Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Agustina Sabella | Email: sabellaagustinaa@gmail.com
Agustina Sabella1°2°, Rocío Schumacher1°,Gaydou Luisa1°3°, Adrian Baños, Cora Stoker1°3°, Guillermina Canesini1°4°, Pamela Fernandez1°4°, Maria Florencia Rossetti1°, Jorge Guillermo Ramos1°3°, Ana Paula García1°
1° Instituto de Salud y Ambiente del Litoral (ISAL), UNL-CONICET, Santa Fe, Argentina.
2° Cátedra de Morfología Normal, FBCB-UNL, Santa Fe, Argentina.
3° Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica y Cuantitativa, FBCB-UNL, Santa Fe, Argentina
4° Cátedra de Nutrición en Situaciones Patológicas, FBCB-UNL, Santa Fe, Argentina.
An increasing number of studies in human and mammal models show that reduced sleep is associated with increased food intake. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a promising model for studying sleep and feeding behavior due to its similarities with mammals. Our goal was to study the effects of sleep restriction on feeding behavior and the expression of key genes involved in the central regulation of food intake. Adult zebrafish (male and female) were exposed to disturbances consisting of vibration periods at nighttime (ND) or daytime (DD) and compared to a control group without vibration (n= 8-12 every group). ND, but not DD, reduced sleep in both sexes (p=0.0141), particularly during active vibration period (21:00-03:00) (p=0.0085). To study the impact on food intake, we measured the daily pellets and milligrams consumed. Males from ND group showed a significant increase of food intake on days with disturbance (D+1, D+2) respect to days without (D-1, D-2). In contrast, females from ND group showed a significant reduction in the time of food intake (p= 0,0195). The expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY), proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and its receptor (MC4R) were analyzed by RT-PCR in the whole brain. No effects were observed in the expression of the evaluated genes in either sex. In conclusion, sleep restriction affected food intake behavior in zebrafish as does in mammals; nevertheless, both sexes were affected differentially. Neural pathways involved need further investigation.