ArticleBrain and behavior2026
Brewing Anxiety: Caffeine-Induced Thigmotaxis in Zebrafish Larvae.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThigmotaxis, or edge preference, is widely used as a measure of anxiety in vertebrate model systems. However, variability in this behavior limits its utility as a scalable measure for anxiolytic drug discovery. In the current study, we examine caffeine-induced thigmotaxis, using 5-day-old zebrafish larvae as a model system.
methodWe modified our imaging system and AI-assisted analysis for measurements of behavior in six-well plates. The imaging system was used to measure thigmotaxis and several other behaviors, including overall activity, scoot and burst swimming, and responses to acoustic and visual stimuli.
resultCaffeine (100 mg/L) caused the zebrafish larvae to exhibit increased edge preference, decreased activity, increased scooting, and decreased bursting behavior. Coadministration with diazepam (0.25 mg/L), a central nervous system depressant, significantly reduced caffeine-induced thigmotaxis and increased locomotor activity.
conclusionThese findings support edge preference as a reliable measure of anxiety and reconcile existing conflicting results regarding diazepam's anxiolytic efficacy in zebrafish larvae, suggesting that anxiolytic effects are most pronounced against a heightened anxiety baseline. These findings also establish a robust platform for high-throughput identification of anxiolytic compounds with potential relevance for treating anxiety and related stress in humans.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.