scholarly journals Insect behavioral evidence of spatial memories during environmental reconfiguration

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Santos-Pata ◽  
Alex Escuredo ◽  
Zenon Mathews ◽  
Paul F.M.J. Verschure
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Insect Behavior ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Spatial Memories ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Novel Target

ABSTRACTInsects are great explorers, able to navigate through long-distance trajectories and successfully find their way back. Their navigational routes cross dynamic environments suggesting adaptation to novel configurations. Arthropods and vertebrates share neural organizational principles and it has been shown that rodents modulate their neural spatial representation accordingly with environmental changes. However, it is unclear whether insects reflexively adapt to environmental changes or retain memory traces of previously explored situations. We sought to disambiguate between insect behavior at environmental novel situations and reconfiguration conditions. An immersive mixed-reality multi-sensory setup was built to replicate multi-sensory cues. We have designed an experimental setup where female crickets Gryllus Bimaculatus were trained to move towards paired auditory and visual cues during primarily phonotactic driven behavior. We hypothesized that insects were capable of identifying sensory modifications in known environments. Our results show that, regardless of the animals history, novel situation conditions did not compromise the animals performance and navigational directionality towards a novel target location. However, in trials where visual and auditory stimuli were spatially decoupled, the animals heading variability towards a previously known location significantly increased. Our findings showed that crickets are able to behaviorally manifest environmental reconfiguration, suggesting the encoding for spatial representation.

scholarly journals Temporal changes in reproductive success and optimal breeding decisions in a long-distance migratory bird

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Reséndiz-Infante ◽  
Gilles Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Seasonal Decline

AbstractMany avian migrants have not adjusted breeding phenology to climate warming resulting in negative consequences for their offspring. We studied seasonal changes in reproductive success of the greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica), a long-distance migrant. As the climate warms and plant phenology advances, the mismatch between the timing of gosling hatch and peak nutritive quality of plants will increase. We predicted that optimal laying date yielding highest reproductive success occurred earlier over time and that the seasonal decline in reproductive success increased. Over 25 years, reproductive success of early breeders increased by 42%, producing a steeper seasonal decline in reproductive success. The difference between the laying date producing highest reproductive success and the median laying date of the population increased, which suggests an increase in the selection pressure for that trait. Observed clutch size was lower than clutch size yielding the highest reproductive success for most laying dates. However, at the individual level, clutch size could still be optimal if the additional time required to acquire nutrients to lay extra eggs is compensated by a reduction in reproductive success due to a delayed laying date. Nonetheless, breeding phenology may not respond sufficiently to meet future environmental changes induced by warming temperatures.

scholarly journals Striatal and Pallidal Activation during Reward Modulated Movement Using a Translational Paradigm

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Bischoff-Grethe ◽  
Richard B. Buxton ◽  
Martin P. Paulus ◽  
Adam S. Fleisher ◽  
Tony T. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Dorsal Striatum ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Internal Globus Pallidus ◽  
Target Capture

AbstractHuman neuroimaging studies of reward processing typically involve tasks that engage decision-making processes in the dorsal striatum or focus upon the ventral striatum’s response to feedback expectancy. These studies are often compared to the animal literature; however, some animal studies include both feedback and nonfeedback events that activate the dorsal striatum during feedback expectancy. Differences in task parameters, movement complexity, and motoric effort to attain rewards may partly explain ventral and dorsal striatal response differences across species. We, therefore, used a target capture task during functional neuroimaging that was inspired by a study of single cell modulation in the internal globus pallidus during reward-cued, rotational arm movements in nonhuman primates. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, participants used a fiberoptic joystick to make a rotational response to an instruction stimulus that indicated both a target location for a capture movement and whether or not the trial would end with feedback indicating either a small financial gain or a neutral outcome. Portions of the dorsal striatum and pallidum demonstrated greater neural activation to visual cues predicting potential gains relative to cues with no associated outcome. Furthermore, both striatal and pallidal regions displayed a greater response to financial gains relative to neutral outcomes. This reward-dependent modulation of dorsal striatal and pallidal activation in a target-capture task is consistent with findings from reward studies in animals, supporting the use of motorically complex tasks as translational paradigms to investigate the neural substrates of reward expectancy and outcome in humans. (JINS, 2015, 21, 399–411)

scholarly journals Dissociation of exteroceptive and idiothetic orientation cues⋮ effect on hippocampal place cells and place navigation

1997 ◽  
Vol 352 (1360) ◽  
pp. 1515-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bures ◽  
A. A. Fenton ◽  
Yu. Kaminsky ◽  
J. Rossier ◽  
B. Sacchetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Place Cells ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Place Navigation ◽  
Preference Task ◽  
Spatial Memories ◽  
Place Avoidance ◽  
Orientation Cues

Navigation by means of cognitive maps appears to require the hippocampus; hippocampal place cells (PCs) appear to store spatial memories because their discharge is confined to cell–specific places called firing fields (FFs). Experiments with rats manipulated idiothetic and landmark–related information to understand the relationship between PC activity and spatial cognition. Rotating a circular arena in the light caused a discrepancy between these cues. This discrepancy caused most FFs to disappear in both the arena and room reference frames. However, FFs persisted in the rotating arena frame when the discrepancy was reduced by darkness or by a card in the arena. The discrepancy was increased by ’field clamping’the rat in a room–defined FF location by rotations that countered its locomotion. Most FFs dissipated and reappeared an hour or more after the clamp. Place–avoidance experiments showed that navigation uses independent idiothetic and exteroceptive memories. Rats learned to avoid the unmarked footshock region within a circular arena. When acquired on the stable arena in the light, the location of the punishment was learned by using both room and idiothetic cues; extinction in the dark transferred to the following session in the light. If, however, extinction occurred during rotation, only the arena–frame avoidance was extinguished in darkness; the room–defined location was avoided when the lights were turned back on. Idiothetic memory of room–defined avoidance was not formed during rotation in light; regardless of rotation, there was no avoidance when the lights were turned off, but room–frame avoidance reappeared when the lights were turned back on. The place–preference task rewarded visits to an allocentric target location with a randomly dispersed pellet. The resulting behaviour alternated between random pellet searching and target–directed navigation, making it possible to examine PC correlates of these two classes of spatial behaviour. The independence of idiothetic and exteroceptive spatial memories and the disruption of PC firing during rotation suggest that PCs may not be necessary for spatial cognition; this idea can be tested by recordings during the place–avoidance and preference tasks.

scholarly journals Memories of Migrations Past: Sociality and Cognition in Dynamic, Seasonal Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliezer Gurarie ◽  
Sriya Potluri ◽  
George Christopher Cosner ◽  
Robert Stephen Cantrell ◽  
William F. Fagan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Animal Movement ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Migratory Behavior ◽  
Migration Behavior ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Resource Dynamics

Seasonal migrations are a widespread and broadly successful strategy for animals to exploit periodic and localized resources over large spatial scales. It remains an open and largely case-specific question whether long-distance migrations are resilient to environmental disruptions. High levels of mobility suggest an ability to shift ranges that can confer resilience. On the other hand, a conservative, hard-wired commitment to a risky behavior can be costly if conditions change. Mechanisms that contribute to migration include identification and responsiveness to resources, sociality, and cognitive processes such as spatial memory and learning. Our goal was to explore the extent to which these factors interact not only to maintain a migratory behavior but also to provide resilience against environmental changes. We develop a diffusion-advection model of animal movement in which an endogenous migratory behavior is modified by recent experiences via a memory process, and animals have a social swarming-like behavior over a range of spatial scales. We found that this relatively simple framework was able to adapt to a stable, seasonal resource dynamic under a broad range of parameter values. Furthermore, the model was able to acquire an adaptive migration behavior with time. However, the resilience of the process depended on all the parameters under consideration, with many complex trade-offs. For example, the spatial scale of sociality needed to be large enough to capture changes in the resource, but not so large that the acquired collective information was overly diluted. A long-term reference memory was important for hedging against a highly stochastic process, but a higher weighting of more recent memory was needed for adapting to directional changes in resource phenology. Our model provides a general and versatile framework for exploring the interaction of memory, movement, social and resource dynamics, even as environmental conditions globally are undergoing rapid change.

scholarly journals Brain regions associated with visual cues are important for bird migration

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 20150678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orsolya Vincze ◽  
Csongor I. Vágási ◽  
Péter L. Pap ◽  
Gergely Osváth ◽  
Anders Pape Møller
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Optic Lobe ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Migration Distance ◽  
Whole Brain

Long-distance migratory birds have relatively smaller brains than short-distance migrants or residents. Here, we test whether reduction in brain size with migration distance can be generalized across the different brain regions suggested to play key roles in orientation during migration. Based on 152 bird species, belonging to 61 avian families from six continents, we show that the sizes of both the telencephalon and the whole brain decrease, and the relative size of the optic lobe increases, while cerebellum size does not change with increasing migration distance. Body mass, whole brain size, optic lobe size and wing aspect ratio together account for a remarkable 46% of interspecific variation in average migration distance across bird species. These results indicate that visual acuity might be a primary neural adaptation to the ecological challenge of migration.

Abstract P825: Virtual Stroke Support Group: Innovative Approach to Continued Care in Times of Covid-19

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Veenstra ◽  
Jamie DuVerneay ◽  
Laurel Packard ◽  
Muhib Khan
Keyword(s):  
Support Group ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Stroke Survivors ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Post Stroke ◽  
Group Sessions ◽  
Stroke Support Groups ◽  
Virtual Platform

Background and Purpose: Post-stroke patients and their caregivers need continued physical and emotional support to adapt to the ‘new normal’. Stroke Support Groups are an effective educational platform for survivors and caregivers to discuss chronic post stroke issues. Stay at home orders and social distancing measures instituted to decrease the spread of COVID-19 made it difficult to conduct an in-person stroke support group. However, social isolation related to home quarantine would exacerbate the emotional toll associated with stroke. Therefore, we decided to proceed with a virtual stroke support group to provide continued education and emotional support to our stroke survivors and caregivers. Methods: Microsoft Teams Virtual Platform was utilized to conduct virtual stroke support group. Sessions were conducted once a month. Stroke Survivors and Caregivers were sent a link to their email to log into the virtual platform. The sessions were moderated by a recreational therapist and various speakers provided educational sessions. Results: Five virtual stroke support group sessions have been conducted. Topics discussed were COVID-19 check-in and discussion, Planning for an Uncertain Future, Brilliant Brain Party: Celebrating Neuroplasticity, Two Sides to Every Story: Left and Right Brain and How Humor Can Help Your Recovery. An average of 10 participants attend each of these sessions. Participants find these sessions valuable. It allows them to be part of the stroke community when they are unable to travel due to long distance, inclement weather and transportation availability. Challenges include lack of experience with technology, familiarity with conference call etiquettes and lack of visual cues related to emotional topics. Conclusion: Virtual Stroke Support Group is an innovative approach to keep stroke survivors and caregivers engaged in their care. We plan to have the option of virtual attendance available long term in addition to in-person attendance in the future.

Response Differences in Monkey TE and Perirhinal Cortex: Stimulus Association Related to Reward Schedules

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 1677-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Liu ◽  
Barry J. Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Perirhinal Cortex ◽  
Reward Schedule ◽  
Behavioral Context ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Match To Sample ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
The One ◽  
Different Response ◽  
Visual Cortical

Anatomic and behavioral evidence shows that TE and perirhinal cortices are two directly connected but distinct inferior temporal areas. Despite this distinctness, physiological properties of neurons in these two areas generally have been similar with neurons in both areas showing selectivity for complex visual patterns and showing response modulations related to behavioral context in the sequential delayed match-to-sample (DMS) trials, attention, and stimulus familiarity. Here we identify physiological differences in the neuronal activity of these two areas. We recorded single neurons from area TE and perirhinal cortex while the monkeys performed a simple behavioral task using randomly interleaved visually cued reward schedules of one, two, or three DMS trials. The monkeys used the cue's relation to the reward schedule (indicated by the brightness) to adjust their behavioral performance. They performed most quickly and most accurately in trials in which reward was immediately forthcoming and progressively less well as more intermediate trials remained. Thus the monkeys appeared more motivated as they progressed through the trial schedule. Neurons in both TE and perirhinal cortex responded to both the visual cues related to the reward schedules and the stimulus patterns used in the DMS trials. As expected, neurons in both areas showed response selectivity to the DMS patterns, and significant, but small, modulations related to the behavioral context in the DMS trial. However, TE and perirhinal neurons showed strikingly different response properties. The latency distribution of perirhinal responses was centered 66 ms later than the distribution of TE responses, a larger difference than the 10–15 ms usually found in sequentially connected visual cortical areas. In TE, cue-related responses were related to the cue's brightness. In perirhinal cortex, cue-related responses were related to the trial schedules independently of the cue's brightness. For example, some perirhinal neurons responded in the first trial of any reward schedule including the one trial schedule, whereas other neurons failed to respond in the first trial but respond in the last trial of any schedule. The majority of perirhinal neurons had more complicated relations to the schedule. The cue-related activity of TE neurons is interpreted most parsimoniously as a response to the stimulus brightness, whereas the cue-related activity of perirhinal neurons is interpreted most parsimoniously as carrying associative information about the animal's progress through the reward schedule. Perirhinal cortex may be part of a system gauging the relation between work schedules and rewards.

Differential Involvement of Neurons in the Dorsal and Ventral Premotor Cortex During Processing of Visual Signals for Action Planning

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3596-3616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Hoshi ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Neuron Response

We examined neuronal activity in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex (PMd and PMv, respectively) to explore the role of each motor area in processing visual signals for action planning. We recorded neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task during which two visual instruction cues were given successively with an intervening delay. One cue instructed the location of the target to be reached, and the other indicated which arm was to be used. We found that the properties of neuronal activity in the PMd and PMv differed in many respects. After the first cue was given, PMv neuron response mostly reflected the spatial position of the visual cue. In contrast, PMd neuron response also reflected what the visual cue instructed, such as which arm to be used or which target to be reached. After the second cue was given, PMv neurons initially responded to the cue's visuospatial features and later reflected what the two visual cues instructed, progressively increasing information about the target location. In contrast, the activity of the majority of PMd neurons responded to the second cue with activity reflecting a combination of information supplied by the first and second cues. Such activity, already reflecting a forthcoming action, appeared with short latencies (<400 ms) and persisted throughout the delay period. In addition, both the PMv and PMd showed bilateral representation on visuospatial information and motor-target or effector information. These results further elucidate the functional specialization of the PMd and PMv during the processing of visual information for action planning.

scholarly journals Insect Behavioral Evidence of Spatial Memories During Environmental Reconfiguration

2018 ◽  
pp. 415-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Santos-Pata ◽  
Alex Escuredo ◽  
Zenon Mathews ◽  
Paul F. M. J. Verschure
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memories ◽  
Behavioral Evidence

Monkey hippocampal neurons related to spatial and nonspatial functions

1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1516-1529 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ono ◽  
K. Nakamura ◽  
H. Nishijo ◽  
S. Eifuku
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Directional Stimulus ◽  
Task Parameters ◽  
And Task

1. Neural activity in the monkey hippocampal formation (HF) was analyzed during a spatial moving task in which the monkey was guided by auditory and visual cues and when stimuli were presented from various directions. The monkey could control a motorized, movable device (cab) and its route to a target location by pressing the proper one of five available bars in an appropriate sequence (spatial moving task). In any of several locations in the field, neural responses were evident in relation to the presentation of various objects or human movement in some relative direction (left, anterior, right) as a directional stimulus test. 2. Of 238 hippocampal neurons analyzed, 172 (72.3%, 238-66) responded in either the spatial moving task, or to the direction from which stimulation was presented, or to the location of the monkey in the field, or to some combination of these. 3. The activity of 79 (33.2%) neurons was higher when the monkey was in some specific location in the field during the spatial moving task, regardless of the approach route or other task parameters (place related neurons). 4. Responses to the task cues in the spatial moving task were evident in 110 (46.3%) neurons (task related neurons). Of these, 77 (32.4%) neurons were not place related. The remaining 33 (13.9%) neurons were both task related and place related. These neurons responded to task cues in only that part of the field in which place related responses occurred. The neural response to the task cues disappeared when the monkey moved out of the place response region. The place related and task related neural responses disappeared when the room light was switched off. Thus information from the environment outside of the cab contributed to the place related and task related responses. 5. Stimuli presented from certain specific directions induced responses, selectively, in 41 (17.2%) of the neurons (direction related neurons). The dependence of the preferred direction was described in one of three ways--egocentric, allocentric, or place-direction specific. Nineteen egocentric neurons responded to a stimulus only when it was presented from a certain direction relative to the orientation of the monkey, regardless of the location of the monkey. Eleven allocentric neurons responded to a stimulus only when it was presented at a particular position in the room, regardless of the location or orientation of the monkey.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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