Kansas State University biologist seeks to understand brain development

Biologists have long studied zebrafish as a developmental model for understanding the biology of chordates, e.g., animals with a notochord, hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, endostyle, and post-anal tail. Chordates include mammals (us!), fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Dr. Thomas Mueller, research assistant professor in the Division of Biology, co-authored with Dr. Mario Wullimann, Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, the "Atlas of Early Zebrafish Brain Development: A Tool for Molecular Neurogenetics – 2nd ed.” published by Elsevier.


This extended & revised edition of the Zebrafish Brain Atlas is the only printed reference work that identifies the developing regions of the zebrafish brain by looking at gene activity patterns. It also compares the zebrafish brain development with the situation in mice and humans.

Dr. Mueller uses zebrafish as a model to study the function, evolution and development of the amygdala and hypothalamus. Both are crucial for the expression of emotion, socio-emotional, and reproductive behaviors. In particular, he wants to understand how compromised development can lead to aberrant emotional behavior as present in human affective disorders like schizophrenia, spectrum autism, and anxiety disorders.

Mueller, T. & Wulliman, M. Atlas of Early Zebrafish Brain Development: A Tool for Molecular Neurogenetics, 2nd ed. London: Elsevier Academic Press, 2015. Print. ISBN 978-0-12-418669-9  (print), 978-0-12-417286-9 (online).

Read the Kansas State University News Service article HERE.

Buy Atlas of Early Zebrafish Brain Development: A Tool for Molecular Neurogenetics, 2nd ed. HERE.