Expanding evolutionary neuroscience: insights from comparing variation in behavior

Neuron, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 109(7), P. 1084 - 1099

Published: Feb. 21, 2021

Neuroscientists have long studied species with convenient biological features to discover how behavior emerges from conserved molecular, neural, and circuit level processes. With the advent of new tools, viral vectors gene editing automated behavioral analyses, there has been a recent wave interest in developing new, "nontraditional" model species. Here, we advocate for complementary approach development, that is, clade as way integrate an evolutionary comparative neurobiological experiments. Capitalizing on natural variation investing experimental tools clades will be valuable strategy next generation neuroscience discovery.

Language: Английский

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Emerging technologies for behavioral research in changing environments

Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 38(4), P. 346 - 354

Published: Dec. 9, 2022

The first response exhibited by animals to changing environments is typically behavioral. Behavior thus central predicting, and mitigating, the impacts that natural anthropogenic environmental changes will have on populations and, consequently, ecosystems. Yet inherently multiscale nature of behavior, as well complexities associated with inferring how perceive their world, make decisions, has constrained scope behavioral research. Major technological advances in electronics machine learning, however, provide increasingly powerful means see, analyze, interpret behavior its complexity. We argue these disruptive technologies foster new approaches allow us move beyond quantitative descriptions reveal underlying generative processes give rise behavior.

Language: Английский

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Long Timescales, Individual Differences, and Scale Invariance in Animal Behavior

Physical Review Letters, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 132(4)

Published: Jan. 22, 2024

The explosion of data on animal behavior in more natural contexts highlights the fact that these behaviors exhibit correlations across many timescales. However, there are major challenges analyzing data: records single animals have fewer independent samples than one might expect. In pooling from multiple animals, individual differences can mimic long-ranged temporal correlations; conversely, lead to an overestimate differences. We suggest analysis scheme addresses problems directly, apply this approach spontaneous walking flies, and find evidence for scale-invariant over nearly three decades time, seconds hour. Three different measures correlation consistent with a underlying scaling field dimension $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}=0.180\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005$.

Language: Английский

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Diverse prey capture strategies in teleost larvae

Published: Feb. 10, 2025

Animal behavior is adapted to the sensory environment in which it evolved, while also being constrained by physical limits, evolutionary history, and developmental trajectories. The hunting of larval zebrafish ( Danio rerio ), a cyprinid native streams Eastern India, has been well characterized. However, unknown if complement sequence movements employed during prey capture universal across freshwater teleosts. Here, we explore syntax fish belonging clade Percomorpha , whose last common ancestor with cyprinids lived ∼240 million years ago. We compared four cichlid species from Lake Tanganyika endemic deep benthic parts lake Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus Lamprologus ocellatus Neolamprologus multifasciatus ) or inhabiting rivers Astatotilapia burtoni that medaka Oryzias latipes found rice paddies East Asia. Using high speed videography neural networks, tracked eye extracted swim kinematics larvae these five species. Notably, repertoire cichlids broader than zebrafish, but shares basic features, such as convergence, positioning centrally binocular visual field, discrete bouts, including two kinds strikes. In contrast, continuously, track monocularly without position laterally before capturing them side swing. This configuration kinematic motifs suggests may judge distance predominantly motion parallax, mainly use cues. Together, our study documents diversification locomotor oculomotor adaptations among teleost larvae.

Language: Английский

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The structure of behavioral variation within a genotype

eLife, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 10

Published: Oct. 19, 2021

Individual animals vary in their behaviors. This is true even when they share the same genotype and were reared environment. Clusters of covarying behaviors constitute behavioral syndromes, an individual's position along such axes covariation a representation personality. Despite these conceptual frameworks, structure within essentially uncharacterized its mechanistic origins unknown. Passing hundreds inbred Drosophila individuals through experimental pipeline that captured measures, we found sparse but significant correlations among small sets Thus, space variation has many independent dimensions. Manipulating physiology brain, specific neural populations, altered correlations. We also observed gene expression can predict on some axes. work represents first steps understanding biological mechanisms determining genotype.

Language: Английский

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The what, how, and why of naturalistic behavior

Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 74, P. 102549 - 102549

Published: May 7, 2022

Language: Английский

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The evolutionary trajectory of drosophilid walking

Current Biology, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 32(14), P. 3005 - 3015.e6

Published: June 6, 2022

Language: Английский

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Fluctuating Landscapes and Heavy Tails in Animal Behavior

PRX Life, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 2(2)

Published: April 2, 2024

Animal behavior is shaped by a myriad of mechanisms acting on wide range scales, which hampers quantitative reasoning and the identification general principles. Here, we combine data analysis theory to investigate relationship between behavioral plasticity heavy-tailed statistics often observed in animal behavior. Specifically, first leverage high-resolution recordings locomotion show that stochastic transitions among long-lived behaviors exhibit first-passage-time distributions correlation functions. Such heavy tails can be explained slow adaptation over time. This particular result motivates our second step introducing model where separate fast dynamics quasistationary multiwell potential, from nonergodic, slowly varying modes. We then generically emerge such model, provide theoretical derivation resulting functional form, become power law with exponents depend strength fluctuations. Finally, direct support for generality findings testing them mutant suppressed thus disappear, larval zebrafish swimming are again prevalent. Published American Physical Society 2024

Language: Английский

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Leveraging big data to uncover the eco-evolutionary factors shaping behavioural development

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 290(1992)

Published: Feb. 1, 2023

Mapping the eco-evolutionary factors shaping development of animals’ behavioural phenotypes remains a great challenge. Recent advances in ‘big data’ research—the high-resolution tracking individuals and harnessing that data with powerful analytical tools—have vastly improved our ability to measure model developing phenotypes. Applied study ontogeny, unfolding whole repertoires can be mapped unprecedented detail relative ease. This overcomes long-standing experimental bottlenecks heralds surge studies more finely define explore behavioural–experiential trajectories across development. In this review, we first provide brief guide state-of-the-art approaches allow collection analysis We then outline how such used address key issues regarding ecological evolutionary development: developmental feedbacks between behaviour underlying states, early life effects transitions, information integration

Language: Английский

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Towards a Conceptual Framework to Better Understand the Advantages and Limitations of Model Organisms

European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 61(7)

Published: March 31, 2025

ABSTRACT Model organisms (MO) are widely used in neuroscience to study brain processes, behavior, and the biological foundation of human diseases. However, use MO has also been criticized for low reliability insufficient success rate development therapeutic approaches, because led overoptimistic simplistic applications, which sometimes resulted wrong conclusions. Here, we develop a conceptual framework support scientists their practical work foster discussions about power limitations. For this purpose, take advantage concepts developed philosophy science adjust them application by neuroscientists. We suggest that can be best understood as tools gain information group species or phenomenon interest. These learning processes made possible some properties MO, facilitate process acquisition understanding provide advantages, possibility transfer between species. residual uncertainty remains, incorrect generalizations side‐effects epistemic benefits, consider representational risks. This suggests most effectively, should analyze similarity relation involved species, weigh advantages risks certain invest carefully designed validation experiments. Altogether, our analysis illustrates how benefit from philosophical research practice.

Language: Английский

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