000μA, 1s) was characterized by convulsive reaction, being tonic, motionless, followed by rollover，coma or even death, similar to the phenotype seen in mice convulsion model using maximal electrical shocks. All the above-mentioned AEDs significantly suppressed scared twitch reaction and convulsion behavior, caused by electrical stimulation (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01 respectively).Conclusion: This is the first report on electrical stimulation-induced convulsion in adult zebrafish. Our study provides behavioral evidence in support of adult zebrafish as a valid animal model for neuropharmacological research and potential method for antiepileptics screening.

Key words:zebrafish,convulsion,electrical stimulation,epilepsy,scared twitch reaction