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

Osmoregulation in Fishes02:32

Osmoregulation in Fishes

52.7K
When cells are placed in a hypotonic (low-salt) fluid, they can swell and burst. Meanwhile, cells in a hypertonic solution—with a higher salt concentration—can shrivel and die. How do fish cells avoid these gruesome fates in hypotonic freshwater or hypertonic seawater environments?
52.7K
Empathy02:34

Empathy

10.0K
Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor. 
10.0K
Scientific Nature of Social Psychology01:30

Scientific Nature of Social Psychology

515
Social psychology is a scientific discipline dedicated to understanding how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts. Unlike common sense, which relies on anecdotal experiences and intuition, social psychology employs systematic research and empirical methods to ensure objectivity and reliability. This distinction is fundamental in distinguishing scientifically supported findings from mere speculation.Four fundamental scientific values guide a structured approach to research in...
515

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Shared neural transcriptomic patterns underlie the repeated evolution of mutualistic cleaning behaviour in Labridae wrasses.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Making friends in an asymmetric game: the establishment of male-female grooming exchanges in vervet monkeys.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

The interplay between satiation and temptation drives cleaner fish <i>Labroides dimidiatus</i> foraging behavior and service quality toward client reef fish.

Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·2025
Same author

On the mirror test and the evolutionary origin of self-awareness in vertebrates.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Brain virtual histology and volume measurement of a lizard species (<i>Podarcis bocagei</i>) using X-ray micro-tomography and deep-learning segmentation.

PeerJ·2025
Same author

The fish challenge to vertebrate cognitive evolution.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes
08:43

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes

Published on: August 29, 2016

10.9K

A fishy perspective on the social brain hypothesis.

Redouan Bshary1, Zegni Triki1

  • 1Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatelhttps://ror.org/00vasag41, Neuchatel, Switzerland redouan.bshary@unine.ch zegni.triki@unine.ch https://www.unine.ch/ethol/.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|November 26, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Ectotherms like fish show complex cognition despite small brains. Brain evolution theories need to include sensory-motor systems, not just cognition, to explain size differences between ectotherms and endotherms.

More Related Videos

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

6.5K
The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System
07:55

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

Published on: April 14, 2021

4.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes
08:43

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes

Published on: August 29, 2016

10.9K
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

6.5K
The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System
07:55

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

Published on: April 14, 2021

4.4K

Area of Science:

  • Comparative neurobiology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Animal cognition

Background:

  • Traditional brain evolution theories often focus on cognitive demands.
  • Ectotherms, particularly fish, display advanced cognitive skills with relatively smaller brain sizes.
  • This challenges existing models that link brain size primarily to cognitive complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the factors contributing to brain size variation in ectotherms versus endotherms.
  • To re-evaluate brain evolution models beyond cognitive processes.
  • To explore the role of sensory-motor systems in explaining brain size differences.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of brain structures and functions in ectotherms and endotherms.
  • Review of existing literature on the social brain hypothesis and sensory-motor system evolution.
  • Examination of cognitive abilities in fish and other ectotherms.

Main Results:

  • The social brain hypothesis may explain variation within specific ectotherm groups.
  • Sensory-motor system complexity appears to be a significant factor in the brain size differences between ectotherms and endotherms.
  • Ectotherms possess sophisticated sensory-motor systems that support complex behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Brain evolution models must incorporate the significant role of sensory-motor systems.
  • Understanding brain size evolution requires considering both cognitive and sensory-motor adaptations.
  • Future research should focus on the interplay between sensory processing, motor control, and brain size evolution across diverse taxa.