Limor Freifeld

Congratulations to Zuckerman Faculty Scholar Limor Freifeld on the publication of “Escape behaviors are transiently modulated after acutely induced epileptic seizures in larval zebrafish” in Scientific Reports. Dr. Freifeld and her team found that seizures trigger a temporary drop in behavioral responses to startling stimuli that can last for several hours, and that seizure severity can be reversed anti‑epileptic drugs.

Abstract:
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder giving rise to both recurrent and spontaneous seizures as well as additional neurological comorbidities. In approximately 30% of patients, seizures are not ameliorated by existing anti-seizure drugs. To bridge this treatment gap, the larval zebrafish has emerged as a powerful model for high-throughput drug-screening, based on changes in swimming behavior during seizures.