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McCallum E, Shaw RC. Repeatability and heritability of inhibitory control performance in wild toutouwai ( Petroica longipes). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:231476. [PMID: 38026029 PMCID: PMC10646466 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in the evolution of inhibitory control, few studies have examined the validity of widespread testing paradigms, the long-term repeatability and the heritability of this cognitive ability in the wild. We investigated these aspects in the inhibitory control performance of wild toutouwai (North Island robin; Petroica longipes), using detour and reversal learning tasks. We assessed convergent validity by testing whether individual performance correlated across detour and reversal learning tasks. We then further evaluated task validity by examining whether individual performance was confounded by non-cognitive factors. We tested a subset of subjects twice in each task to estimate the repeatability of performance across a 1-year period. Finally, we used a population pedigree to estimate the heritability of task performance. Individual performance was unrelated across detour and reversal learning tasks, indicating that these measured different cognitive abilities. Task performance was not influenced by body condition, boldness or prior experience, and showed moderate between-year repeatability. Yet despite this individual consistency, we found no evidence that task performance was heritable. Our findings suggest that detour and reversal learning tasks measure consistent individual differences in distinct forms of inhibitory control in toutouwai, but this variation may be environmentally determined rather than genetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella McCallum
- School of Biological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Rachael C. Shaw
- School of Biological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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2
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The effect of sex, age and boldness on inhibitory control. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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3
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Albers J, Reichert MS. Personality affects individual variation in olfactory learning and reversal learning in the house cricket, Acheta domesticus. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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4
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De Meester G, Pafilis P, Vasilakis G, Van Damme R. Exploration and spatial cognition show long-term repeatability but no heritability in the Aegean wall lizard. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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5
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Cummings ME, Marsh-Rollo SE, Alonzo SH. Cognitive-Behavioral Divergence Is Greater Across Alternative Male Reproductive Phenotypes Than Between the Sexes in a Wild Wrasse. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.929595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is a powerful diversifier of phenotype, behavior and cognition. Here we compare cognitive-behavioral traits across four reproductive phenotypes (females and three alternative males) of wild-caught ocellated wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus). Both sex and alternative male phenotypes are environmentally determined with sex determination occuring within the first year, and males transition between alternative phenotypes across 2 years (sneaker to satellite or satellite to nesting). We captured 151 ocellated wrasse and tested them on different behavior and cognition assays (scototaxis, shoaling, and two detour-reaching tasks). We found greater divergence across alternative male reproductive phenotypes than differences between the sexes in behavior, problem-solving, and relationships between these traits. Nesting males were significantly less bold than others, while sneaker males were faster problem-solvers and the only phenotype to display a cognitive-behavioral syndrome (significant correlation between boldness and problem-solving speed). Combining these results with prior measurements of sex steroid and stress hormone across males, suggests that nesting and sneaker males represent different coping styles. Our data suggests that transitioning between alternative male phenotypes requires more than changes in physiology (size and ornamentation) and mating tactic (sneaking vs. cooperation), but also involves significant shifts in cognitive-behavioral and coping style plasticity.
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Lucon-Xiccato T. The contribution of executive functions to sex differences in animal cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 138:104705. [PMID: 35605792 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive sex differences have been reported in several vertebrate species, mostly in spatial abilities. Here, I review evidence of sex differences in a family of general cognitive functions that control behaviour and cognition, i.e., executive functions such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Most of this evidence derives from studies in teleost fish. However, analysis of literature from other fields (e.g., biomedicine, genetic, ecology) concerning mammals and birds reveals that more than 40% of species investigated exhibit sex differences in executive functions. Among species, the direction and magnitude of these sex differences vary greatly, even within the same family, suggesting sex-specific selection due to species' reproductive systems and reproductive roles of males and females. Evidence also suggests that sex differences in executive functions might provide males and females highly differentiated cognitive phenotypes. To understand the evolution of cognitive sex differences in vertebrates, future research should consider executive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
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Davidson GL, Reichert MS, Coomes JR, Kulahci IG, de la Hera I, Quinn JL. Inhibitory control performance is repeatable over time and across contexts in a wild bird population. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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8
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Garnham LC, Boddington R, Løvlie H. Variation in inhibitory control does not influence social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking, in red junglefowl females. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:867-879. [PMID: 35122185 PMCID: PMC9334373 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01598-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Individual variation in cognition, seen in many taxa, is not well understood, despite its potential evolutionary consequences. Inhibitory control is an aspect of cognition which differs between individuals. However, how selection could act on this variation remains unclear. First, individual consistency over time of behaviours affected by inhibitory control, and how these behaviours relate to each other, is not well understood. Second, consequences in ecologically relevant contexts of variation in behaviours affected by inhibitory control, are scarcely investigated. Therefore, we explored the temporal consistency and inter-relatedness of two behaviours influenced by inhibitory control (impulsive action and persistence) and how these link to social rank, foraging efficiency, and risk taking in adult female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). We measured impulsive action in a detour test, and persistence in both a detour test and a foraging test. Impulsive action and persistence, measured in a detour test, were moderately consistent over time, and positively correlated. This implies that selection could act on inhibitory control via these behaviours, and selection on one behaviour could affect the other. However, we found no evidence of links between inhibitory control and social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking. This implies that selection may not act on inhibitory control via these measures, and that, in general, there may be a lack of strong selection on inhibitory control. This, in turn, could help explain individual variation in this aspect of cognition. Future research should explore the specificity of when inhibitory control has implications for individuals, and continue to investigate how variation in cognitive traits influences how individuals behave in contexts with potential evolutionary implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Clare Garnham
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.
| | - Robert Boddington
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Hanne Løvlie
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden
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9
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Bold and bright: shy and supple? The effect of habitat type on personality-cognition covariance in the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii). Anim Cogn 2022; 25:745-767. [PMID: 35037121 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01587-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Animals exhibit considerable and consistent among-individual variation in cognitive abilities, even within a population. Recent studies have attempted to address this variation using insights from the field of animal personality. Generally, it is predicted that animals with "faster" personalities (bolder, explorative, and neophilic) should exhibit faster but less flexible learning. However, the empirical evidence for a link between cognitive style and personality is mixed. One possible reason for such conflicting results may be that personality-cognition covariance changes along ecological conditions, a hypothesis that has rarely been investigated so far. In this study, we tested the effect of habitat complexity on multiple aspects of animal personality and cognition, and how this influenced their relationship, in five populations of the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii). Overall, lizards from both habitat types did not differ in average levels of personality or cognition, with the exception that lizards from more complex habitats performed better on a spatial learning task. Nevertheless, we found an intricate interplay between ecology, cognition, and personality, as behavioral associations were often habitat- but also year-dependent. In general, behavioral covariance was either independent of habitat, or found exclusively in the simple, open environments. Our results highlight that valuable insights may be gained by taking ecological variation into account while studying the link between personality and cognition.
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11
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12
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Beltrão P, Marques CI, Cardoso GC, Gomes ACR. Plumage colour saturation predicts long-term, cross-seasonal social dominance in a mutually ornamented bird. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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13
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Coomes JR, Davidson GL, Reichert MS, Kulahci IG, Troisi CA, Quinn JL. Inhibitory control, exploration behaviour and manipulated ecological context are associated with foraging flexibility in the great tit. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:320-333. [PMID: 34693529 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Organisms are constantly under selection to respond effectively to diverse, sometimes rapid, changes in their environment, but not all individuals are equally plastic in their behaviour. Although cognitive processes and personality are expected to influence individual behavioural plasticity, the effects reported are highly inconsistent, which we hypothesise is because ecological context is usually not considered. We explored how one type of behavioural plasticity, foraging flexibility, was associated with inhibitory control (assayed using a detour-reaching task) and exploration behaviour in a novel environment (a trait closely linked to the fast-slow personality axis). We investigated how these effects varied across two experimentally manipulated ecological contexts-food value and predation risk. In the first phase of the experiment, we trained great tits Parus major to retrieve high value (preferred) food that was hidden in sand so that this became the familiar food source. In the second phase, we offered them the same familiar hidden food at the same time as a new alternative option that was visible on the surface, which was either high or low value, and under either high or low perceived predation risk. Foraging flexibility was defined as the proportion of choices made during 4-min trials that were for the new alternative food source. Our assays captured consistent differences among individuals in foraging flexibility. Inhibitory control was associated with foraging flexibility-birds with high inhibitory control were more flexible when the alternative food was of high value, suggesting they inhibited the urge to select the familiar food and instead selected the new food option. Exploration behaviour also predicted flexibility-fast explorers were more flexible, supporting the information-gathering hypothesis. This tendency was especially strong under high predation risk, suggesting risk aversion also influenced the observed flexibility because fast explorers are risk prone and the new unfamiliar food was perceived to be the risky option. Thus, both behaviours predicted flexibility, and these links were at least partly dependent on ecological conditions. Our results demonstrate that an executive cognitive function (inhibitory control) and a behavioural assay of a well-known personality axis are both associated with individual variation in the plasticity of a key functional behaviour. That their effects on foraging flexibility were primarily observed as interactions with food value or predation risk treatments also suggest that the population-level consequences of some behavioural mechanisms may only be revealed across key ecological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny R Coomes
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Gabrielle L Davidson
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael S Reichert
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Ipek G Kulahci
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Galvin Life Science Centre, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Camille A Troisi
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - John L Quinn
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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Wascher CAF, Allen K, Szipl G. Learning and motor inhibitory control in crows and domestic chickens. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210504. [PMID: 34703616 PMCID: PMC8527213 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive abilities allow animals to navigate through complex, fluctuating environments. In the present study, we tested the performance of a captive group of eight crows, Corvus corone and 10 domestic chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus, in the cylinder task, as a test of motor inhibitory control and reversal learning as a measure of learning ability and behavioural flexibility. Four crows and nine chickens completed the cylinder task, eight crows and six chickens completed the reversal learning experiment. Crows performed better in the cylinder task compared with chickens. In the reversal learning experiment, species did not significantly differ in the number of trials until the learning criterion was reached. The performance in the reversal learning experiment did not correlate with performance in the cylinder task in chickens. Our results suggest crows to possess better motor inhibitory control compared with chickens. By contrast, learning performance in a reversal learning task did not differ between the species, indicating similar levels of behavioural flexibility. Interestingly, we describe notable individual differences in performance. We stress the importance not only to compare cognitive performance between species but also between individuals of the same species when investigating the evolution of cognitive skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A. F. Wascher
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
| | - Katie Allen
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
| | - Georgine Szipl
- Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Core facility, University of Vienna, Gruenau, Austria
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15
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Savaşçı BB, Lucon-Xiccato T, Bisazza A. Ontogeny and personality affect inhibitory control in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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16
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European breeding phenology of the invasive common waxbill, a sub-Saharan opportunistic breeder. Acta Ethol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-021-00376-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Raoult CMC, Osthaus B, Hildebrand ACG, McElligott AG, Nawroth C. Goats show higher behavioural flexibility than sheep in a spatial detour task. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201627. [PMID: 33959332 PMCID: PMC8074883 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability to adapt to changing environments is crucial for survival and has evolved based on socio-ecological factors. Goats and sheep are closely related, with similar social structures, body sizes and domestication levels, but different feeding ecologies, i.e. goats are browsers and sheep are grazers. We investigated whether goats' reliance on more patchily distributed food sources predicted an increased behavioural flexibility compared to sheep. We tested 21 goats and 28 sheep in a spatial A-not-B detour task. Subjects had to navigate around a straight barrier through a gap at its edge. After one, two, three or four of these initial A trials, the gap was moved to the opposite end and subjects performed four B trials. Behaviourally more flexible individuals should move through the new gap faster, while those less behaviourally flexible should show greater perseveration. While both species showed an accuracy reduction following the change of the gap position, goats recovered from this perseveration error from the second B trial onwards, whereas sheep did so only in the fourth B trial, indicating differences in behavioural flexibility between the species. This higher degree of flexibility in goats compared to sheep could be linked to differences in their foraging strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. M. C. Raoult
- Animal Husbandry and Animal Ecology, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
- Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, FSVO, Agroscope Tänikon, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland
| | - B. Osthaus
- School of Psychology and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury CT1 1QU, UK
| | - A. C. G. Hildebrand
- Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - A. G. McElligott
- Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - C. Nawroth
- Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany
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Long-term effects of prenatal sound experience on songbird behavior and their relation to song learning. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02939-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Montalbano G, Dadda M, Bertolucci C. Lateralization correlates with individual differences in inhibitory control in zebrafish. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200296. [PMID: 32750269 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual fitness often depends on the ability to inhibit behaviours not adapted to a given situation. However, inhibitory control can vary greatly between individuals of the same species. We investigated a mechanism that might maintain this variability in zebrafish (Danio rerio). We demonstrate that inhibitory control correlates with cerebral lateralization, the tendency to process information with one brain hemisphere or the other. Individuals that preferentially observed a social stimulus with the right eye and thus processed social information with the left brain hemisphere, inhibited foraging behaviour more efficiently. Therefore, selective pressures that maintain lateralization variability in populations might provide indirect selection for variability in inhibitory control. Our study suggests that individual cognitive differences may result from complex multi-trait selection mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Montalbano
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
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Gomes ACR, Boogert NJ, Cardoso GC. Network structure and the optimization of proximity‐based association criteria. Methods Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Cristina R. Gomes
- CIBIO/InBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal
| | - Neeltje J. Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Cornwall UK
| | - Gonçalo C. Cardoso
- CIBIO/InBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
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Silva PA, Trigo S, Marques CI, Cardoso GC, Soares MC. Experimental evidence for a role of dopamine in avian personality traits. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb216499. [PMID: 31953366 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.216499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing interest in the genetic and physiological bases of behavioural differences among individuals, namely animal personality. One particular dopamine (DA) receptor gene (the dopamine receptor D4 gene) has been used as candidate gene to explain personality differences, but with mixed results. Here, we used an alternative approach, exogenously manipulating the dopaminergic system and testing for effects on personality assays in a social bird species, the common waxbill (Estrilda astrild). We treated birds with agonists and antagonists for DA receptors of both D1 and D2 receptor pathways (the latter includes the D4 receptor) and found that short-term manipulation of DA signalling had an immediate effect on personality-related behaviours. In an assay of social responses (mirror test), manipulation of D2 receptor pathways reduced time spent looking at the social stimulus (mirror image). Blocking D2 receptors reduced motor activity in this social assay, while treatment with a D2 receptor agonist augmented activity in this social assay but reduced activity in a non-social behavioural assay. Also, in the non-social assay, treatment with the D1 receptor antagonist markedly increased time spent at the feeder. These results show distinct and context-specific effects of the dopaminergic pathways on waxbill personality traits. Our results also suggest that experimental manipulation of DA signalling can disrupt a behavioural correlation (more active individuals being less attentive to mirror image) that is habitually observed as part of a behavioural syndrome in waxbills. We discuss our results in the context of animal personality, and the role of the DA system in reward and social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo A Silva
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Sandra Trigo
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Cristiana I Marques
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo C Cardoso
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Marta C Soares
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal
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