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Neural temporal scaling accounts for robust hunting behavior across temperatures
Shai Tishby Tamari1, Yoav Rubinstein1, Netta Livneh1
1Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Nature Communications
|April 17, 2026
Summary
Larval zebrafish maintain hunting skills despite temperature changes. Coordinated neural and tail movements ensure stable performance in critical behaviors across a 10°C range.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
- Ecology
Background:
- Environmental temperature fluctuations impact animal physiology and behavior.
- Ectotherms experience widespread brain temperature changes, potentially disrupting critical functions.
- The stability of survival-critical behaviors under thermal variation is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how larval zebrafish maintain hunting performance across a 10°C temperature range.
- To determine if behavioral robustness is context-specific (e.g., hunting vs. exploration).
- To explore the underlying neural mechanisms, including single-neuron activity and temporal scaling.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral assays of larval zebrafish hunting and exploration across a thermal gradient.
- High-resolution calcium imaging of neural activity in multiple brain regions.
- Analysis of tail beat frequency, movement duration, and spatial parameters.
- Computational modeling using a rate model to simulate neural temporal scaling effects.
Main Results:
- Larval zebrafish exhibited robust hunting performance across a 10°C temperature range.
- Behavioral acceleration with temperature was observed, but spatial parameters remained stable during hunting.
- Coordination between tail beat frequency and movement duration contributed to behavioral invariance.
- Single-neuron activity across brain regions mirrored the temperature-dependent temporal scaling of behavior.
- A rate model demonstrated that neural temporal scaling can explain compensatory dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Larval zebrafish preserve critical hunting behaviors despite significant environmental temperature fluctuations.
- Context-specific robustness in behavior is achieved through coordinated adjustments in motor output.
- Neural temporal scaling provides a mechanism for maintaining performance without active regulation under diffuse thermal changes.
- Findings suggest that neural temporal scaling is a key factor in behavioral stability for ectotherms facing environmental variability.
