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Characterizing ontogeny of quantity discrimination in zebrafish
Eva Sheardown1,2, Jose Vicente Torres-Perez3,2, Sofia Anagianni2
1Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, UK.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 9, 2022
Summary
Juvenile zebrafish demonstrate a sense of numerical magnitude from 21 days post-fertilization, preferring larger groups. This quantity processing involves attentional, cognitive, and memory mechanisms, similar to other animals.
Area of Science:
- Comparative Cognition
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Non-symbolic numerical magnitude sense is observed across the animal kingdom.
- Previous research has documented this ability in adult zebrafish.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ontogeny of numerical magnitude processing in juvenile zebrafish.
- To determine the developmental emergence of group size preference (GSP) in zebrafish.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a group size preference (GSP) task with juvenile zebrafish.
- Presented fish with varying numerical discriminations of conspecifics.
- Analyzed choices to assess quantity discrimination abilities.
Main Results:
- Zebrafish exhibited GSP from 21 days post-fertilization.
- Successfully discriminated between group sizes with ratios of 1:2 and 1:3, but not 2:4.
- Performance was ratio-dependent, indicating limitations in precise quantity representation.
Conclusions:
- Quantity processing in zebrafish is evident early in development.
- Suggests an interplay of attentional, cognitive, and memory mechanisms in number cognition.
- Highlights zebrafish as a model for studying the neural and genetic basis of number sense ontogeny.
