Kastler, Alizée; (2024) Social interaction increases tolerance to noxious stimuli in zebrafish. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Supportive social environments are known to have an analgesic effect, significantly reducing the perception of pain. While this effect is recognised, and endogenous pain modulatory pathways are established, the neurobiological basis and molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Zebrafish are a potentially relevant model to characterise brain circuits and further understand various aspects of pain modulation. With this work, I defined a behavioural and neural activity signature for nociception in zebrafish using behavioural assays and whole-brain imaging. I then confirmed and characterised these brain areas through the labelling of cell types and provided the first gene expression atlas for juvenile zebrafish. This approach allowed for the identification of several brain areas and neuropeptides involved in descending pain modulation in mammals, demonstrating their conservation in zebrafish. In addition, exposing juvenile zebrafish to both social and noxious heat stimuli revealed that the mere sight of other conspecific zebrafish leads to increased thermal noxious tolerance. This data suggests that social context can modulate pain tolerance in zebrafish through a descending pain modulatory pathway, similar to humans. Overall, this work provides a new model system to study the mechanisms of pain modulation and highlights the importance of the social environment in pain management.

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