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Microplastic ingestion affects the lateralised processing of predator stimuli in fish
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Researchers fed zebrafish food containing polyethylene or biodegradable microplastics for 20 days and tested their brain lateralization, which reflects how information processing is divided between brain hemispheres. While standard rotation and mirror tests showed no changes, the fish displayed disrupted lateralization when confronted with a predator model. The study suggests that microplastic ingestion can impair specific cognitive responses in fish, particularly those related to predator avoidance.
Microplastic ingestion affects fish brains at the molecular level, but its impact on cognitive phenotype remains unclear. We fed zebrafish (Danio rerio) food containing either polyethylene or poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) microplastics for 20 days and assessed their lateralisation, which reflects how information processing is split between brain hemispheres. No changes appeared in rotational or mirror tests, but lateralisation was disrupted in the detour test when facing a predator model. These results suggest microplastic ingestion can impair specific cognitive traits at the phenotypic level.
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The first extended study of microplastic ingestion and cognition in zebrafish found no significant impairment in visual or spatial learning tasks, suggesting that dietary microplastic exposure at tested doses does not obviously disrupt cognitive function in this teleost model.
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Researchers exposed zebrafish larvae to high-density polyethylene microplastics in three size categories and assessed their effects on the fish sensory system and gut. They found that larger particles caused the most damage to the lateral line sensory system, while particles smaller than 100 micrometers were ingested and caused gastrointestinal tract changes. All sizes of microplastics altered larval swimming behavior, with distinct patterns depending on particle size.
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