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Zebrafish learn to balance by darting forward when they feel wobbly, a principle that may also apply to humans, according to a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.
The fish make good models to understand human balance because they use similar brain circuits, say the study authors. The researchers hope their work will one day help therapists to better treat balance problems that affect one in three aging Americans, and for whom falls are a leading cause of death.
Published online January 19 in Current Biology, the new study found that early improvements in a zebrafish's balance emerge from its growing ability to execute quick swims in response to the perception of instability. Over time young fish learn to make corrective movements when unstable and become better at remaining stable.
"By untangling the forces used by the fish while swimming, and during the pauses between these corrective movements, we may have uncovered a foundational balance mechanism -- the mental command to start moving when unstable," says lead study investigator David Schoppik, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU Langone.
Full paper: David E. Ehrlich, David Schoppik. Control of Movement Initiation Underlies the Development of Balance. Current Biology, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.003
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2017, @04:04AM
"The fish make good models to understand human balance because they use similar brain circuits"
People use/zebrafish because they are clear, so it is easy to see stuff going on. They are also used now just because alot more has been reported on them for the first reason. I have never heard this similar brain circuits idea, but it sounds made up.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday January 24 2017, @04:39AM
Meh, makes perfect sense to me. Learning how to ride a bike without training wheels is probably the most relatable human example.
Some bugs, especially cockroaches, operate on a similar principle -- when under threat they dart but in discrete steps of a fixed distance, changing their azimuth during every iteration to confuse their enemies. Their brains work too slowly tun run at full speed in large-magnitude vectors without slamming into a fence, but the randomization of their azimuth is what makes them wily.
On a related note, Blacks are good at running from cops.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2017, @09:38AM
Maybe over in the USA it's better for them to run some distance, wait a bit to see if the human/predator is going to do anything other than screaming/running away ;)