scholarly journals Mixed selectivity coding of sensory and motor social signals in the thalamus of a weakly electric fish

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avner Wallach ◽  
Alexandre Melanson ◽  
André Longtin ◽  
Leonard Maler
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fish ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Weakly Electric

scholarly journals Mixed selectivity coding of sensory and motor social signals in the thalamus of a weakly electric fish

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avner Wallach ◽  
Alexandre Melanson ◽  
Andre Longtin ◽  
Len Maler
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Mate Selection ◽  
Electric Fish ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Communication Signals ◽  
Low Dimensional ◽  
High Level ◽  
Weakly Electric

Recent studies have shown that high-level neural activity often exhibits mixed selectivity to multi-variate signals. How such representations arise and how they modulate natural behavior is poorly understood. The social behavior of weakly electric fish is relatively low-dimensional and easily reproduced in the laboratory. Here we show how electrosensory signals related to courtship and rivalry in Apteronotus leptorhynchus are represented in the preglomerular nucleus, the thalamic region exclusively connecting the midbrain with the pallium. We show that preglomerular cells convert their midbrain inputs into a mixed selectivity code that includes corollary discharge of outgoing communication signals. We discuss how the preglomerular pallial targets might use these inputs to control social behavior and determine dominance in male-male competition and female mate selection during courtship. Our results showcase the potential of the electrocommunication system as an accessible model for studying the neural substrates of social behavior and principles of multi-dimensional neural representation.

scholarly journals The weakly electric fish, Apteronotus albifrons, actively avoids experimentally induced hypoxia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Mucha ◽  
Lauren J. Chapman ◽  
Rüdiger Krahe
Keyword(s):  
Active Avoidance ◽  
Electric Fish ◽  
Electric Organ ◽  
The Other ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Shuttle Box ◽  
Freshwater Habitats ◽  
Electric Organ Discharges ◽  
Weakly Electric

AbstractAnthropogenic environmental degradation has led to an increase in the frequency and prevalence of aquatic hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen concentration, DO), which may affect habitat quality for water-breathing fishes. The weakly electric black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, is typically found in well-oxygenated freshwater habitats in South America. Using a shuttle-box design, we exposed juvenile A. albifrons to a stepwise decline in DO from normoxia (> 95% air saturation) to extreme hypoxia (10% air saturation) in one compartment and chronic normoxia in the other. On average, A. albifrons actively avoided the hypoxic compartment below 22% air saturation. Hypoxia avoidance was correlated with upregulated swimming activity. Following avoidance, fish regularly ventured back briefly into deep hypoxia. Hypoxia did not affect the frequency of their electric organ discharges. Our results show that A. albifrons is able to sense hypoxia at non-lethal levels and uses active avoidance to mitigate its adverse effects.

scholarly journals Electric signal synchronization as a behavioural strategy to generate social attention in small groups of mormyrid weakly electric fish and a mobile fish robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Worm ◽  
Tim Landgraf ◽  
Gerhard von der Emde
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Electric Fish ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Electric Signal ◽  
Fish Robot ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Signal Synchronization ◽  
Weakly Electric ◽  
Attention Hypothesis

AbstractAfrican weakly electric fish communicate at night by constantly emitting and perceiving brief electrical signals (electric organ discharges, EOD) at variable inter-discharge intervals (IDI). While the waveform of single EODs contains information about the sender’s identity, the variable IDI patterns convey information about its current motivational and behavioural state. Pairs of fish can synchronize their EODs to each other via echo responses, and we have previously formulated a ‘social attention hypothesis’ stating that fish use echo responses to address specific individuals and establish brief dyadic communication frameworks within a group. Here, we employed a mobile fish robot to investigate the behaviour of small groups of up to four Mormyrus rume and characterized the social situations during which synchronizations occurred. An EOD-emitting robot reliably evoked social following behaviour, which was strongest in smaller groups and declined with increasing group size. We did not find significant differences in motor behaviour of M. rume with either an interactive playback (echo response) or a random control playback by the robot. Still, the robot reliably elicited mutual synchronizations with other fish. Synchronizations mostly occurred during relatively close social interactions, usually when the fish that initiated synchronization approached either the robot or another fish from a distance. The results support our social attention hypothesis and suggest that electric signal synchronization might facilitate the exchange of social information during a wide range of social behaviours from aggressive territorial displays to shoaling and even cooperative hunting in some mormyrids.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document