Anxiety-related platform in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae: An integrated analysis of behavioural and molecular assay in drug screening research
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy June 17, 2026 Małgorzata Potoczna, Natalia Kasica, Małgorzata Chmielewska-Krzesińska et al.
Zebrafish larvae are increasingly used to study anxiety and stress, but it is unclear whether common behavioral tests and molecular stress markers give consistent results. This study tested several drugs with known anxiety- or depression-related effects, including diazepam, amitriptyline, and fluoxetine, along with other compounds like psilocybin. Diazepam showed the most consistent anxiety-reducing behavioral effects, but this was not accompanied by lower cortisol levels or normalized stress-related gene expression. Amitriptyline reduced cortisol but only partially affected behavior. Other drugs altered movement in ways that could reflect sedation rather than anxiety relief. The findings suggest that behavioral and molecular measures should not be treated as equivalent indicators of anxiety; instead, combining them provides a more nuanced profiling approach to identify specific drug effects and avoid misinterpretation.