Homebase behavior of zebrafish in novelty-based paradigms

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are emerging as a promising model species in neuroscience research. Many traditional rodent behavioral paradigms may be adapted for zebrafish testing. Exposing zebrafish to three different “open field” tanks for 30 min, we showed that fish display robust homebase behavior, in which one area of the tank is chosen as a preferred point of reference during the test, which the fish frequently return to and spend a longer duration in. This phenotype strikingly resembles rodent homebase behavior, confirming that both species use homebases as “reference points” for their exploration. Our study introduces a simple method for zebrafish homebase phenotyping, and further supports the utility of these fish in neurobehavioral and cognitive research.