Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6942-8542

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation (Campus Access)

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Biology

Committee Chair

Eric J. Horstick

Committee Co-Chair

Sadie A. Bergeron

Committee Member

Sadie A. Bergeron

Committee Member

Gary Marsat

Committee Member

Andrew M. Dacks

Committee Member

Sarah D. Ackerman

Abstract

Inter-individual variation in behavior has been characterized in various animals, manifesting across diverse environmental contexts. This inherent behavioral diversity adds complexity to behaviors observed within populations and has been shown to enhance overall fitness. The most prevalent examples of individuality are lateralized behaviors where individuals show a limb or directional preference, such as human handedness. While lateralized behaviors are widespread occurrence in animals, the neural mechanisms that dictate these motor asymmetries remain poorly understood. In this dissertation, I utilize a larval zebrafish asymmetric turn behavior as a model to investigate the neural regulators of individuality. Building upon previous research, I characterize how a specific subset of thalamic neurons functionally encodes behavioral asymmetry in the larval zebrafish brain. Additionally, I establish a novel critical period to explore how asymmetric visual experience during development shapes behavior and neural activity. Leveraging this critical period, I examine the role of GABAergic signaling, an essential component of established mammalian critical period circuits, in the induction of behavioral asymmetry. Furthermore, I investigate the evolutionary conservation of larval zebrafish asymmetric turn behavior within teleost, leading to the discovery and characterization of an additional, vision-independent pathway that regulates behavioral asymmetry. Together, this work studying larval zebrafish motor asymmetry provides insight into the neural mechanisms that underly the development and maintenance of individuality in behavior.

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