![]() ![]() The reversal learning test is a commonly used paradigm to assess learning abilities and cognitive flexibility across species and taxa. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between brain region size and cognitive abilities in the same individuals, focusing on individual cognitive performance in a reversal learning test. ![]() Furthermore, studies within species have rarely looked at the link between the different brain region sizes and cognitive performance in the same individuals (e.g. Still, quantitative evidence of to what extent the relative tissue volume of different brain regions may affect individual cognitive abilities remains largely unknown. In terms of the specific functions of the major brain regions in teleost fish, the olfactory bulbs receive olfactory sensory input and relay it to the telencephalon the telencephalon is considered the main centre for cognition and decision making the optic tectum receives visual sensory input and relays it to the telencephalon the hypothalamus regulates many basic functions but also motivation and some aspects of social behaviour the cerebellum controls mainly motor coordination abilities but also aspects of cognition and the dorsal medulla controls autonomic functions. Hence, additional studies that focus on more detailed aspects of individual brain morphology and cognitive performance are valuable to increase our understanding of whether phenotypic neural plasticity also yields cognitive benefits, much like evolutionary changes at the species level.įish are a suitable study taxon to address this issue, both for their brain anatomy, which is compartmentalized into main regions with distinct functions and for their often surprisingly high cognitive abilities. While we know much about the braincognition relationship at the species level, little is known about this relationship at the individual level. This advantage was later found to be associated with performance in a spatial learning task, and with larger telencephalon size. Moreover, by studying closely related species of gobies with distinct space use, White & Brown found that rock-pool gobies were more successful than sand-dwelling gobies in finding their way home after translocation. found a positive correlation between absolute brain size and cognitive performance in self-control tasks across various vertebrate species. Most of the evidence on the brain–cognition relationship have emerged from the comparative phylogenetic approach. For instance, positive associations have been found between improved cognitive/behavioural abilities and overall brain size, brain region sizes, neuron cell numbers and potentially neural connectivity. This variation often correlates with various aspects of cognitive and behavioural performance. Variation in brain morphology is ubiquitous at all taxonomic levels. This is rare evidence supporting the theory that more neural tissue in key brain regions confers cognitive benefits. Importantly, telencephalon size emerges as an important neural correlate of higher executive functions such as cognitive flexibility. ![]() By evaluating how fast learning occurs and how fast an animal adjusts its learning rules to changing conditions, we find support for that different brain regions have distinct functional correlations at the individual level. The other brain measures were not associated with performance in either task. We found that optic tectum relative size, in relation to the rest of the brain, correlated positively with discrimination learning performance, while relative telencephalon size correlated positively with reversal learning performance. We then estimated the size of five brain regions (telencephalon, optic tectum, hypothalamus, cerebellum and dorsal medulla), in addition to relative brain size. Here, we tested female guppies ( Poecilia reticulata) in two tasks, colour discrimination and reversal learning, to evaluate their learning abilities and cognitive flexibility. Yet, despite many decades of research in this area, there is surprisingly little experimental data available from assays that quantify cognitive abilities and brain morphology in the same individuals. Determining how variation in brain morphology affects cognitive abilities is important to understand inter-individual variation in cognition and, ultimately, cognitive evolution. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |