Localization of a brain protein metabolically linked with behavioral plasticity in the goldfish.

Immunofluorescent methods were used to map the distribution of a soluble, 32,000 dalton brain protein, the synthesis of which increases when goldfish master a vestibulomotor task. The protein was found to be associated with a family of approximately 15,000 cells which vary in diameter from 8 to 15 micrometer and possess multiple processes. These cells are distributed near periventricular and external surfaces from the spinal cord up through the forebrain, but are most abundant in the broad ependymal zones of the optic tectum and vagal lobes. This localization pattern suggests that one of the major changes in brain protein metabolism associated with performance of the 'float-training' task in goldfish may reflect the activity of a non-neuronal population of brain cells.