Here, we present a protocol to assess visual discrimination in fish, specifically Danionella cerebrum and Danio rerio . We describe steps for the familiarization of subjects to reduce contextual novelty and habituation through repeated presentation of a constant feature stimulus. We then detail procedures for a dishabituation session that introduces a stimulus change. In this protocol, the recovery of behavioral response provides a measure of change detection and feature discrimination. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zanon et al. 1 • Guidance on familiarizing fish with the testing context to stabilize baseline behavior • Steps to induce habituation to a target feature while varying noninformative cues • Instructions for introducing a controlled change in the target feature at dishabituation • Guidance on quantifying response recovery as a measure of visual discrimination Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics. Here, we present a protocol to assess visual discrimination in fish, specifically Danionella cerebrum and Danio rerio . We describe steps for the familiarization of subjects to reduce contextual novelty and habituation through repeated presentation of a constant feature stimulus. We then detail procedures for a dishabituation session that introduces a stimulus change. In this protocol, the recovery of behavioral response provides a measure of change detection and feature discrimination.
Zanon et al. (Thu,) studied this question.