Measuring Brainwaves of Fish Simultaneously... Accelerating New Drug Development

▲Zebrafish

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Domestic researchers have developed a technology capable of simultaneously measuring the brainwaves of multiple zebrafish. Zebrafish share about 70% of their genetic information with humans, making them a notable experimental subject for new drug development. Applying this technology is expected to accelerate the development of new drugs for various brain diseases such as epilepsy and sleep disorders.

The research team led by Professor Kim Sohee from the Department of Robotics Engineering at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology announced on the 17th that they developed this technology and verified the effectiveness of epilepsy treatment drugs using it. Their related paper was published in the international journal in the biosensor field, Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

Simultaneous Measurement of Brainwaves from Multiple Zebrafish

Results of measuring brainwaves from multiple zebrafish

The research team developed a device that can stably fix multiple zebrafish to measure their brainwaves, as well as a device that allows injection or exchange of drugs. Using this device, drug exchange and long-term brainwave measurement are possible without injections or surgery on the zebrafish. The most notable feature is the ability to observe multiple fish simultaneously.

The team expects that this device will speed up new drug development research. Multiple drugs for treating neurological diseases can be administered simultaneously to several zebrafish, and drugs showing therapeutic efficacy can be identified through the corresponding brainwave responses.

Accelerating Initial Screening Speed of Candidate Drugs for Brain Disease Treatment

Professor Sohee Kim (right) of the Department of Robotics Engineering at DGIST and researcher Yoohyun Lee of the Department of Robotics Engineering are holding the newly developed unit and taking a commemorative photo.

Zebrafish are vertebrates possessing genetic information and biological organs about 70% similar to humans. Therefore, they are attracting attention as animals used between the basic research stage targeting cells and the preclinical trial stage targeting rodents in the early phases of new drug development.

Professor Kim Sohee said, "The technology developed this time can be utilized in the initial screening stage of candidate substances for new drugs aimed at treating various neurological diseases such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and autism. It overcomes the weakness of brainwaves being slow in processing speed and leverages the advantage of high accuracy, enabling research related to drug efficacy. We expect this will increase the success rate of candidate substance screening in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.