Effects of facial lobectomy on goldfish feeding behavior

The role of the facial lobe (FL) of goldfish in feeding behavior (search, pick up and ingestion) was investigated using the ablation method. Facial lobectomy (FLX) was performed on 10 fish, five of which were also fitted with blinders (BLs). It was found that FLX did not have any apparent effect on feeding behavior; however, this does not rule out some other, undetected and perhaps subtle, role of the FL in the feeding repertoire. A salient aspect of this finding was the observation that food pick up was not blocked, showing that the FL is not necessary for this feeding step. These results are contrary to that reported in catfish. This difference might be explained by the fact that the FLs of the two species are quite different anatomically; yet it does not account for the fact that the current results are at variance with the commonly accepted role of the teleostean FL as reflected in the literature. The use of BLs alone or combined with FLX also indicated no apparent involvement of the FL in feeding, as was able to be measured within the limitations of this investigation.