Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

11.9K
The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the...
11.9K
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

1.5K
Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
1.5K
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

10.3K
Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
10.3K
Vision01:24

Vision

61.3K
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
61.3K
Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

49.7K
The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
49.7K
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

860
The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
860

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bioenergetic trophic trade-offs determine mass-dependent extinction thresholds across the Cenozoic.

Ecology·2026
Same author

Morphological variability as a buffer against extinction: insights from Hawaiian honeycreepers.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Generalized dynamics of cross-feeding bacteria.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2026
Same author

Functional motifs in food webs and networks.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Chewing performance and the structure of primate communities.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Sex differences in health burdens across the lifespan in wild chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii</i>).

Evolution, medicine, and public health·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
07:08

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

8.8K

How chimpanzees integrate sensory information to select figs.

Nathaniel J Dominy1, Justin D Yeakel2, Uttam Bhat3

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, 6047 Silsby Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.

Interface Focus
|June 9, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Chimpanzees assess fig edibility using touch and bite, not color. Fig mechanics provide better fructose information, potentially driving the evolution of manual dexterity.

Keywords:
Bayesian updatingFicusPan troglodytes schweinfurthiicolour visionmanual prehension

More Related Videos

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches
06:40

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches

Published on: December 26, 2019

7.0K
Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions
07:09

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

6.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
07:08

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

8.8K
Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches
06:40

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches

Published on: December 26, 2019

7.0K
Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions
07:09

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

6.6K

Area of Science:

  • Primate behavior
  • Sensory ecology
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Figs are crucial food for chimpanzees, especially during fruit scarcity.
  • Many figs remain green, requiring non-visual cues for edibility assessment.
  • Chimpanzee fig evaluation involves complex visuomotor skills, suggesting cognitive adaptations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate how chimpanzees assess the edibility of green figs.
  • Determine which sensory cues (color, touch, bite) best predict fig fructose content.
  • Explore the evolutionary implications for manual prehension and digital dexterity.

Main Methods:

  • Observed chimpanzee foraging behavior.
  • Analyzed spectral, chemical, and mechanical properties of figs.
  • Used cutting tests and Bayesian updating to quantify sensory information.

Main Results:

  • Fig mechanics (toughness) were more informative about fructose than color or size.
  • Palpation and dental incision were key to assessing edibility.
  • Sensory cue integration revealed information gain during successive assessments.

Conclusions:

  • Chimpanzee fig selection relies on mechanical properties, not visual cues like color.
  • These foraging behaviors may have driven the evolution of advanced manual dexterity in primates.
  • Understanding sensory-driven foraging offers insights into primate cognitive and physical evolution.