Rania 

Alzheimer’s Disease is a widespread issue that currently affects over 7 million people in the U.S., primarily those in their mid-60s or older. Symptoms vary from case to case, but the disease typically impairs one’s ability to think, understand, remember, and communicate properly. Additionally, the ABCA7 gene is thought to play a vital role in Alzheimer’s progression, so I wanted to analyze the behavioral effects of ABCA7 and AD. Zebrafish models were used in place of human subjects due to their similarity to humans in genes, brain structure, and behavior. Out of a total sample size of 120 fish, 60 of the fish were injected with amyloid beta 42 protein to simulate AD, as the accumulation of this protein in the brain is a common symptom of the disease. Behavior was observed before through two behavioral experiments: the Novel Tank Diving test (measures anxiety) and the Y-Maze test (measures spatial memory and locomotion). Subsequently, I used R, a coding language, to analyze the data. I analyzed the boldness of the fish during the Novel Tank Diving test and the repetitions/alternation rate during the Y-Maze test. My analysis indicates that AD causes female ABCA7+/- fish to become more shy, and a deficiency in ABCA7 may cause fish to exhibit more repetitive behavior. I also found sex-specific differences for the effect of AD on zebrafish. By understanding the way AD and ABCA7 are correlated, we can better approach finding more personalized treatments for the disease.