Fish can infer relations between colour cues in a non-social learning task

Loggia, Océane La; Rüfenacht, Angélique; Taborsky, Barbara

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2022.0321

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In another study by La Loggia et al. ( 2022 ) that examined N. pulcher ’s transitive inference abilities, no sex differences were observed either. It is possible that our captive conditions have relaxed sex‐specific selection on the brain and cognitive abilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

Guadagno,

Triki

2024

Brain and Behavior

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BackgroundLiving in a social dominance hierarchy presents different benefits and challenges for dominant and subordinate males and females, which might in turn affect their cognitive needs. Despite the extensive research on social dominance in group‐living species, there is still a knowledge gap regarding how social status impacts brain morphology and cognitive abilities.MethodsHere, we tested male and female dominants and subordinates of Neolamprologus pulcher, a social cichlid fish species with size‐based hierarchy. We ran three executive cognitive function tests for cognitive flexibility (reversal learning test), self‐control (detour test), and working memory (object permanence test), followed by brain and brain region size measurements.ResultsPerformance was not influenced by social status or sex. However, dominants exhibited a brain–body slope that was relatively steeper than that of subordinates. Furthermore, individual performance in reversal learning and detour tests correlated with brain morphology, with some trade‐offs among major brain regions like telencephalon, cerebellum, and optic tectum.ConclusionAs individuals’ brain growth strategies varied depending on social status without affecting executive functions, the different associated challenges might yield a potential effect on social cognition instead. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of studying the individual and not just species to understand better how the individual's ecology might shape its brain and cognition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

Guadagno,

Triki

2024

Brain and Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is indicated by our data, which reveals no sex differences in cognitive performance or brain morphology. In another study by La Loggia et al (2022) that examined N. pulcher's transitive inference abilities, no sex differences were observed either. It is possible that our captive conditions have relaxed sex-specific selection on the brain and cognitive abilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

Guadagno,

Triki

2023

Preprint

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Living in a social dominance hierarchy presents different benefits and challenges for dominant and subordinate males and females, which might in turn affect their cognitive needs. Despite the extensive research on social dominance in group-living species, there is still a knowledge gap regarding how social status impacts brain development and cognitive abilities. Here, we tested male and female dominants and subordinates of Neolamprologus pulcher, a social cichlid fish species with size-based hierarchy. We ran three executive cognitive function tests for cognitive flexibility (reversal learning test), self-control (detour test), and working memory (object permanence test), followed by brain and brain region sizes measurements. Performance was not influenced by social status or sex. However, dominants displayed a more pronounced brain-body slope. Also, individual performance in reversal learning and detour tests correlated with brain morphology, with some trade-offs among major brain regions like telencephalon, cerebellum and mesencephalon. As individuals' brain growth strategies varied depending on social status without affecting executive functions, the different associated challenges might yield a potential effect on social cognition instead. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of studying the individual and not just species to understand better how the individual’s ecology might shape its brain and cognition.

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“…Instead of avoidance reactions, we and others (anecdotical evidence from the aquarium hobby literature) observed ram cichlids to quickly learn when and where food is delivered to them by the experimenter, and respond positively by following the experimenter and gathering near the food delivery site. Last, we note that species that belong to the family Cichlidae are generally considered among the most “intelligent” fish species both in the aquarium hobby 38 and in the scientific literature 39 – 41 . Although the ram cichlid has not been employed in learning studies, it is known to possess a sophisticated behavioural repertoire that implies good cognitive and mnemonic abilities 15 – 17 , 20 , 42 , 43 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

Tsang,

Venditti,

Javier

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Fish are the most species rich and evolutionarily oldest vertebrate taxon. This represents opportunities for biologists who intend to employ laboratory animals in their comparative or translational research. Yet, the overwhelming majority of such studies use a single fish species, the zebrafish, a suboptimal strategy from the comparative standpoint. Neuronal plasticity (learning and memory) is perhaps one of the most complex biological phenomena from a mechanistic standpoint, and thus its analysis could benefit from the use of evolutionarily ancient and simple vertebrate model organisms, i.e., fish species. However, learning & memory research with the zebrafish has been replete with problems. Here, we employ a novel fish species, the ram cichlid, we argue will be particularly appropriate for this purpose for practical as well as ethological/ecological reasons. First, we investigate whether the ram cichlid exhibits innate preference for certain colours (red, blue, yellow or green) in a four-choice task, the plus maze. Subsequently, we pair the apparently least preferred colour (green, the conditioned stimulus or CS) with food reward (the unconditioned stimulus, US) in the plus maze, a CS–US associative learning task. After eight pairing trials, we run a probe trial during which only the CS is presented. At this trial, we find significant preference to the CS, i.e., acquisition of memory of CS–US association. We argue that our proof-of-concept study demonstrating fast acquisition of CS–US association in the ram cichlid, coupled with the universal utility of some genome editing methods, will facilitate the mechanistic analysis of learning and memory.

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Fish can infer relations between colour cues in a non-social learning task

Cited by 6 publications

References 46 publications

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

Executive functions and brain morphology of male and female dominant and subordinate cichlid fish

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) learns an associative task: a new fish species for memory research

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