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Neuroscience Research using Small Animals on a Chip: From Nematodes to Zebrafish Larvae

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Abstract

Implementation of microfluidic technology to study small animal models such as Caenorhabditis elegans worms (soil-dwelling nematodes), Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) and larvae of Danio rerio (zebrafish) provides great opportunities for in vivo quantification of neuronal activities and behavioral responses. By controlling the internal environment, microfluidic devices can manipulate animal models with precision and cause minimal damage to the specimen. Due to these advantages, microfluidic devices have been applied to high-throughput drug screening, high-throughput brain-wide activity mapping, analyzing animals’ neuronal and behavioral responses to different external stimuli, microinjection, and neuronal regeneration. In this paper, we review different microfluidic devices and techniques that allow the manipulation of small animal models to study brain functions and behavioral responses. Furthermore, biomedical applications of microfluidic systems, technical challenges, and future directions in the whole brain and animal research on a chip will be discussed.

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Acknowledgements

E.E.J. is supported by a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Pushkar Bansal, Abhinav Abraham & Erica E. Jung

  2. Department of Bioengineering, The University of Illinois at Chicago, 851 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Jay Garg & Erica E. Jung

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  1. Pushkar Bansal
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  2. Abhinav Abraham
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  4. Erica E. Jung
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Correspondence to Erica E. Jung.

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Bansal, P., Abraham, A., Garg, J. et al. Neuroscience Research using Small Animals on a Chip: From Nematodes to Zebrafish Larvae. BioChip J 15, 42–51 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13206-021-00012-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13206-021-00012-5

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