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Lateralization correlates with individual differences in inhibitory control in zebrafish.

Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato¹, Giulia Montalbano¹, Marco Dadda²

¹Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.

Biology Letters

|August 5, 2020

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Individual zebrafish (Danio rerio) with stronger inhibitory control, essential for survival, show linked brain lateralization. This suggests brain hemisphere preference influences behavioral inhibition, maintaining cognitive diversity in populations.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ethology
Behavioral Ecology

Background:

Individual fitness relies on inhibiting maladaptive behaviors.
Inhibitory control varies significantly across individuals within species.
Understanding the mechanisms behind this variability is crucial for evolutionary biology.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the link between inhibitory control and cerebral lateralization in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
To determine if brain hemisphere preference influences the efficiency of behavioral inhibition.
To explore how maintaining lateralization variability might indirectly select for inhibitory control diversity.

Main Methods:

Assessed inhibitory control in zebrafish during foraging tasks.
Measured cerebral lateralization by observing responses to social stimuli using eye preference.

Keywords:

cognitive abilities executive functions fish cognition laterality

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Correlated individual differences in inhibitory control with lateralization patterns.

Main Results:

A positive correlation was found between inhibitory control and cerebral lateralization.
Zebrafish using their right eye (left hemisphere processing) showed more efficient inhibition of foraging behavior.
This suggests a functional link between brain lateralization and behavioral control.

Conclusions:

Cerebral lateralization is a potential mechanism maintaining variability in inhibitory control within populations.
Individual cognitive differences may arise from complex multi-trait selection.
This research offers insights into the evolutionary basis of cognitive variation.