Non-visual numerical discrimination in a blind cavefish (<i>Phreatichthys andruzzii</i>)

Bisazza, Angelo; Tagliapietra, Christian; Bertolucci, Cristiano; Foà, Augusto; Agrillo, Christian

doi:10.1242/jeb.101683

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Ever since Koehler and his co-workers explored the numerical capabilities of birds [31], corvids have been known to show some level of quantity discrimination [32], and they use quantity rules to direct behaviour [33]. Jungle crows have been trained on relative numerosity discriminations to always choose the larger of two sets of (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) visual shapes [34]. Relative quantity judgements are also observable without training, as crows and jackdaws [20] spontaneously selected the larger of two food quantities as long as one of the sets contained fewer than five objects [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerosity representations in crows obey the Weber–Fechner law

Ditz¹,

Nieder²

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

104

105

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The ability to estimate number is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Based on the relative close phylogenetic relationship (and thus equivalent brain structures), non-verbal numerical representations in human and nonhuman primates show almost identical behavioural signatures that obey the Weber-Fechner law. However, whether numerosity discriminations of vertebrates with a very different endbrain organization show the same behavioural signatures remains unknown. Therefore, we tested the numerical discrimination performance of two carrion crows (Corvus corone) to a broad range of numerosities from 1 to 30 in a delayed match-to-sample task similar to the one used previously with primates. The crows' discrimination was based on an analogue number system and showed the Weber-fraction signature (i.e. the 'just noticeable difference' between numerosity pairs increased in proportion to the numerical magnitudes). The detailed analysis of the performance indicates that numerosity representations in crows are scaled on a logarithmically compressed 'number line'. Because the same psychophysical characteristics are found in primates, these findings suggest fundamentally similar number representations between primates and birds. This study helps to resolve a classical debate in psychophysics: the mental number line seems to be logarithmic rather than linear, and not just in primates, but across vertebrates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerosity representations in crows obey the Weber–Fechner law

Ditz¹,

Nieder²

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

104

105

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“…Our behavioral experiments were not based on a simple visual comparison task as was conducted with other fish [10–13,15]. Indeed, the two values to be compared, the number of food pellets, are never present simultaneously.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, it has been demonstrated that in various species such as mosquitofish or angelfish, an individual will spontaneously join the bigger of two shoals in an attempt to avoid predators, but only when the difference in the number of individuals is significant and enables an easy discrimination [10–12]. In addition, other fish can also discriminate small quantities of objects [13,14], recognize the door with the correct number of symbols [15] or encode ordinal information [16]. They are able to perform above chance even when not given access to all the items together [17] or when they are deprived of the sense of sight [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Symbol-value association and discrimination in the archerfish

2017

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One of the most important aspects of mathematical cognition in humans is the ability to symbolically represent magnitudes and quantities. In the last 20 years it has been shown that not only humans but also other primates, birds and dolphins can use symbolic representation of quantities. However, it remains unclear to what extent this ability is spread across the animal kingdom. Here, by training archerfish to associate variable amounts of rewards with different geometric shapes, we show for the first time that lower vertebrates can also associate a value with a symbol and make a decision that maximizes their food intake based on this information. In addition, the archerfish is able to understand up to four different quantities and organize them mentally in an ordinal manner, similar to observations in higher vertebrates. These findings point in the direction of the existence of an approximate magnitude system in fish.

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“…Alternatively, the possibility exists that vertebrates share a core numerical system inherited by a common ancestor (e.g., [33]). For instance, a recent study found that even blind cavefish that lived in the darkness of Somalia caves in the total absence of predators for approximately two million years display numerical abilities partially similar to those described in other fish species [34]. Similarly, horses might exhibit some rudimentary numerical abilities irrespective to the ecological pressures received across evolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Trained Quantity Abilities in Horses (Equus caballus): A Preliminary Investigation

Petrazzini

2014

Behavioral Sciences

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Once believed to be a human prerogative, the capacity to discriminate between quantities now has also been reported in several vertebrates. To date, only two studies investigated numerical abilities in horses (Equus caballus) but reported contrasting data. To assess whether horses can be trained to discriminate between quantities, I have set up a new experimental protocol using operant conditioning. One adult female was trained to discriminate between 1 and 4 (Test 1) in three different conditions: non-controlled continuous variables (numerical and continuous quantities that co-vary with number are simultaneously available), 50% controlled continuous variables (intermediate condition), and 100% controlled continuous variables (only numerical information available). The subject learned the discrimination in all conditions, showing the capacity to process numerical information. When presented with a higher numerical ratio (2 vs. 4, Test 2), the subject still discriminated between the quantities but its performance was statistically significant only in the non-controlled condition, suggesting that the subject used multiple cues in presence of a more difficult discrimination. On the whole, the results here reported encourage the use of this experimental protocol as a valid tool to investigate the capacity to process numerical and continuous quantities in horses in future research.

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Non-visual numerical discrimination in a blind cavefish (Phreatichthys andruzzii)

Cited by 26 publications

References 85 publications

Numerosity representations in crows obey the Weber–Fechner law

Numerosity representations in crows obey the Weber–Fechner law

Symbol-value association and discrimination in the archerfish

Trained Quantity Abilities in Horses (Equus caballus): A Preliminary Investigation

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