Roots of brain specializations: preferential left-eye use during mirror-image inspection in six species of teleost fish

Sovrano, Valeria Anna; Rainoldi, C; Bisazza, Angelo; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(99)00105-9

Cited by 158 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…It is unlikely, however, that this would reflect a different cerebral lateralization for this kind of visual stimulus in the two poecilid species. In another test involving the viewing of social stimuli, both P. reticulata and G. holbrooki showed the same direction of lateralized behaviour (Bisazza et al, 1998b); moreover, in our laboratory, recent findings suggest there could be a general trend in many species belonging to different teleost orders in looking at the shoalmate preferentially with the left eye (Sovrano et al, 1999). In our experiment, the mirror image of the inspecting fish was fixed on the left or right side, always opposite the predator; as fish preferred to go up the tank very close to the mirror, this implies that partner and predator were kept in the two different visual fields.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Prior exposure to a predator influences lateralization of cooperative predator inspection in the guppy,Poecilia reticulata

Santi

Bisazza

Cappelletti

et al. 2000

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Functional specializations of the right and left side of the brain have been shown to occur in all vertebrate classes and are known to affect various aspects of behaviour. Recent evidence suggests that cerebral lateralization influences cooperative predator inspection in fish. In order to confirm these findings, predator inspection was studied in female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) while a shoalmate (their own mirror image) was visible either on their left or right side. We used laboratory-reared guppies with no natural experience of predators. One half of the subjects were sensitized to a predator by repeatedly introducing a hungry individual of the species Lepomis gibbosus into their home tank prior to the test, while the other half remained without any experience of predators. Guppies with prior experience of the predator showed a greater tendency to approach a live predator when their shoalmate was visible on their right side.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Prior exposure to a predator influences lateralization of cooperative predator inspection in the guppy,Poecilia reticulata

Santi

Bisazza

Cappelletti

et al. 2000

Italian Journal of Zoology

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“…Such alteration of the strength of lateralization was also observed in fish when the motivation to shoal is increased (i.e. shortly after capture in a net [37]). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Embryonic exposure to predator odour modulates visual lateralization in cuttlefish

Jozet‐Alves

Hébert

2013

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Predation pressure acts on the behaviour and morphology of prey species. In fish, the degree of lateralization varies between high-and low-predation populations. While lateralization appears to be widespread in invertebrates, we do not know whether heredity and early experience interact during development as in vertebrates. Here we show, for the first time, that an exposure to predator odour prior to hatching modulates visual lateralization in newly hatched cuttlefish. Only cuttlefish that have been exposed to predator odour display a left-turning bias when tested with blank seawater in a T-shaped apparatus. Exposure to predator odour all the incubation long could appear as an acute predictor of a high-predation surrounding environment. In addition, cuttlefish of all groups display a left-turning preference when tested with predator odour in the apparatus. This suggests the ability of cuttlefish to innately recognize predator odour. To our knowledge, this is the first clear demonstration that lateralization is vulnerable to ecological challenges encountered during embryonic life, and that environmental stimulation of the embryo through the olfactory system could influence the development of subsequent visual lateralization.

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“…Likewise, female poeciliids tend to fixate on conspecifics using the left eye (Sovrano et al 1999). Male mosquito fish can also be induced to fixate on shoal mates with the left eye but only shortly after capture in a net when the motivation to shoal is highest (Sovrano et al 1999). Taken together, these results indicate that the preferential use of either eye is not necessarily fixed even with an individual.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The images were viewed on a computer screen and the angles of the fish relative to the Perspex partition were noted. We classified any fish orientated between 0 and 90°to be viewing the scene with the left eye and fish between 270 and 360°to be using the right eye (Sovrano et al 1999). Only fish within 10 cm (3-4 body lengths) of the partition were included in the analysis, a distance that is consistent with predator inspection behaviour (Magurran & Seghers 1994).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preferential eye use is ubiquitous among birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish (Deckel 1995;McKenzie et al 1998;Sovrano et al 1999;Dadda et al 2003;see Andrew 2002 for a review). Current theories suggest that lateralization initially arose in response to the development of laterally placed eyes with little binocular overlap in the visual field and complete decussation at the optic chiasma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Population variation in lateralized eye use in the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi

Brown

Gardner

Braithwaite

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

104

112

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Differential use of each hemisphere of the brain for specif ic tasks is a widespread phenomenon that appears to have arisen in the early history of tetrapod lineage. Despite a high degree of conformity in the development of lateralization among the tetrapods, some variation exists. The mechanisms underlying this variation remain largely unresolved. We exposed f ish from regions of high and low predation pressure to a series of visual experiences, including viewing an empty compartment, a novel object and a live predator. Fish from each region differed in their preferential use of each eye to view the scenes. For example, f ish from high predation regions viewed a live predator by using their right eye, whereas f ish from low predation sites showed no eye preference. These results suggest that the degree of lateralization varies between populations of the same species that have been exposed to different ecological/evolutionary pressures.

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Roots of brain specializations: preferential left-eye use during mirror-image inspection in six species of teleost fish

Cited by 158 publications

References 35 publications

Prior exposure to a predator influences lateralization of cooperative predator inspection in the guppy,Poecilia reticulata

Prior exposure to a predator influences lateralization of cooperative predator inspection in the guppy,Poecilia reticulata

Embryonic exposure to predator odour modulates visual lateralization in cuttlefish

Population variation in lateralized eye use in the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi

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