Behavioral effects of developmental exposure to JWH-018 in wild type and disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (disc1) mutant zebrafish

Abstract

Synthetic cannabinoids can cause acute adverse psychological effects, but the potential impact when exposure happens before birth is unknown. Use of synthetic cannabinoids during pregnancy may affect fetal brain development, and such effects could be moderated by the genetic makeup of an individual. Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is a gene with important roles in neurodevelopment which has been associated with psychiatric disorders in pedigree analyses. Using zebrafish as a model, we investigated (1) the behavioral impact of developmental exposure to JWH-018 (a common psychoactive synthetic cannabinoid) and (2) whether disc1 moderates the effects of JWH-018. As altered anxiety responses are seen in a several psychiatric disorders, we focused on zebrafish anxiety-like behavior. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to JWH-018 from one to six days post-fertilization. Anxiety-like behavior was assessed using forced light/dark and acoustic startle assays in larvae, and novel tank diving in adults. Compared to controls, developmentally exposed zebrafish larvae had impaired locomotion during the forced light/dark test, but anxiety levels and response to startle stimuli was unaltered. Adult zebrafish developmentally exposed to JWH-018 spent less time on the bottom of the tank, suggesting decreased anxiety. Loss-of-function in disc1 increased anxiety but did not alter sensitivity to JWH-018. Results suggest developmental exposure to JWH-018 has behavioral impact in zebrafish, which is not moderated by disc1.