1
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Lucon-Xiccato T, De Russi G, Frigato E, Dadda M, Bertolucci C. One-trial odour recognition learning and its underlying brain areas in the zebrafish. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114949. [PMID: 38479474 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Distinguishing familiar from novel stimuli is critical in many animals' activities, and procedures based on this ability are among the most exploited in translational research in rodents. However, recognition learning and the underlying brain substrates remain unclear outside a few mammalian species. Here, we investigated one-trial recognition learning for olfactory stimuli in a teleost fish using a behavioural and molecular approach. With our behavioural analysis, we found that zebrafish can learn to recognise a novel odour after a single encounter and then, discriminate between this odour and a different one provided that the molecular structure of the cues is relatively differentiated. Subsequently, by expression analysis of immediate early genes in the main brain areas, we found that the telencephalon was activated when zebrafish encountered a familiar odour, whereas the hypothalamus and the optic tectum were activated in response to the novel odour. Overall, this study provided evidence of single-trial spontaneous learning of novel odours in a teleost fish and the presence of multiple neural substrates involved in the process. These findings are promising for the development of zebrafish models to investigate cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Gaia De Russi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elena Frigato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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2
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Blane JC, Holland RA. The effect of observing trained conspecifics on the performance and motivation of goldfish, Carassius auratus, in a spatial task. Behav Processes 2024; 217:105021. [PMID: 38493969 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Spatial and social cognition are two aspects of fish behaviour that have been subject to an increasing amount of research in recent years, but few have investigated potential behaviour overlaps. Testing the ability for an individual to socially learn a spatial task would bridge this gap in understanding. We provided naïve goldfish, Carassius auratus, the opportunity to observe a trained conspecific navigate a T-shaped maze, and then recorded how many trials it took for them to learn the maze, time taken per trial, motivation, and acceptance of the food reward. We also recorded how many trials it took a control group to learn the maze without the opportunity to observe a demonstrator. The observer group took significantly longer to learn the maze than the control group. Although the observer group were significantly less motivated (trials without a choice made), they were significantly more likely to accept the food reward. The social learning of reward acceptance was taking place, but the process of the demonstration disrupted the training of the spatial task, with possible explanations as the passenger effect and trade-off mechanism being discussed. Future studies are needed to determine whether goldfish can acquire spatial information socially; however, this study contributes to the feasibility of studying social learning of environmentally information in goldfish.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Blane
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
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3
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Lucon-Xiccato T. Inhibitory control in teleost fish: a methodological and conceptual review. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:27. [PMID: 38530456 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01867-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Inhibitory control (IC) plays a central role in behaviour control allowing an individual to resist external lures and internal predispositions. While IC has been consistently investigated in humans, other mammals, and birds, research has only recently begun to explore IC in other vertebrates. This review examines current literature on teleost fish, focusing on both methodological and conceptual aspects. I describe the main paradigms adopted to study IC in fish, identifying well-established tasks that fit various research applications and highlighting their advantages and limitations. In the conceptual analysis, I identify two well-developed lines of research with fish examining IC. The first line focuses on a comparative approach aimed to describe IC at the level of species and to understand the evolution of interspecific differences in relation to ecological specialisation, brain size, and factors affecting cognitive performance. Findings suggest several similarities between fish and previously studied vertebrates. The second line of research focuses on intraspecific variability of IC. Available results indicate substantial variation in fish IC related to sex, personality, genetic, age, and phenotypic plasticity, aligning with what is observed with other vertebrates. Overall, this review suggests that although data on teleosts are still scarce compared to mammals, the contribution of this group to IC research is already substantial and can further increase in various disciplines including comparative psychology, cognitive ecology, and neurosciences, and even in applied fields such as psychiatry research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
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4
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Jones NAR, Cortese D, Munson A, Spence‐Jones HC, Storm Z, Killen SS, Bethel R, Deacon AE, Webster MM, Závorka L. Maze design: size and number of choices impact fish performance in cognitive assays. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2023; 103:974-984. [PMID: 37386747 PMCID: PMC10952265 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Although studies on fish cognition are increasing, consideration of how methodological details influence the ability to detect and measure performance is lagging. Here, in two separate experiments the authors compared latency to leave the start position, latency to make a decision, levels of participation and success rates (whether fish entered the rewarded chamber as first choice) across different physical designs. Experiments compared fish performance across (a) two sizes of T-mazes, large and standard, and a plus-maze, and (b) open choice arenas with either two or four doors. Fish in T-mazes with longer arms took longer to leave the start chamber and were less likely to participate in a trial than fish in T-mazes with shorter arms. The number of options, or complexity, in a maze significantly impacted success but did not necessarily impact behavioural measures, and did not impact the number of fish that reached a chamber. Fish in the plus-maze had similar latencies to leave the start box and time to reach any chamber as fish in the same-sized T-maze but exhibited lower overall success. Similarly, in an open choice arena, increasing the number of options - doors to potential reward chambers - resulted in lower probability of success. There was an influence of reward position in the choice arena, with rewarded chambers closest to the sides of the arena resulting in lower latencies to enter and higher probability of decision success. Together the results allow the authors to offer practical suggestions towards optimal maze design for studies of fish cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick A. R. Jones
- Department of Animal PhysiologyUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUK
| | - Daphne Cortese
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Amelia Munson
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Helen C. Spence‐Jones
- Alfred‐Wegener‐Institut Helmholtz‐Zentrum für Polar‐ und Meeresforschung, Wadden Sea Station SyltListGermany
| | - Zoe Storm
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Shaun S. Killen
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Ruth Bethel
- Department of Life SciencesThe University of the West IndiesSt AugustineTrinidad and Tobago
| | - Amy E. Deacon
- Department of Life SciencesThe University of the West IndiesSt AugustineTrinidad and Tobago
| | - Mike M. Webster
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUK
| | - Libor Závorka
- WasserCluster Lunz – Biologische Station, Inter‐university Centre for Aquatic Ecosystem ResearchLunz am SeeAustria
- Danube University KremsKremsAustria
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5
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Wascher CAF. Cognition: Crows are natural statisticians. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R808-R810. [PMID: 37552946 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
A new study shows that carrion crows use memorized reward associations in a combinatorial way to apply relative probabilistic information to optimize reward outcome. This for the first time shows that a corvid species can flexibly apply statistical inference during decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A F Wascher
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK.
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6
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Triki Z, Fong S, Amcoff M, Vàsquez-Nilsson S, Kolm N. Experimental expansion of relative telencephalon size improves the main executive function abilities in guppy. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad129. [PMID: 37346268 PMCID: PMC10281379 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Executive functions are a set of cognitive control processes required for optimizing goal-directed behavior. Despite more than two centuries of research on executive functions, mostly in humans and nonhuman primates, there is still a knowledge gap in what constitutes the mechanistic basis of evolutionary variation in executive function abilities. Here, we show experimentally that size changes in a forebrain structure (i.e. telencephalon) underlie individual variation in executive function capacities in a fish. For this, we used male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) issued from artificial selection lines with substantial differences in telencephalon size relative to the rest of the brain. We tested fish from the up- and down-selected lines not only in three tasks for the main core executive functions: cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory, but also in a basic conditioning test that does not require executive functions. Individuals with relatively larger telencephalons outperformed individuals with smaller telencephalons in all three executive function assays but not in the conditioning assay. Based on our findings, we propose that the telencephalon is the executive brain in teleost fish. Together, it suggests that selective enlargement of key brain structures with distinct functions, like the fish telencephalon, is a potent evolutionary pathway toward evolutionary enhancement of advanced cognitive abilities in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stephanie Fong
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18 B, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
| | - Mirjam Amcoff
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18 B, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
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7
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Dhein K. The cognitive map debate in insects: A historical perspective on what is at stake. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 2023; 98:62-79. [PMID: 36863222 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Though well established in mammals, the cognitive map hypothesis has engendered a decades-long, ongoing debate in insect navigation studies involving many of the field's most prominent researchers. In this paper, I situate the debate within the broader context of 20th century animal behavior research and argue that the debate persists because competing research groups are guided by different constellations of epistemic aims, theoretical commitments, preferred animal subjects, and investigative practices. The expanded history of the cognitive map provided in this paper shows that more is at stake in the cognitive map debate than the truth value of propositions characterizing insect cognition. What is at stake is the future direction of an extraordinarily productive tradition of insect navigation research stretching back to Karl von Frisch. Disciplinary labels like ethology, comparative psychology, and behaviorism became less relevant at the turn of the 21st century, but as I show, the different ways of knowing animals associated with these disciplines continue to motivate debates about animal cognition. This examination of scientific disagreement surrounding the cognitive map hypothesis also has significant consequences for philosophers' use of cognitive map research as a case study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelle Dhein
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA.
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8
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Sogawa S, Fukushima R, Sowersby W, Awata S, Kawasaka K, Kohda M. Male Guppies Recognize Familiar Conspecific Males by Their Face. Zoolog Sci 2023; 40:168-174. [PMID: 37042696 DOI: 10.2108/zs220088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Individual recognition is a necessary cognitive ability for the maintenance of stable social relationships. Recent studies have shown that like primates, some fish species can distinguish familiar fish from unfamiliar strangers via face-recognition. However, the taxa of the studied fish species are restricted (within Perciformes) and the visual signal used for the recognition of fish remains unclear. Here, we investigated the visual signal for individual-recognition in males of a sexually dichromatic guppy (Poecilia reticulata, Cyprinodontiformes). Using guppy males, we examined the hypothesis that fish distinguish between familiar individuals and unknown strangers by their faces rather than by body coloration. We randomly presented focal fish with four types of composite photo-models: familiar (familiar-face and familiar-body = F/F), stranger (stranger-face and stranger-body = S/S), familiar face combined with stranger body (F/S) and stranger face combined with familiar body (S/F). Focal males infrequently attacked familiar-face models but frequently attacked stranger-face models, regardless of body types. These behavioral reactions indicate that guppy males discriminate between familiar and stranger males by their face, not body coloration with wide variation. Importantly, male faces contain clear individual-variation in white/metallic colored patches on the operculum visible for humans. Considering the photo-model, our results suggest that these patches might be an important visual stimulus for face-recognition in guppy males, like some cichlids. Comparative examination among males of different guppy variants, including wild type phenotype, suggests that the face color-patch is stable regardless of variation in body color, with a different genetic mechanism potentially underlying face and body colors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumpei Sogawa
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Rio Fukushima
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Will Sowersby
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Awata
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kento Kawasaka
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Masanori Kohda
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan,
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
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9
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Machnik P, Biazar N, Schuster S. Recordings in an integrating central neuron reveal the mode of action of isoeugenol. Commun Biol 2023; 6:309. [PMID: 36959338 PMCID: PMC10036640 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04695-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Although isoeugenol is one of the most widely used anesthetics in fish, its actual mode of action and thus its applicability for particular interventions is poorly understood. Here we determined effects of isoeugenol on various aspects of sensory and neural function, taking advantage of intracellular in vivo recordings in a uniquely suited identified neuron, the Mauthner neuron in the brain of goldfish. We show that isoeugenol strongly affects hearing and vision, but sensitivity and time course of action differed largely in these two senses. The action potential, chemical and electric synaptic transmission at the central neuron were not affected at low but efficient anesthesia. Effects seen at high concentration thereby do not support current views of how isoeugenol might act on central neurons. We show that isoeugenol is highly useful to anesthetize fish for handling, but that in more severe treatment its application needs to be carefully adapted to task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Machnik
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, (Universitätsstraße 30, D-95440 Bayreuth), Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Nastaran Biazar
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, (Universitätsstraße 30, D-95440 Bayreuth), Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stefan Schuster
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, (Universitätsstraße 30, D-95440 Bayreuth), Bayreuth, Germany
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10
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Heuristics Facilitates the Evolution of Transitive Inference and Social Hierarchy in a Large Group. Acta Biotheor 2023; 71:8. [PMID: 36867273 PMCID: PMC9984311 DOI: 10.1007/s10441-023-09459-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Transitive inference (TI) refers to social cognition that facilitates the discernment of unknown relationships between individuals using known relationships. It is extensively reported that TI evolves in animals living in a large group because TI could assess relative rank without deducing all dyadic relationships, which averts costly fights. The relationships in a large group become so complex that social cognition may not be developed adequately to handle such complexity. If members apply TI to all possible members in the group, TI requires extremely highly developed cognitive abilities especially in a large group. Instead of developing cognitive abilities significantly, animals may apply simplified TI we call reference TI in this study as heuristic approaches. The reference TI allows members to recognize and remember social interactions only among a set of reference members rather than all potential members. Our study assumes that information processes in the reference TI comprises (1) the number of reference members based on which individuals infer transitively, (2) the number of reference members shared by the same strategists, and (3) memory capacity. We examined how information processes evolve in a large group using evolutionary simulations in the hawk-dove game. Information processes with almost any numbers of reference members could evolve in a large group as long as the numbers of shared reference member are high because information from the others' experiences is shared. TI dominates immediate inference, which assesses relative rank on direct interactions, because TI could establish social hierarchy more rapidly applying information from others' experiences.
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11
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Montalbano G, Gatto E, Frigato E, D'Aniello S, Bertolucci C. Individual differences and knockout in zebrafish reveal similar cognitive effects of BDNF between teleosts and mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20222036. [PMID: 36541170 PMCID: PMC9768640 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The remarkable similarities in cognitive performance between teleosts and mammals suggest that the underlying cognitive mechanisms might also be similar in these two groups. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the effects of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is critical for mammalian cognitive functioning, on fish's cognitive abilities. We found that individual differences in zebrafish's learning abilities were positively correlated with bdnf expression. Moreover, a CRISPR/Cas9 mutant zebrafish line that lacks the BDNF gene (bdnf-/-) showed remarkable learning deficits. Half of the mutants failed a colour discrimination task, whereas the remaining mutants learned the task slowly, taking three times longer than control bdnf+/+ zebrafish. The mutants also took twice as long to acquire a T-maze task compared to control zebrafish and showed difficulties exerting inhibitory control. An analysis of habituation learning revealed that cognitive impairment in mutants emerges early during development, but could be rescued with a synthetic BDNF agonist. Overall, our study indicates that BDNF has a similar activational effect on cognitive performance in zebrafish and in mammals, supporting the idea that its function is conserved in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Montalbano
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elia Gatto
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elena Frigato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Salvatore D'Aniello
- Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
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12
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Torgerson-White L, Sánchez-Suárez W. Looking beyond the Shoal: Fish Welfare as an Individual Attribute. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12192592. [PMID: 36230333 PMCID: PMC9559274 DOI: 10.3390/ani12192592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The fish farming industry is characterized by settings where large numbers of fishes are raised together at high stocking densities, effectively obliterating the individual. Given that animal welfare is an individual attribute that refers to how an animal experiences her world, it follows that ensuring good welfare for the different individuals is difficult in fish farms. In this paper we review evidence supporting the notion that fishes are individuals and fish welfare should thus also be considered at the individual level, examine the ways that animal welfare is assessed in fish farms, evaluate these practices in light of individualized terrestrial animal welfare assessment methods, and make recommendations regarding research that could lead to a better understanding of how to provide each individual fish with good welfare in captivity. Abstract Welfare is an individual attribute. In general, providing captive nonhuman animals with conditions conducive to good welfare is an idea more easily applied when dealing with few individuals. However, this becomes much harder—if not impossible—under farming conditions that may imply high numbers of animals living in large group sizes. Although this is a problem inherent to intensive animal farming, it is possibly best exemplified in fish farming, for these practices often rely on extremely high numbers. In this paper we review evidence supporting the notion that fishes are individuals and fish welfare should thus also be considered at the individual level, examine the current state of welfare assessment in the aquaculture industry, evaluate these practices in light of individualized terrestrial animal welfare assessment methods, and make recommendations regarding research that could lead to a better understanding of how to provide each individual fish with good welfare in captivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Torgerson-White
- Department of Research, Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, NY 14891, USA
- Correspondence: (L.T.-W.); (W.S.-S.); Tel.: +1-248-835-4770 (L.T.-W.)
| | - Walter Sánchez-Suárez
- Department of Research, Mercy For Animals, Los Angeles, CA 90046, USA
- Correspondence: (L.T.-W.); (W.S.-S.); Tel.: +1-248-835-4770 (L.T.-W.)
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13
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Giraldo Herrera CE. Gutting fishy empathies off the Shetland Islands, Scotland. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1467-9655.13821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Montalbano G, Frigato E, Loosli F, Foulkes NS, Bertolucci C. Medaka as a model for seasonal plasticity: Photoperiod-mediated changes in behaviour, cognition, and hormones. Horm Behav 2022; 145:105244. [PMID: 35988451 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Teleosts display the highest level of brain plasticity of all vertebrates. Yet we still know little about how seasonality affects fish behaviour and the underlying cognitive mechanisms since the common neurobehavioral fish models are native to tropical environments where seasonal variation is absent or reduced. The medaka, Oryzias latipes, which inhabits temperate zone habitats, represents a promising model in this context given its large phenotypic changes associated with seasonality and the possibility to induce seasonal plasticity by only manipulating photoperiod. Here, we report the first extended investigation of seasonal plasticity in medaka behaviour and cognition, as well as the potential underlying molecular mechanisms. We compared medaka exposed to summer photoperiod (16 h light:8 h dark) with medaka exposed to winter photoperiod (8 h light:16 h dark), and detected substantial differences. Medaka were more active and less social in summer photoperiod conditions, two effects that emerged in the second half of an open-field and a sociability test, respectively, and might be at least in part related to habituation to the testing apparatus. Moreover, the cognitive phenotype was significantly affected: in the early response to a social stimulus, brain functional lateralisation shifted between the two hemispheres under the two photoperiod conditions, and inhibitory and discrimination learning performance were reduced in summer conditions. Finally, the expression of genes encoding key pituitary hormones, tshß and gh, and of the tshß regulatory transcription factor tef in the brain was increased in summer photoperiod conditions. This work reveals remarkable behavioural and cognitive phenotypic plasticity in response to photoperiod in medaka, and suggests a potential regulatory role for the same hormones involved in seasonal plasticity of other vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Montalbano
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elena Frigato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Felix Loosli
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Nicholas S Foulkes
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
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15
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Cardona E, Brunet V, Baranek E, Milhade L, Skiba-Cassy S, Bobe J, Calandreau L, Roy J, Colson V. Physical Enrichment Triggers Brain Plasticity and Influences Blood Plasma Circulating miRNA in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11081093. [PMID: 35892949 PMCID: PMC9394377 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Overall, this study has reported that environmental enrichment significantly displayed a series of differentially expressed genes and pathways related to cerebral activity, neural plasticity (neurotrophic markers), neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis, essentially in telencephalon, which may underpin the beneficial effects of a complex environment on rainbow trout’s adaptive behaviors. In addition, environmental enrichment significantly influenced circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) profiles of plasma in rainbow trout, which reveals the high potential of c-miRNAs, as physiologically relevant biomarker candidates of fish behavioral plasticity. Abstract Physical enrichment is known to improve living conditions of fish held in farming systems and has been shown to promote behavioral plasticity in captive fish. However, the brain’s regulatory-mechanism systems underlying its behavioral effects remain poorly studied. The present study investigated the impact of a three-month exposure to an enriched environment (EE vs. barren environment, BE) on the modulation of brain function in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) juveniles. Using high-throughput RT-qPCR, we assessed mRNA genes related to brain function in several areas of the trout brain. These included markers of cerebral activity and plasticity, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, or selected neurotransmitters pathways (dopamine, glutamate, GABA, and serotonin). Overall, the fish from EE displayed a series of differentially expressed genes (neurotrophic, neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis markers) essentially localized in the telencephalon, which could underpin the beneficial effects of complexifying the environment on fish brain plasticity. In addition, EE significantly affected blood plasma c-miRNA signatures, as revealed by the upregulation of four c-miRNAs (miR-200b/c-3p, miR-203a-3p, miR-205-1a-5p, miR-218a-5p) in fish blood plasma after 185 days of EE exposure. Overall, we concluded that complexifying the environment through the addition of physical structures that stimulate and encourage fish to explore promotes the trout’s brain function in farming conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Cardona
- INRAE, INRAE, Université de Pau & Pays Adour, NUMEA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (E.C.); (E.B.); (S.S.-C.)
| | | | - Elodie Baranek
- INRAE, INRAE, Université de Pau & Pays Adour, NUMEA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (E.C.); (E.B.); (S.S.-C.)
| | - Léo Milhade
- IRISA, INRIA, CNRS, Université de Rennes 1, 35000 Rennes, France;
| | - Sandrine Skiba-Cassy
- INRAE, INRAE, Université de Pau & Pays Adour, NUMEA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (E.C.); (E.B.); (S.S.-C.)
| | - Julien Bobe
- INRAE, LPGP, 35000 Rennes, France; (V.B.); (J.B.)
| | | | - Jérôme Roy
- INRAE, INRAE, Université de Pau & Pays Adour, NUMEA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (E.C.); (E.B.); (S.S.-C.)
- Correspondence: (J.R.); (V.C.)
| | - Violaine Colson
- INRAE, LPGP, 35000 Rennes, France; (V.B.); (J.B.)
- Correspondence: (J.R.); (V.C.)
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16
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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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17
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Bisazza A, Santacà M. Zebrafish excel in number discrimination under an operant conditioning paradigm. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:917-933. [PMID: 35179665 PMCID: PMC9334370 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01602-y] [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: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Numerical discrimination is widespread in vertebrates, but this capacity varies enormously between the different species examined. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), the only teleost examined following procedures that allow a comparison with the other vertebrates, outperforms amphibians, reptiles and many warm-blooded vertebrates, but it is unclear whether this is a feature shared with the other teleosts or represents a peculiarity of this species. We trained zebrafish (Danio rerio) to discriminate between numbers differing by one unit, varying task difficulty from 2 versus 3 to 5 versus 6 items. Non-numerical variables that covary with number, such as density or area, did not affect performance. Most fish reached learning criterion on all tasks up to 4 versus 5 discrimination with no sex difference in accuracy. Although no individual reached learning criterion in the 5 versus 6 task, performance was significant at the group level, suggesting that this may represent the discrimination threshold for zebrafish. Numerosity discrimination abilities of zebrafish compare to those of guppy, being higher than in some warm-blooded vertebrates, such as dogs, horses and domestic fowl, though lower than in parrots, corvids and primates. Learning rate was similar in a control group trained to discriminate between different-sized shapes, but zebrafish were slightly more accurate when discriminating areas than numbers and males were more accurate than females. At the end of the experiment, fish trained on numbers and controls trained on areas generalized to the reciprocal set of stimuli, indicating they had used a relational strategy to solve these tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo Bisazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Maria Santacà
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Viale Giuseppe Colombo 3-Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, 35131, Padua, Italy.
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18
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Kohda M, Sogawa S, Jordan AL, Kubo N, Awata S, Satoh S, Kobayashi T, Fujita A, Bshary R. Further evidence for the capacity of mirror self-recognition in cleaner fish and the significance of ecologically relevant marks. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001529. [PMID: 35176032 PMCID: PMC8853551 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
An animal that tries to remove a mark from its body that is only visible when looking into a mirror displays the capacity for mirror self-recognition (MSR), which has been interpreted as evidence for self-awareness. Conservative interpretations of existing data conclude that convincing evidence for MSR is currently restricted to great apes. Here, we address proposed shortcomings of a previous study on MSR in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus, by varying preexposure to mirrors and by marking individuals with different colors. We found that (1) 14/14 new individuals scraped their throat when a brown mark had been provisioned, but only in the presence of a mirror; (2) blue and green color marks did not elicit scraping; (3) intentionally injecting the mark deeper beneath the skin reliably elicited spontaneous scraping in the absence of a mirror; (4) mirror-naive individuals injected with a brown mark scraped their throat with lower probability and/or lower frequency compared to mirror-experienced individuals; (5) in contrast to the mirror images, seeing another fish with the same marking did not induce throat scraping; and (6) moving the mirror to another location did not elicit renewed aggression in mirror-experienced individuals. Taken together, these results increase our confidence that cleaner fish indeed pass the mark test, although only if it is presented in ecologically relevant contexts. Therefore, we reiterate the conclusion of the previous study that either self-awareness in animals or the validity of the mirror test needs to be revised. When animal tries to remove a mark from its body that is only visible when looking into a mirror (the "mark test"), it displays the capacity for mirror self-recognition, often interpreted as evidence for self-awareness. This follow-up to a previous PLOS Biology study increases confidence that cleaner fish indeed pass the mark test, but only if it is presented in ecologically relevant contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masanori Kohda
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Shumpei Sogawa
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Alex L. Jordan
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Naoki Kubo
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Awata
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shun Satoh
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Taiga Kobayashi
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akane Fujita
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Institute of Zoology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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19
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Abstract
We propose an expansion of neuroecological comparisons to include the capabilities of brainless and non-neural organisms. We begin this enterprise by conducting a systematic search for studies on learning in echinoderms. Echinodermata are marine invertebrates comprising starfish, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sea lilies. Animals in this phylum lack any centralized brain and instead possess diffuse neural networks known as nerve nets. The learning abilities of these animals are of particular interest as, within the bilaterian clade, they are close evolutionary neighbors to chordates, a phylum whose members exhibit complex feats in learning and contain highly specialized brains. The learning capacities and limitations of echinoderms can inform the evolution of nervous systems and learning in Bilateria. We find evidence of both non-associative and associative learning (in the form of classical conditioning) in echinoderms, which was primarily focused on starfish. Additional evidence of learning is documented in brittle stars, sand dollars, and sea urchins. We then discuss the evolutionary significance of learning capabilities without a brain, the presence of embodied cognition across multiple groups, and compare the learning present in echinoderms with the impressive cognitive abilities documented in the oldest linage group within vertebrates (the major group within the phylum of chordates), fish.
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20
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Santacà M, Dadda M, Miletto Petrazzini ME, Bisazza A. Stimulus characteristics, learning bias and visual discrimination in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Behav Processes 2021; 192:104499. [PMID: 34499984 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Zebrafish is an emerging model in the study of brain function; however, knowledge about its behaviour and cognition is incomplete. Previous studies suggest this species has limited ability in visual learning tasks compared to other teleosts. In this study, we systematically examined zebrafish's ability to learn to discriminate colour, shape, size, and orientation of figures using an appetitive conditioning paradigm. Contrary to earlier reports, the zebrafish successfully completed all tasks. Not all discriminations were learned with the same speed and accuracy. Subjects discriminated the size of objects better than their shape or colour. In all three tasks, they were faster and more accurate when required to discriminate between outlined figures than between filled figures. With stimuli consisting of outlines, the learning performance of zebrafish was comparable to that observed in higher vertebrates. Zebrafish easily learned a horizontal-vertical discrimination task, but like many other vertebrates, they had great difficulty discriminating a figure from its mirror image. Performance was more accurate for subjects reinforced on one stimulus (green over red, triangle over circle, large over small). Unexpectedly, these stimulus biases occurred only when zebrafish were tested with filled figures, suggesting some causal relationship between stimulus preference, learning bias and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Santacà
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Angelo Bisazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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21
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López-Olmeda JF, Zhao H, Reischl M, Pylatiuk C, Lucon-Xiccato T, Loosli F, Foulkes NS. Long photoperiod impairs learning in male but not female medaka. iScience 2021; 24:102784. [PMID: 34308290 PMCID: PMC8283132 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Day length in conjunction with seasonal cycles affects many aspects of animal biology. We have studied photoperiod-dependent alterations of complex behavior in the teleost, medaka (Oryzias latipes), a photoperiodic breeder, in a learning paradigm whereby fish have to activate a sensor to obtain a food reward. Medaka were tested under a long (14:10 LD) and short (10:14 LD) photoperiod in three different groups: mixed-sex, all-males, and all-females. Under long photoperiod, medaka mixed-sex groups learned rapidly with a stable response. Unexpectedly, males-only groups showed a strong learning deficit, whereas females-only groups performed efficiently. In mixed-sex groups, female individuals drove group learning, whereas males apparently prioritized mating over feeding behavior resulting in strongly reduced learning performance. Under short photoperiod, where medaka do not mate, male performance improved to a level similar to that of females. Thus, photoperiod has sex-specific effects on the learning performance of a seasonal vertebrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Fernando López-Olmeda
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Haiyu Zhao
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
- School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No.222 South Tianshui Road, 730000 Lanzhou, PR China
| | - Markus Reischl
- Institute for Applied Computer Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Christian Pylatiuk
- Institute for Applied Computer Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Felix Loosli
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Nicholas S. Foulkes
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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22
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Alibardi L. Regeneration in anamniotes was replaced by regengrow and scarring in amniotes after land colonization and the evolution of terrestrial biological cycles. Dev Dyn 2021; 251:1404-1413. [PMID: 33793005 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
An evolutionary hypothesis explaining failure of regeneration among vertebrates is presented. Regeneration derives from postembryonic processes present during the life cycles of fish and amphibians that include larval and metamorphic phases with broad organ reorganizations. Developmental programs imprinted in their genomes are re-utilized with variations also in adults for regeneration. When vertebrates colonized land adopting the amniotic egg, some genes driving larval changes, and metamorphosis were lost and new genes evolved, further limiting regeneration. These included neural inhibitors for maintaining complex nervous systems, behavior and various levels of intelligence, and adaptive immune cells. The latter, that in anamniotes are executioners of metamorphic reorganization, became intolerant to embryonic-oncofetal-antigens impeding organ regeneration, a process that requires de-differentiation of adult cells and/or expansion of stem cells where these early antigens are formed. The evolution of terrestrial lifecycles produced vertebrates with complex bodies but no longer capable to regenerate their organs, mainly repaired by regengrow. Efforts of regenerative medicine to improve healing in humans should determine the diverse developmental pathways evolved between anamniotes and amniotes before attempting genetic manipulations such as the introduction of "anamniote regenerative genes" in amniotes. This operation may determine alteration in amniote developmental programs leading to teratomes, cancer, or death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Alibardi
- Comparative Histolab Padova and Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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23
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Wallace KJ, Hofmann HA. Equal performance but distinct behaviors: sex differences in a novel object recognition task and spatial maze in a highly social cichlid fish. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:1057-1073. [PMID: 33718996 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01498-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences in behavior and cognition can be driven by differential selection pressures from the environment and in the underlying neuromolecular mechanisms of decision-making. The highly social cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni exhibits dynamic and complex social hierarchies, yet explicit cognitive testing (outside of social contexts) and investigations of sex differences in cognition have yet to be fully explored. Here we assessed male and female A. burtoni in two cognitive tasks: a novel object recognition task and a spatial task. We hypothesized that males outperform females in a spatial learning task and exhibit more neophilic/exploratory behavior across both tasks. In the present study we find that both sexes prefer the familiar object in a novel object recognition task, but the time at which they exhibit this preference differs between the sexes. Females more frequently learned the spatial task, exhibiting longer decision latencies and quicker error correction, suggesting a potential speed-accuracy tradeoff. Furthermore, the sexes differ in space use in both tasks and in a principal component analysis of the spatial task. A model selection analysis finds that preference, approach, and interaction duration in the novel object recognition task reach a threshold of importance averaged across all models. This work highlights the need to explicitly test for sex differences in cognition to better understand how individuals navigate dynamic social environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly J Wallace
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, 1 University Station C0990, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, 1 University Station C0990, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
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24
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Salena MG, Turko AJ, Singh A, Pathak A, Hughes E, Brown C, Balshine S. Understanding fish cognition: a review and appraisal of current practices. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:395-406. [PMID: 33595750 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01488-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
With over 30,000 recognized species, fishes exhibit an extraordinary variety of morphological, behavioural, and life-history traits. The field of fish cognition has grown markedly with numerous studies on fish spatial navigation, numeracy, learning, decision-making, and even theory of mind. However, most cognitive research on fishes takes place in a highly controlled laboratory environment and it can therefore be difficult to determine whether findings generalize to the ecology of wild fishes. Here, we summarize four prominent research areas in fish cognition, highlighting some of the recent advances and key findings. Next, we survey the literature, targeting these four areas, and quantify the nearly ubiquitous use of captive-bred individuals and a heavy reliance on lab-based research. We then discuss common practices that occur prior to experimentation and within experiments that could hinder our ability to make more general conclusions about fish cognition, and suggest possible solutions. By complementing ecologically relevant laboratory-based studies with in situ cognitive tests, we will gain further inroads toward unraveling how fishes learn and make decisions about food, mates, and territories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Andy J Turko
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Angad Singh
- Department of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Avani Pathak
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Emily Hughes
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Culum Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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25
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26
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Ramsaran V, Jackson B, Bucciol S, Puniani T, Lawrence M, Elvidge C. Predator kairomones elicit bold, exploratory behaviours in juvenile bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.11.012] [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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27
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Triki Z, Emery Y, Teles MC, Oliveira RF, Bshary R. Brain morphology predicts social intelligence in wild cleaner fish. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6423. [PMID: 33349638 PMCID: PMC7752907 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20130-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
It is generally agreed that variation in social and/or environmental complexity yields variation in selective pressures on brain anatomy, where more complex brains should yield increased intelligence. While these insights are based on many evolutionary studies, it remains unclear how ecology impacts brain plasticity and subsequently cognitive performance within a species. Here, we show that in wild cleaner fish (Labroides dimidiatus), forebrain size of high-performing individuals tested in an ephemeral reward task covaried positively with cleaner density, while cerebellum size covaried negatively with cleaner density. This unexpected relationship may be explained if we consider that performance in this task reflects the decision rules that individuals use in nature rather than learning abilities: cleaners with relatively larger forebrains used decision-rules that appeared to be locally optimal. Thus, social competence seems to be a suitable proxy of intelligence to understand individual differences under natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zegni Triki
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18 B, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Yasmin Emery
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Magda C Teles
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande, 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande, 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal
- ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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28
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Application of an abstract concept across magnitude dimensions by fish. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16935. [PMID: 33037309 PMCID: PMC7547013 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74037-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Mastering relational concepts and applying them to different contexts presupposes abstraction capacities and implies a high level of cognitive sophistication. One way to investigate extrapolative abilities is to assess cross-dimensional application of an abstract relational magnitude rule to new domains. Here we show that angelfish initially trained to choose either the shorter of two lines in a spatial task (line-length discrimination task) or the array with “fewer” items (numerical discrimination task) spontaneously transferred the learnt rule to novel stimuli belonging to the previously unseen dimension demonstrating knowledge of the abstract concept of “smaller”. Our finding challenges the idea that the ability to master abstract magnitude concepts across domains is unique to humans and suggests that the circuits involved in rule learning and magnitude processing might be evolutionary conserved.
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29
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Vinepinsky E, Cohen L, Perchik S, Ben-Shahar O, Donchin O, Segev R. Representation of edges, head direction, and swimming kinematics in the brain of freely-navigating fish. Sci Rep 2020; 10:14762. [PMID: 32901058 PMCID: PMC7479115 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71217-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Like most animals, the survival of fish depends on navigation in space. This capacity has been documented in behavioral studies that have revealed navigation strategies. However, little is known about how freely swimming fish represent space and locomotion in the brain to enable successful navigation. Using a wireless neural recording system, we measured the activity of single neurons in the goldfish lateral pallium, a brain region known to be involved in spatial memory and navigation, while the fish swam freely in a two-dimensional water tank. We found that cells in the lateral pallium of the goldfish encode the edges of the environment, the fish head direction, the fish swimming speed, and the fish swimming velocity-vector. This study sheds light on how information related to navigation is represented in the brain of fish and addresses the fundamental question of the neural basis of navigation in this group of vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehud Vinepinsky
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Lear Cohen
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Shay Perchik
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.,Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Ohad Ben-Shahar
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.,Department of Computer Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Opher Donchin
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Ronen Segev
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel. .,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.
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30
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Montalbano G, Bertolucci C, Lucon-Xiccato T. Measures of inhibitory control correlate between different tasks but do not predict problem-solving success in a fish, Poecilia reticulata. INTELLIGENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2020.101486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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31
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Schubiger MN, Fichtel C, Burkart JM. Validity of Cognitive Tests for Non-human Animals: Pitfalls and Prospects. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1835. [PMID: 32982822 PMCID: PMC7488350 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative psychology assesses cognitive abilities and capacities of non-human animals and humans. Based on performance differences and similarities in various species in cognitive tests, it is inferred how their minds work and reconstructed how cognition might have evolved. Critically, such species comparisons are only valid and meaningful if the tasks truly capture individual and inter-specific variation in cognitive abilities rather than contextual variables that might affect task performance. Unlike in human test psychology, however, cognitive tasks for non-human primates (and most other animals) have been rarely evaluated regarding their measurement validity. We review recent studies that address how non-cognitive factors affect performance in a set of commonly used cognitive tasks, and if cognitive tests truly measure individual variation in cognitive abilities. We find that individual differences in emotional and motivational factors primarily affect performance via attention. Hence, it is crucial to systematically control for attention during cognitive tasks to obtain valid and reliable results. Aspects of test design, however, can also have a substantial effect on cognitive performance. We conclude that non-cognitive factors are a minor source of measurement error if acknowledged and properly controlled for. It is essential, however, to validate and eventually re-design several primate cognition tasks in order to ascertain that they capture the cognitive abilities they were designed to measure. This will provide a more solid base for future cognitive comparisons within primates but also across a wider range of non-human animal species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michèle N. Schubiger
- Evolutionary Cognition Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- World Ape Fund, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus “Primate Cognition”, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Evolutionary Cognition Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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32
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Bräuer J, Hanus D, Pika S, Gray R, Uomini N. Old and New Approaches to Animal Cognition: There Is Not "One Cognition". J Intell 2020; 8:E28. [PMID: 32630788 PMCID: PMC7555673 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence8030028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Using the comparative approach, researchers draw inferences about the evolution of cognition. Psychologists have postulated several hypotheses to explain why certain species are cognitively more flexible than others, and these hypotheses assume that certain cognitive skills are linked together to create a generally "smart" species. However, empirical findings suggest that several animal species are highly specialized, showing exceptional skills in single cognitive domains while performing poorly in others. Although some cognitive skills may indeed overlap, we cannot a priori assume that they do across species. We argue that the term "cognition" has often been used by applying an anthropocentric viewpoint rather than a biocentric one. As a result, researchers tend to overrate cognitive skills that are human-like and assume that certain skills cluster together in other animals as they do in our own species. In this paper, we emphasize that specific physical and social environments create selection pressures that lead to the evolution of certain cognitive adaptations. Skills such as following the pointing gesture, tool-use, perspective-taking, or the ability to cooperate evolve independently from each other as a concrete result of specific selection pressures, and thus have appeared in distantly related species. Thus, there is not "one cognition". Our argument is founded upon traditional Darwinian thinking, which-although always at the forefront of biology-has sometimes been neglected in animal cognition research. In accordance with the biocentric approach, we advocate a broader empirical perspective as we are convinced that to better understand animal minds, comparative researchers should focus much more on questions and experiments that are ecologically valid. We should investigate nonhuman cognition for its own sake, not only in comparison to the human model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Bräuer
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Am Steiger 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel Hanus
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simone Pika
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Comparative BioCognition, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Russell Gray
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
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33
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Bisazza A, Bertolucci C. Guppies show sex and individual differences in the ability to inhibit behaviour. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:535-543. [PMID: 32034539 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01357-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In humans, individual and sex differences have been long reported for several cognitive tasks and are at least in part due to variability in the function that inhibits behaviour (i.e. inhibitory control). Similar evidence of individual and sex differences in inhibitory abilities is also present in other vertebrates, but is scarce outside primates. Experiments on reversal learning, which requires inhibiting behaviours, suggest that this variability may exist in a teleost fish, the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. We tested this hypothesis by observing guppies in an inhibitory task. Guppies were exposed to unreachable prey inside a transparent tube for six trials. Guppies showed a marked reduction in the number of attempts to catch the prey within the first trial and also over repeated trials. We found a striking sex difference in the capacity to inhibit foraging behaviour. Males attempted to attack the prey twice as often as females and showed negligible improvement over trials. Irrespective of sex, individuals remarkably differed in their performance, with some guppies being systematically more skilled than others across the repeated trials. These results confirm that individual and sex differences in the ability to inhibit behaviour are not restricted to humans and other primates, suggesting that they might be widespread among vertebrates. Variability in inhibitory ability provides an explanation for emerging records of variability in other cognitive tasks in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Angelo Bisazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
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34
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Kristiansen TS, Fernö A. The Predictive Brain: Perception Turned Upside Down. Anim Welf 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-41675-1_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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35
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van den Bos R. Awareness in Fish. Anim Welf 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-41675-1_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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36
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Mes D, Palstra AP, Henkel CV, Mayer I, Vindas MA. Swimming exercise enhances brain plasticity in fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:191640. [PMID: 32218982 PMCID: PMC7029906 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
It is well-established that sustained exercise training can enhance brain plasticity and boost cognitive performance in mammals, but this phenomenon has not received much attention in fish. The aim of this study was to determine whether sustained swimming exercise can enhance brain plasticity in juvenile Atlantic salmon. Brain plasticity was assessed by both mapping the whole telencephalon transcriptome and conducting telencephalic region-specific microdissections on target genes. We found that 1772 transcripts were differentially expressed between the exercise and control groups. Gene ontology (GO) analysis identified 195 and 272 GO categories with a significant overrepresentation of up- or downregulated transcripts, respectively. A multitude of these GO categories was associated with neuronal excitability, neuronal signalling, cell proliferation and neurite outgrowth (i.e. cognition-related neuronal markers). Additionally, we found an increase in proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna) after both three and eight weeks of exercise in the equivalent to the hippocampus in fish. Furthermore, the expression of the neural plasticity markers synaptotagmin (syt) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) were also increased due to exercise in the equivalent to the lateral septum in fish. In conclusion, this is the first time that swimming exercise has been directly linked to increased telencephalic neurogenesis and neural plasticity in a teleost, and our results pave the way for future studies on exercise-induced neuroplasticity in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daan Mes
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Arjan P. Palstra
- Wageningen University and Research Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christiaan V. Henkel
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ian Mayer
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marco A. Vindas
- Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
- Uni Environment, Uni Research AS, Bergen, Norway
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37
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Fellow travellers in cognitive evolution: Co-evolution of working memory and mental time travel? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 105:94-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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38
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Contextual fear learning and memory differ between stress coping styles in zebrafish. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9935. [PMID: 31289317 PMCID: PMC6617452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46319-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals frequently overcome stressors and the ability to learn and recall these salient experiences is essential to an individual’s survival. As part of an animal’s stress coping style, behavioral and physiological responses to stressors are often consistent across contexts and time. However, we are only beginning to understand how cognitive traits can be biased by different coping styles. Here we investigate learning and memory differences in zebrafish (Danio rerio) displaying proactive and reactive stress coping styles. We assessed learning rate and memory duration using an associative fear conditioning paradigm that trained zebrafish to associate a context with exposure to a natural olfactory alarm cue. Our results show that both proactive and reactive zebrafish learn and remember this fearful association. However, we note significant interaction effects between stress coping style and cognition. Zebrafish with the reactive stress coping style acquired the fear memory at a significantly faster rate than proactive fish. While both stress coping styles showed equal memory recall one day post-conditioning, reactive zebrafish showed significantly stronger recall of the conditioned context relative to proactive fish four days post-conditioning. Through understanding how stress coping strategies promote biases in processing salient information, we gain insight into mechanisms that can constrain adaptive behavioral responses.
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39
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Santacà M, Busatta M, Savaşçı BB, Lucon-Xiccato T, Bisazza A. The effect of experience and olfactory cue in an inhibitory control task in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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40
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Gatto E, Bisazza A. Male and female guppies differ in problem-solving abilities. Curr Zool 2019; 66:83-90. [PMID: 32467708 PMCID: PMC7245009 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoz017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In a number of species, males and females have different ecological roles and therefore might be required to solve different problems. Studies on humans have suggested that the 2 sexes often show different efficiencies in problem-solving tasks; similarly, evidence of sex differences has been found in 2 other mammalian species. Here, we assessed whether a teleost fish species, the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, displays sex differences in the ability to solve problems. In Experiment 1, guppies had to learn to dislodge a disc that occluded a feeder from which they had been previously accustomed to feed. In Experiment 2, guppies had to solve a version of the detour task that required them to learn to enter a transparent cylinder from the open sides to reach a food reward previously freely available. We found evidence of sex differences in both problem-solving tasks. In Experiment 1, females clearly outperformed males, and in Experiment 2, guppies showed a reversed but smaller sex difference. This study indicates that sex differences may play an important role in fish’s problem-solving similar to what has previously been observed in some mammalian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elia Gatto
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Angelo Bisazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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41
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Bertolucci C. Guppies show rapid and lasting inhibition of foraging behaviour. Behav Processes 2019; 164:91-99. [PMID: 31002840 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
To cope with the variable environment, animals are continuously required to learn novel behaviours or, in certain cases, to inhibit automatic and previously learned behaviours. Traditionally, inhibition has been regarded as cognitively demanding and studied mostly in primates, other mammals and birds, using laboratory tasks, such as the cylinder task. Recent studies have also revealed that fish show high levels of inhibition in the cylinder task. However, conclusions on such results are undermined by evidence that the cylinder task may be inappropriate to compare such phylogenetically distant species. Here, we studied whether a fish, the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, could learn to inhibit behaviour using a different paradigm, which exploited spontaneous foraging behaviour and overcame some drawbacks that characterised the cylinder task. We exposed guppies to live brine shrimp nauplii, Artemia salina, enclosed within a transparent tube. Initially, the guppies attempted to attack the prey but over time showed a rapid decrease of the attacks. Control tests seemed to exclude the possibility that this behavioural trend was due to response to novelty or habituation, and suggested that the guppies were learning to inhibit the foraging behaviour. Memory tests indicated that guppies retained the inhibition of foraging behaviour for at least 24 h. Our study seems to indicate that teleost fish display rapid and durable inhibition of spontaneous foraging behaviour; this may be related to previous evidence, from the cylinder task, supporting efficient behavioural inhibition in this taxon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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42
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Kawasaka K, Hotta T, Kohda M. Does a cichlid fish process face holistically? Evidence of the face inversion effect. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:153-162. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-01231-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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43
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Lucon‐Xiccato T, Manabe K, Bisazza A. Guppies learn faster to discriminate between red and yellow than between two shapes. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon‐Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology University of Ferrara Padova Italy
| | - Kazuchika Manabe
- Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies Nihon University Saitama Japan
| | - Angelo Bisazza
- Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale Università di Padova Padova Italy
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44
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Machnik P, Schirmer E, Glück L, Schuster S. Recordings in an integrating central neuron provide a quick way for identifying appropriate anaesthetic use in fish. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17541. [PMID: 30510264 PMCID: PMC6277415 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36130-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In animal husbandry, livestock industry and research facilities, anaesthetic agents are frequently used to moderate stressful intervention. For mammals and birds, procedures have been established to fine-tune anaesthesia according to the intervention. In ectothermic vertebrates, however, and despite changes in legislation and growing evidence on their cognitive abilities, the presently available information is insufficient to make similarly informed decisions. Here we suggest a straightforward way for rapidly filling this gap. By recording from a command neuron in the brain of fish whose crucial role requires it to integrate and process information from all sensory systems and to relay it to motor output pathways, the specific effects of candidate anaesthesia on central processing of sensory information can directly and efficiently be probed. Our approach allows a rapid and reliable way of deciding if and at which concentration a given anaesthetic affects the central nervous system and sensory processing. We employ our method to four anaesthetics commonly used in fish and demonstrate that our method quickly and with small numbers of animals provides the critical data for informed decisions on anaesthetic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Machnik
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Elisabeth Schirmer
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Laura Glück
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stefan Schuster
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
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45
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Mes D, von Krogh K, Gorissen M, Mayer I, Vindas MA. Neurobiology of Wild and Hatchery-Reared Atlantic Salmon: How Nurture Drives Neuroplasticity. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:210. [PMID: 30254575 PMCID: PMC6141658 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Life experiences in the rearing environment shape the neural and behavioral plasticity of animals. In fish stocking practices, the hatchery environment is relatively stimulus-deprived and does not optimally prepare fish for release into the wild. While the behavioral differences between wild and hatchery-reared fish have been examined to some extent, few studies have compared neurobiological characteristics between wild and hatchery-reared individuals. Here, we compare the expression of immediate early gene cfos and neuroplasticity marker brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) in telencephalic subregions associated with processing of stimuli in wild and hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon at basal and 30 min post (acute) stress conditions. Using in situ hybridization, we found that the expression level of these markers is highly specific per neuronal region and affected by both the origin of the fish, and exposure to acute stress. Expression of cfos was increased by stress in all brain regions and cfos was more highly expressed in the Dlv (functional equivalent to the mammalian hippocampus) of hatchery-reared compared to wild fish. Expression of bdnf was higher overall in hatchery fish, while acute stress upregulated bdnf in the Dm (functional equivalent to the mammalian amygdala) of wild, but not hatchery individuals. Our findings demonstrate that the hatchery environment affects neuroplasticity and neural activation in brain regions that are important for learning processes and stress reactivity, providing a neuronal foundation for the behavioral differences observed between wild and hatchery-reared fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daan Mes
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kristine von Krogh
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marnix Gorissen
- Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology, Institute of Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Ian Mayer
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marco A Vindas
- Uni Environment, Uni Research AS, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
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46
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Early life stress induces long-term changes in limbic areas of a teleost fish: the role of catecholamine systems in stress coping. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5638. [PMID: 29618742 PMCID: PMC5884775 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23950-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) shapes the way individuals cope with future situations. Animals use cognitive flexibility to cope with their ever-changing environment and this is mainly processed in forebrain areas. We investigated the performance of juvenile gilthead seabream, previously subjected to an ELS regime. ELS fish showed overall higher brain catecholaminergic (CA) signalling and lower brain derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) and higher cfos expression in region-specific areas. All fish showed a normal cortisol and serotonergic response to acute stress. Brain dopaminergic activity and the expression of the α2Α adrenergic receptor were overall higher in the fish homologue to the lateral septum (Vv), suggesting that the Vv is important in CA system regulation. Interestingly, ELS prevented post-acute stress downregulation of the α2Α receptor in the amygdala homologue (Dm3). There was a lack of post-stress response in the β2 adrenergic receptor expression and a downregulation in bdnf in the Dm3 of ELS fish, which together indicate an allostatic overload in their stress coping ability. ELS fish showed higher neuronal activity (cfos) post-acute stress in the hippocampus homologue (Dlv) and the Dm3. Our results show clear long-term effects on limbic systems of seabream that may compromise their future coping ability to environmental challenges.
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47
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Lucon-Xiccato T, Gatto E, Bisazza A. Fish perform like mammals and birds in inhibitory motor control tasks. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13144. [PMID: 29030593 PMCID: PMC5640690 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13447-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory control is an executive function that positively predicts performance in several cognitive tasks and has been considered typical of vertebrates with large and complex nervous systems such as primates. However, evidence is growing that some fish species have evolved complex cognitive abilities in spite of their relatively small brain size. We tested whether fish might also show enhanced inhibitory control by subjecting guppies, Poecilia reticulata, to the motor task used to test warm-blooded vertebrates. Guppies were trained to enter a horizontal opaque cylinder to reach a food reward; then, the cylinder was replaced by a transparent one, and subjects needed to inhibit the response to pass thought the transparency to reach the food. Guppies performed correctly in 58% trials, a performance fully comparable to that observed in most birds and mammals. In experiment 2, we tested guppies in a task with a different type of reward, a group of conspecifics. Guppies rapidly learned to detour a transparent barrier to reach the social reward with a performance close to that of experiment 1. Our study suggests that efficient inhibitory control is shown also by fish, and that its variation between-species is only partially explained by variation in brain size.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elia Gatto
- Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Angelo Bisazza
- Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
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48
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49
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Parasitism, personality and cognition in fish. Behav Processes 2017; 141:205-219. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 11/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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50
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Okuyama T, Yokoi S, Takeuchi H. Molecular basis of social competence in medaka fish. Dev Growth Differ 2017; 59:211-218. [DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Teruhiro Okuyama
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory; Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Saori Yokoi
- Laboratory of Bioresources; National Institute for Basic Biology; Nishigonaka 38 Myodaiji Okazaki 444-8585 Aichi Japan
| | - Hideaki Takeuchi
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology; Okayama University; Tsushimanaka 3-1-1 Kita-ku Okayama-shi Okayama 700-8530 Japan
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