The zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its uses for understanding the neuroscience of aging: Applications and observation

The zebrafish is a popular model organism that has been widely used in developmental biology. Due to its integrated nervous system with homologous structures to those of mammals and displays of similar age-related behavioral and neurobiological changes, it is invaluable for understanding the neuroscience of aging. Besides the advantages that stem from the nature of the zebrafish, several genetic and nongenetic gerontological and disease models are available for understanding the progression of age-related changes. These genetic models provide grounds to study accelerated/decelerated aging phenotypes and neurodegenerative diseases throughout the life span or within a specific time frame of development. Moreover, nongenetic interventions such as dietary restriction, drug applications, and environmental enrichment have been used with both wild-type or mutant strains as possible means of reversing age-related changes. This chapter focuses on the age-related alterations in cognitive, behavioral, and molecular domains in zebrafish, as well as existing models and antiaging interventions.