The main focus of the research that makes up this thesis was to translate rodent behavioural assays to larval zebrafish for better time and resource management in biomedical research,... Show moreThe main focus of the research that makes up this thesis was to translate rodent behavioural assays to larval zebrafish for better time and resource management in biomedical research, pharmaceutical research and development. __The larval zebrafish is a useful model in toxicology and drug discovery. However, its predictivity is restricted by compound class. __Light-dark cycle plays an important role in the normal development of the zebrafish embryo, and abnormal lighting regimes during rearing can result in malformations. __The hyperactivity displayed by zebrafish larvae following the onset of sudden darkness is an intrinsic characteristic. Zebrafish larvae quickly habituate with repeated stimuli of onset of darkness with short interstimulus interval. __Zebrafish larvae are able to discriminate colours, and they show a preference for orange and green, but aversion towards red, yellow, blue and black. The larvae also show freezing behaviour in the complex environment which is attenuated with diazepam.. __Zebrafish larvae raised in an abnormal lighting regime changed some aspects of their colour preference, although orange and red remained as preferred and avoided colours respectively. __In short, the zebrafish larvae is a useful complementary animal model in behavioural research amenable to high-throughput screening of compounds and drug discovery Show less
School refusal is an attendance problem characterized by a young person’s difficulty in going to school, accompanied by emotional distress on the part of the young person and parental attempts to... Show moreSchool refusal is an attendance problem characterized by a young person’s difficulty in going to school, accompanied by emotional distress on the part of the young person and parental attempts to return the young person to regular school attendance. Prolonged absence from school has serious short- and long-term consequences for young people, their families, and schools. Therefore, effective treatment of school refusal is essential. Numerous treatment outcome studies provide evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for school refusal. Previous research has however indicated that adolescent school refusers may be particularly disturbed and harder to treat. An existing treatment for school-refusing children and adolescents was modified to better account for the impact of developmental variables on engagement in treatment. The studies presented in this dissertation describe the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of the resulting developmentally-appropriate CBT for adolescent school refusal. The treatment was associated with increased school attendance, reduced emotional symptoms, and increased adolescent and parental self-efficacy. Exploratory analyses revealed that several developmental factors were related to treatment outcomes, namely clinician developmental appropriateness, insight, and autonomy. Recommendations for research and clinical practice are made on the basis of these findings, and on the methodological strengths and limitations of the current research. Show less
