Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Shuttle Box Assay as an Associative Learning Tool for Cognitive Assessment in Learning and Memory Studies using Adult Zebrafish
Published on: July 12, 2021
Cognitive abilities with a tiny brain: Neuronal structures and associative learning in the minute Nephanes titan
Alexey A Polilov1, Anastasia A Makarova1, Uliana K Kolesnikova1
1Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
Revealing the effect of brain size on the cognitive abilities of animals is a major challenge in the study of brain evolution. Analysis of the effects of miniaturization on brain function in the smallest insects is especially important, as they are comparable in body size to some unicellular organisms and next to nothing is known about their cognitive abilities. We analyse for the first time the structure of the brain of the adult featherwing beetle Nephanes titan, one of the smallest insects, and results of the first ethological experiments on the capacity of learning in this species. N. titan is capable of associative learning, in spite of the structural modification in its nervous system and the greatly reduced number of neurons compared to the nervous systems of larger insects. Microinsects can become useful model organisms for neurobiology. On the one hand, the structural simplicity and extremely small size of their central nervous system make it possible to study it very efficiently. On the other hand, their learning capacity and retained principal cognitive abilities make them suitable objects for behavioural experiments.
Related Concept Videos
Associative Learning
Classical conditioning, also known...
Cognitive 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...
Cognitive Dissonance
Neuron Structure
Neuron Structure
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

