Fish socialization graphic (IMAGE)

University of Utah Health

Fish socialization graphic

Caption

To test if environmental factors could influence social behavior, researchers exposed zebrafish embryos to more than 1,100 known drugs. Normal zebrafish devoted much of their attention on other zebrafish. However, fish exposed to certain drugs experienced a change in the levels of some autism-linked genes, and lost interest in social interaction. These and other experiments suggest that certain environmental exposures may impair development of social behavior by affecting autism-linked genes.

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Tara Mleynek/University of Utah Health

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