Dance your PhD 2019 WINNER - Social experiences in larval zebrafish and their brains

We all know that animals move in coordinated ways. We see it everywhere, from flocks of birds or trails of ants collecting food to humans commuters during rush hour.
But how do animals learn the rules that govern such coordinated motion? Do they just know how it works or are they learned from experience? And most importantly, what happens in the brain?
This PhD work explored these questions by studying the movement of Zebrafish larvae (think of them as baby fish!). There were two groups, those fish that had social experiences as they grew up in groups and the fish that were raised in complete isolation. With this simple set-up there were distinct differences in the social interactions!
The isolated fish were more antisocial and avoided other fish in an exaggerated way. “Hmm, but don’t we know this already from other animals and humans?” you might say. Yes, but there is a catch to replicating this result in the baby fish: Their heads are transparent and we can use light to measure the activity in their brains - every single neuron of it! When a neuron is active, it lights up and we can see it under the microscope. So now we can investigate what happens in the brain with different social experiences, how neurons change and respond differently. And that is something you can’t do easily in a human brain! 🧠

[@PramodhYapa]

This is brilliant! Concise and really effective at communicating your science! Also, I love the aesthetic you've chosen! 10/10 :)

[@DieTonella]

So lovely to get such a wonderful comment from you Pramodh. Congrats on winning the contest last year!!

[@PramodhYapa]

@@DieTonella You're welcome, and richly deserving of the win this year! And thank you! :)

[@salahadinlotfi1341]

This is was simply astonishing. I loved the coordinated movements, and the parents/kids in the end...also made this research easy to grasp...

[@DieTonella]

I'm really glad to hear you liked it and understood the research results. This was the whole purpose of it and it is great to know we managed to convey the message :) thank you for the positive feedback.

[@Sweercheff]

This is by far the best DYPhD video I ever saw.

[@madr309]

It's good to know that if the neurobiology gig ever pans out, you have science education to fall back on. This is really creative and clever.

[@minimini4792]

This entire thing was absolutely brilliant in every way, congratulations

[@DieTonella]

thank you so much. happy you enjoyed it.

[@KevsFitnessZone]

I just learned about this from my ongoing Precise Nutrition Level 1 course. I never knew that learning the so "complicated" world of Science could be this fun, entertaining as well as it is educative and informative. Great video indeed and for sure you guys deserved the top spot without any doubt!! Felidades !!

[@TheKardla]

This is not only scientifically informative but also beautiful :) thank you! :)

[@sauloikeda]

great video! congratulations for the work! I'm currently working on the effects of social isolation after a stressful event on zebrafish anxiety-like behavior

[@DieTonella]

Thank you Saulo. That sounds exciting. I am pretty sure you will get an effect, especially since social buffering of stress will come into play as well. Good luck with your research. I look forward to reading your results.

[@aoifelong7905]

Amazing video! Congratulations on winning!

[@DieTonella]

Thank you!

[@emmanuelehelfer4500]

Brilliant! and so demonstrative!

[@mickybadia]

Incroyable ce truc. My PhD student told me about this I had never heard of it. I wish she'd do it now 😛

[@nathaliafernandes3000]

I love this, everything is just so great and creative

[@DieTonella]

thank you :)

[@mar2lka]

Wow! This is Soooo well done! Bravo!

[@DieTonella]

Thanks a lot Marta!

[@federicojoelvergelli5698]

Amazing

[@DieTonella]

thank you so much! :)

[@io.4531]

Congratulations on the dance, it is absolutely brilliant! Where could I read this PhD?

[@mariaguadalupeperazaherrer5090]

Brilliant

[@ronisagiv3089]

perfect!!!! Wawwww

[@DieTonella]

Thank you Roni. Happy you liked it :)

[@nousername786]

How do you get funds to produce such a high quality film? We can barely hire photographers during field work given the tight grant money. Anyway superb..a class apart performance :)

[@DieTonella]

We are really lucky to have a great science communications office at the institute, through which I got in touch with our amazing videographer of this project. But mostly we all did this in our free time with our personal funds. This really was more of a community effort than a financial one.

[@jadehizon5712]

Just wow!

[@anahidkabasakalian5414]

There are a bunch more videos on KZbin

[@greghampikian2616]

I want to lecture with this troop!

[@tz1180]

Fantastic!! Also the music is really catchy. Where is the music from / what is it called?

[@DieTonella]

Glad you like it. The music is called 'Cleansing breath' by Lucas Cantor. We found it on www.audionetwork.com

[@williamdenault9576]

Despite the référence of the track no way to find it, could someone point me to a link of the album

[@DieTonella]

sorry for the awfully late reply. the song is on audionetwork.com if you search for cleansing breath you will find several versions. you can listen to it online, but to use it you need to create an account and pay the copy right.

[@williamdenault9576]

@@DieTonella thank you

[@elianestockler8762]

Congratulations on your amazing work! Very impressed by your artistry and ability to convey your findings in such an engaging way. I was wondering how I can go about obtaining your permission to show your video in a Qualitative Research Methods class. Have a great day!

[@DieTonella]

Thank you Eliâne! I would be so happy if you find the video useful for your class. Do you need an official statement from me? You could get in touch with Champalimaud Research (via social media or through the website) and they can pass on my contact.

[@elianestockler8762]

@@DieTonella Thanks for your response. I believe this should suffice. Would if be okay if we showed part of the video rather than in its entirety? We would ensure that you are credited with this awesome work. As you can imagine, we have a limited amount of time which we can devote to arts-based dissemination of findings. Again, thank you kindly!

[@DieTonella]

@@elianestockler8762 Yes absolutely! :)

[@elianestockler8762]

@@DieTonella Great. Thank you!

Reviewer 2: 3 votes Really?

[@feritperliare2890]

Fibbige brought me here

[@kotoweb]

Nice work but 21st Century is boring af.

[@WALLACE9009]

Brilliant!

[@DieTonella]

Thank you :)

[@MICHAELPOMEROY-o3y]

I'm a High School Biology teacher in Hollywood, California. I showed this to my students to show them that Science can be rigorous, creative, and wildly entertaining. Can I ask what software you used to produce the affects? Absolutely stunning production, on every level!....Thanks for demonstrating what's possible!

[@margotgerritsen8422]

Brilliantly done. So impressed. I saw the first "Dance your PhD" videos, and created one at the time. We have reached a whole new level with these kinds of wonderful performances.

[@DieTonella]

So cool that you also made a video - I will look for it :) This is such a great contest - I love all the creative ideas.

[@margotgerritsen8422]

@@DieTonella It is not online! I wouldn't there. This is a quite a while ago! :-)

[@nhkedsns_english3476]

This is Kaede from NHK Educational Japan. We're doing coverage on science in the coming episode, and would love to share your post! Could you give us permission to do so? If there're any issues, please let us know by March 24. Thanks!

[@tejusshinde6119]

Perfect. I am sharing this now!!

[@DieTonella]

thank you

[@nunocalaim3184]

amazing!

[@DieTonella]

Thanks Nuno!