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Microplastic-induced neurotoxicity in Zebrafish: Current evidence and underlying mechanisms
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This review pulls together existing research showing that microplastics can build up in the brains of zebrafish (a common lab fish used to study biology similar to humans), causing damage to brain cells, disrupting chemical signals, and triggering changes in behavior like increased anxiety. While this research is in fish, not humans, it raises real concerns about what these tiny plastic particles—which we're increasingly exposed to through food and water—might be doing to our own brains, and signals a need for more research on this front.
It has been observed that researchers from the biological field are emphasising more on Microplastics (MPs), a rising contaminant, which is documented for brain toxicity in brain physiology, raising our interest to review the impact of MPs on zebrafish (Danio rerio) neurotoxicity. Several pathways of neurotoxic effects of MPs on zebrafish are consolidated in this review. In contrast, MPs, which can accumulate in the zebrafish brain, exhibit unique neurotoxic mechanisms, including physical damage to neuronal structures, interference with synaptic transmission, and the leaching of chemical additives. MPs may exert further neurotoxic effects. Emerging evidence suggests that MPs can result in altered behaviour, including anxiety-like responses and impaired social interactions, and stimulate varied neurotoxic pathways. Moreover, decreased activity of Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in fish exposed to MPs highlights its link to neurotoxic outcomes. Further, reactive oxygen species (ROS) inflammation and an increase in apoptosis occur in the brain of zebrafish due to MPs accumulation. Our review underscores the pressing need for understanding the implications of this environmental contaminant on the brain physiology of zebrafish at the molecular level, especially considering the possible effects it could have on human health via the food chain.
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From particle size to brain function: a zebrafish-based review of micro/nanoplastic-induced neurobehavioral toxicity and mechanistic pathways
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This review uses zebrafish as a model to examine how micro- and nanoplastics cause neurobehavioral toxicity, linking particle size to brain function disruption. Researchers summarize evidence that these plastic particles impair fish behavior and cause molecular-level damage in the nervous system. The findings highlight the growing concern that micro- and nanoplastics are emerging neurotoxicants in aquatic environments.
Advances of microplastics ingestion on the morphological and behavioral conditions of model zebrafish: A review
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This review summarizes research on how microplastic ingestion affects zebrafish, a popular lab animal that shares genetic similarities with humans. Studies show that microplastics cause a range of harmful effects in zebrafish, including abnormal behavior, oxidative stress, immune disruption, and reproductive problems, with smaller particles and higher concentrations causing the most damage. Since zebrafish are used as a model for human health, these findings raise concerns about what similar exposure levels could mean for people.
Neurotoxicity of Some Environmental Pollutants to Zebrafish
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This review examines how environmental pollutants including microplastics, pesticides, and drug residues can damage the nervous system, using zebrafish as a model organism. The studies show that microplastics can cause neurotoxic effects on their own and also increase the brain-damaging potential of other pollutants they carry, which has implications for understanding how these contaminants might affect the human nervous system.
Behavioral Studies of Zebrafish Reveal a New Perspective on the Reproductive Toxicity of Micro- and Nanoplastics
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This review summarizes existing research on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the behavior and reproductive health of zebrafish, a common lab model for studying human biology. The findings suggest that tiny plastic particles can disrupt reproductive behavior and act as hormone-like chemicals, and that behavioral changes in fish may serve as early warning signs of reproductive harm that could be relevant to understanding human health risks.
Biological Consequences of Microplastic Exposure in Zebrafish (Danio rerio): A Systematic Review Across Developmental, Physiological, and Neurobehavioral Endpoints
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This review pulls together 60 studies on zebrafish (a common lab fish used to study health effects) exposed to microplastics, finding that these tiny plastic particles can harm development, damage organs, disrupt hormones, and alter behavior—with "aged" or weathered microplastics (the kind more common in real-world pollution) often causing more harm than fresh ones. While zebrafish aren't humans, they share enough biology with us that these findings raise real concerns about how the microplastics we're increasingly exposed to through food, water, and air might affect our own health, especially since scientists still need to standardize how they test microplastic exposure
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