The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases
It is widely acknowledged that vertebrates can discriminate non-symbolic numerosity using an evolutionarily conserved system dubbed Approximate Number System (ANS). Two main approaches have been used to assess behaviourally numerosity in fish: spontaneous choice tests and operant training procedures...
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3072 |
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| author | Andrea Messina Davide Potrich Ilaria Schiona Valeria Anna Sovrano Giorgio Vallortigara |
| author_facet | Andrea Messina Davide Potrich Ilaria Schiona Valeria Anna Sovrano Giorgio Vallortigara |
| author_sort | Andrea Messina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is widely acknowledged that vertebrates can discriminate non-symbolic numerosity using an evolutionarily conserved system dubbed Approximate Number System (ANS). Two main approaches have been used to assess behaviourally numerosity in fish: spontaneous choice tests and operant training procedures. In the first, animals spontaneously choose between sets of biologically-relevant stimuli (e.g., conspecifics, food) differing in quantities (smaller or larger). In the second, animals are trained to associate a numerosity with a reward. Although the ability of fish to discriminate numerosity has been widely documented with these methods, the molecular bases of quantities estimation and ANS are largely unknown. Recently, we combined behavioral tasks with molecular biology assays (e.g c-fos and egr1 and other early genes expression) showing that the thalamus and the caudal region of dorso-central part of the telencephalon seem to be activated upon change in numerousness in visual stimuli. In contrast, the retina and the optic tectum mainly responded to changes in continuous magnitude such as stimulus size. We here provide a review and synthesis of these findings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:36:36Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:36:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-2aa2189ead9540c5b89bae31d81052cd2023-12-03T13:27:11ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-10-011111307210.3390/ani11113072The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological BasesAndrea Messina0Davide Potrich1Ilaria Schiona2Valeria Anna Sovrano3Giorgio Vallortigara4Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyCentre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyCentre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyCentre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyCentre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyIt is widely acknowledged that vertebrates can discriminate non-symbolic numerosity using an evolutionarily conserved system dubbed Approximate Number System (ANS). Two main approaches have been used to assess behaviourally numerosity in fish: spontaneous choice tests and operant training procedures. In the first, animals spontaneously choose between sets of biologically-relevant stimuli (e.g., conspecifics, food) differing in quantities (smaller or larger). In the second, animals are trained to associate a numerosity with a reward. Although the ability of fish to discriminate numerosity has been widely documented with these methods, the molecular bases of quantities estimation and ANS are largely unknown. Recently, we combined behavioral tasks with molecular biology assays (e.g c-fos and egr1 and other early genes expression) showing that the thalamus and the caudal region of dorso-central part of the telencephalon seem to be activated upon change in numerousness in visual stimuli. In contrast, the retina and the optic tectum mainly responded to changes in continuous magnitude such as stimulus size. We here provide a review and synthesis of these findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3072fish cognitionnumerosity cognitionquantity discriminationapproximate number system |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Messina Davide Potrich Ilaria Schiona Valeria Anna Sovrano Giorgio Vallortigara The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases Animals fish cognition numerosity cognition quantity discrimination approximate number system |
| title | The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases |
| title_full | The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases |
| title_fullStr | The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases |
| title_short | The Sense of Number in Fish, with Particular Reference to Its Neurobiological Bases |
| title_sort | sense of number in fish with particular reference to its neurobiological bases |
| topic | fish cognition numerosity cognition quantity discrimination approximate number system |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3072 |
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