Relative levels of motivation and asymmetries of viewing and detour task in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Brain lateralization involved in visual recognition of conspecifics in coral reef fish at recruitment

“…Lateralization in response to social stimuli is often dominated by the right telencephalon hemisphere in response to visual cues provided by conspecifics (humans: Sergent, Signoret, Bruce, & Rolls, 1992;monkeys: Hook-Costigan & Rogers, 1998;birds: Vallortigara, Rogers, Bisazza, Lippolis, & Robins, 1998; freshwater fishes: Sovrano, Bisazza, & Vallortigara, 2001). Our results suggest that M. pralinia juveniles use the left hemisphere of the brain to recognize their conspecifics and support existing evidence that some vertebrate taxa (mainly freshwater fish and birds) may be able to differentiate, using either the left or right hemisphere, between familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics (Concha et al, 2012;Kaarthigeyan & Dharmaretnam, 2005;Sovrano, 2004), Chicks, Gallus gallus domesticus, for example, use the right hemisphere for the recognition of familiar objects or conspecifics and the left hemisphere for objects that are unfamiliar (Vallortigara & Andrew, 1991, 1994. The fish Xenopoecilus sarasinorum show preferential use of the monocular field from the left eye when presented with familiar conspecifics and a slight preferential use of the right eye with unfamiliar conspecifics (Sovrano, 2004).…”

Lateralization of Cognitive Functions in Fish

“…It is apparent that different categories of social stimuli may be analyzed by different hemispheres. In a study of guppies, females were found to look preferentially with the right eye at a familiar fish while they preferentially used the left eye when the stimulus was an unfamiliar female (Kaarthigeyan & Dharmaretnam 2005). As a mirror image equates to an unfamiliar fish, this may explain the fact that laterality in mirror response often vanishes or even reverses after the first minutes of testing as the stimulus becomes increasingly familiar .…”

“…Females kept in mixed sex groups showed no such bias (Bisazza et al 1998a). Similarly, male-deprived female guppies showed a stronger preference for the right eye when viewing bright-colored than dull males (Kaarthigeyan & Dharmaretnam 2005).…”

It's in the eye of the beholder: visual lateralisation in response to the social environment in poeciliids

“…Earlier studies revealed that a predominant eye preference of fishes may vary between species, between populations of the same species, between individuals (Bisazza et al , 2000; Brown et al, ; Irving & Brown, 2013) and, also, depending on the social situation, on the fish's motivation (Poecilidae: Bisazza et al , ; Kaarthigeyan & Dharmaretnam, ; Adrianichthyidae: Sovrano, ; Melanotaeniidae: Bibost & Brown, ) and probably even on the emotive content of the stimuli (Ariyomo & Watt, ; Brown & Bibost, ; Reddon & Hurd, ). In various fish species and particularly in poeciliid species, the direction of a lateral bias was found to depend on the stimulus context when assessing biologically relevant stimuli, suggesting that it is likely to arise as a result of a preference in eye use.…”

“…Males kept their preference to turn left facing a simulated predator but chose indifferently when being presented with an empty target or a group of conspecific males (Bisazza et al, ). Female P. reticulata were found to observe a familiar conspecific by predominantly using their right eye, which changed to a left‐eye‐preference when being presented with an unfamiliar conspecific (Kaarthigeyan & Dharmaretnam, ).…”