Irish coffee: individual differences response to alcohol and caffeine in zebrafish
Individual differences; alcohol; caffeine; zebrafish
Overuse of psychoactive substances is considered one of the most devastating and costly diseases of today's society and is responsible for numerous detrimental effects on individuals and the general population. Among research areas that address alcohol and caffeine consumption many are concerned to determine the mechanisms of action of these products in the brain and validate physiological and behavioral protocols for translational studies. Despite years of research, there is still little knowledge about the mechanisms by which alcohol and / or caffeine affect neurological functions and what would be the effects of prolonged use of these substances on different individuals. Lately, it has been questioned how factors related to interindividual differences, derived from both genetic characteristics and aspects of the developmental environment of individuals, may affect the way they relate to psychoactive substances. There is evidence that different individuals have higher or lower propensity to alcoholism and respond quite differently to the same dosages of alcohol and / or caffeine. Thus, dealing with studies on personality differences can help in the understanding of the drug mode of action and the susceptibility of some individuals to become dependent on specific moments of life. Also, how different individuals respond to common situations and how drugs can change this responsiveness can help to understand the functioning of the nervous system of individuals. Due to the complexity of the mammalian nervous system and its diverse behavioral responses, other simplistic animal models have been proposed, such as the zebrafish (Danio rerio). In this study we used the zebrafish to investigate the effects of alcohol and caffeine treatment on the development of tolerance and abstinence, as well as on behavioral parameters of individuals classified according to different behavioral profiles.