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Related Experiment Video

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The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

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Large number discrimination in newborn fish.

Laura Piffer¹, Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini, Christian Agrillo

¹Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. laura.piffer@unipd.it

|April 30, 2013

Summary

Newborn guppies can be trained to discriminate between large quantities, demonstrating early numerical abilities. This research shows that training can enhance quantitative skills in young fish, challenging previous assumptions about innate limitations.

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Area of Science:

Comparative psychology
Animal cognition
Neuroethology

Background:

Quantitative abilities are observed across diverse species, including fish.
Adult guppies (Poecilia reticulata) exhibit spontaneous numerical discrimination for larger quantities.
Existing research suggests distinct number representation systems: precise (up to 4) and approximate (larger numbers).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if newborn guppies can be trained to discriminate large quantities.
To determine if the large number system is present and trainable shortly after birth.
To differentiate numerical discrimination from continuous quantity discrimination in young guppies.

Main Methods:

Newborn guppies were trained to discriminate between dot arrays with a 0.50 ratio for a food reward.
Three experiments were conducted to isolate numerical information from continuous quantities (area, space, density).
Experiment 1: Number and continuous quantities available. Experiment 2: Continuous quantities controlled, only number available. Experiment 3: Number irrelevant, only continuous quantities available.

Main Results:

Newborn guppies successfully discriminated large quantities in Experiments 1 and 2.
No discrimination was observed when only continuous quantities were available (Experiment 3).
This indicates that numerical acuity surpasses spatial acuity in young guppies.

Conclusions:

This study provides the first evidence of large number discrimination in newborn fish through training.
Training procedures can facilitate the development of numerical abilities in guppies.
The findings suggest that the capacity for large number representation is trainable early in life.