The evolutionarily conserved role of melatonin in CNS disorders and behavioral regulation: Translational lessons from zebrafish

•Melatonin is an important brain hormone regulating circadian rhythm, neuroprotection and neuroimmune interactions.•Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly used in biomedical and neuroscience research.•Mounting evidence implicating melatonin in brain disorders and behavior.•Animal models are becoming a valuable tool to study neurobiology of melatonin. Melatonin is an important hormone regulating circadian rhythm, neuroprotection and neuroimmune processes. However, its exact physiological roles in brain mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we summarize the mounting evidence implicating melatonin in brain disorders and behavior, based on clinical and experimental studies in-vivo. In addition to rodent models, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is becoming increasingly utilized in biomedical and neuroscience research. Here, we discuss melatonin neurobiology of zebrafish, and parallel these findings with clinical and rodent data. We also discuss the genomic effects of melatonin in zebrafish, and emphasize the growing utility of zebrafish models to study melatonin neurobiology and drug discovery.