Brain diseases
Studying a complex organ such as the brain using the zebrafish has provided a unique insight into the life of brain cells, both using video recordings of individually labelled cells and images of whole brain using labelling of neurons or immune cells (Figure below: microglia in purple and neurons in green).
Advances in pre-clinical imaging also allows imaging of the whole adult zebrafish brain by Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI), similarly to the scans performed on patients.
We can study the architecture of the neurons by looking down the microscope (Figure below- dorsal view of a zebrafish larvae stained with axons labelled).
Using the latest genetic tool CRISPR/Cas9, it is now possible to rapidly generate zebrafish models of human brain diseases.
Neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson Disease, Alzheimer Disease, Motor Neuron Disease (MND)
Childhood neurological disorders: White matter diseases, Autism
Cerebrovascular disorders: Stroke