Researchers say getting a fish DRUNK can double its speed

show ad

The ultimate in down and out living: How the poor carve out a living in the SEWERS of Eastern European city
Josh Powell starved one of his sons and possibly poisoned his wife Susan with homemade drinks before she vanished, friends claim in new book
Family of MH370 pilot breaks silence to defend doomed flight's captain and slam reports he was on a suicide mission
The Triple Crown dream lives on! California Chrome WILL be allowed to wear a nasal strip at the Belmont Stakes
'Planes don't just disappear': Former Malaysian Prime Minister accuses CIA of covering up what really happened to flight MH370
'Women AREN'T governed by their menstrual cycle': Study quashes theory that choices and decisions vary at different times of the month
Michael Jackson hologram performs Slave To The Rhythm... and gets standing ovation at Billboard Music Awards
But WHY are you single? 'Invasive' new Facebook button lets you ASK about friends' relationship status
Don't get caught with your pants down: Tennessee city creates ordinance that makes wearing saggy pants illegal
How quickly can YOU solve the Rubik's Cube? Google launches interactive doodle to celebrate the puzzle's 40th birthday
Ousted New York Times editor gives her advice on' being dumped' (and vows to keep her company tattoo comewhat may)
Police search family home of girl, 13, who went missing 25 years ago from Minnesota gas station
Murderer who raped his ex-girlfriend and killed a man in front of his children asks for his execution to be videotaped
Man arrested for tattooing smiley face and a swear word on a girl aged just TWELVE
Infant girl dies of starvation after her parents replaced her formula with water and cereal to save money
'They already have separate personalities': Australian mother of conjoined 'baby with two faces' says her 'adorable' twin girls wake and cry at different times
'It was a bonehead decision': Father caught kicking his six-year-old son down a skateboard ramp apologizes - as he reveals he has lost his job and his family have had to move after video went viral
'Just grow a pair': Amazing moment mayor sparks outrage by suggesting young victims of bullying should toughen up
The killer pimple: Doctors warn of aggressive form of skin cancer which is SIX TIMES times more likely to kill if it is not removed within two months
How to SMILE your way to a promotion: Expert reveals which expressions make you look more powerful, honest, and flirty
New fears as deadly MERS virus was spread from one man to another in Illinois by JUST a handshake
Marilyn Monroe's desperation to get close to JFK, a last-minute panic over forgotten earrings and how she craved a baby: Confidante breaks 52-year silence to reveal the full story behind that 'Happy Birthday Mr President' performance
Urine is NOT sterile: Study debunks myth after finding healthy people do have bacteria in their bladders
Gluten DOESN'T cause bloating - but 'healthy' foods such fruit, pulses and sweeteners do, doctors claim

Zebrafish were exposed to four concentrations of ethanol in water, ranging from zero to high
Found fish exposed to intermediate or high alcohol concentrations nearly doubled swimming speeds
Effect was only seen if other fish were present
Researchers say study could lead to new treatments for alcohol abuse

Published: 16:34 EST, 15 May 2014 | Updated: 17:51 EST, 15 May 2014

View
comments

It is a bizarre experiment that could help explain human behavior when drunk.

Researchers in New York gave ethanol to a zebrafish - and found that, when surrounded by other fish, its swimming speed doubled.

However, the stunned team found no difference if the fish was alone - raising new questions about the effects of alcohol in social settings.

Scroll down for video

The NY researchers devised an original method that would allow for detailed tracking of a single, alcohol-exposed zebrafish amid a school of 'sober' peers.

HOW THEY DID IT

Porfiri and his colleagues designed an experimental procedure in which a single zebrafish was exposed to four concentrations of ethanol in water, ranging from zero to high.

They said the test poses no harm to the fish.

Following exposure, the fish was released into a group of untreated zebrafish.

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first experiment to allow ethanol-exposed and untreated zebrafish to swim freely together.

A custom tracking algorithm developed by the team allowed the researchers to follow for the first time individual fish throughout the experiment as well as analyze group behavior.

The findings published by researchers at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering are helping to unravel the complex interplay between alcohol and social behavior and may lead to new therapies for mitigating the negative impacts of alcohol use and abuse, the researchers say.

More...

Their experiments, published in the current issue of Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, were led by Maurizio Porfiri.

Traditional experiments for alcohol-related studies see subjects are exposed and their behavior and movements analyzed.

The NY researchers devised an original method that would allow for detailed tracking of a single, alcohol-exposed zebrafish amid a school of 'sober' peers.

Porfiri and his colleagues developed an experimental procedure in which a single zebrafish was exposed to four concentrations of ethanol in water, ranging from zero to high.

This is called acute exposure and poses no harm to the fish, the researchers say.

Following exposure, the fish was released into a group of untreated zebrafish.

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first experiment to allow ethanol-exposed and untreated zebrafish to swim freely together.

Drunk fish can swim at twice the speed..but only to show off

The speed of the drunk fish stunned researchers

A custom tracking algorithm developed by the team allowed the researchers to follow for the first time individual fish throughout the experiment as well as analyze group behavior.

Previous studies show alcohol exposure affects zebrafish locomotion—at low concentrations, fish tend to swim faster, and as the dose increases, swimming typically slows.

Alcohol can also negatively impact the school’s cohesion.

In Porfiri’s trials, the single exposed zebrafish showed changes in locomotion when observed alone consistent to those predicted by past studies.

In a group setting, however, the zebrafish behavior was remarkably different: Fish exposed to intermediate or high alcohol concentrations nearly doubled their swimming speeds, the team found, suggesting that the presence of peers had a substantial impact on social behavior under the influence of alcohol.

Most remarkably, the unexposed fish also modulated their behavior and swimming speeds differentially in the presence of a shoalmate exposed to different levels of alcohol.

'These results were very surprising,' explained Porfiri.

'It is clear that the untreated fish were matching the swimming speed of the alcohol-exposed fish, and this correlation was especially strong at an intermediate level of alcohol exposure.

'At very high or low levels, the influence decreases.'

Porfiri believes that one explanation for the high-speed swimming of the exposed individual may be hyper-reactivity to an enriched environment—the tank containing shoalmates.

Maurizio Porfiri, who devised an original method that would allow for detailed tracking of a single, alcohol-exposed zebrafish amid a school of 'sober' peers.

Alcohol has also been shown to decrease inhibitory behavior in zebrafish.

The increased speed may therefore also reflect a heightened interest in interacting with shoalmates.

Regardless, this deviation from expected behavior is highly significant, as it points to the ability of social stimuli (the untreated shoalmates) to change an individual’s response to alcohol.

The ability of alcohol-exposed zebrafish to influence untreated shoalmates may constitute a form of leadership, but researchers caution that aggressive, risk-taking behaviors—common under the disinhibitory effects of alcohol— may resemble leadership behavior patterns in this species.

The researchers said the study could have important implications for alcohol consumption in humans

Porfiri and his team believe that the methodology developed for these experiments holds tremendous promise for future studies on the social determinants of individual responses to alcohol.

By dissociating sociality from exposure, the researchers were able to study, for the first time in this species, how the impact of alcohol on behavior can be shaped by social environments.

Future studies will focus on determining the degree to which social influence exerted by exposed or unexposed individuals is affected by group size.

Ultimately, the researchers hold that this line of inquiry may advance understanding of how social interactions magnify or mitigate negative effects of alcohol abuse, such as destructive behavior, and could lead to therapies to reduce the same.

MOST WATCHED NEWS VIDEOS

Comments (11)

Share what you think

View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

My Wag Wag, Philadelphia, United States, 2 days ago

They missed a major concern. What is the zebrafish's preferred hangover drink? Or hangover food?

Click to rate

twiznik, auckland, New Zealand, 2 days ago

What the hell is the point in this??? When will a fish ever decide to guzzle from brew and its buddies can watch if swim faster. Like seriously??? What a waste of time and energy doing this research..