scholarly journals Selection for Reinforcement-Free Learning Ability as an Organizing Factor in the Evolution of Cognition

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solvi Arnold ◽  
Reiji Suzuki ◽  
Takaya Arita
Keyword(s):  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Baldwin Effect ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Neural Organization ◽  
Environmental Structure ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Efficient Learning ◽  
Complexity Thesis

This research explores the relation between environmental structure and neurocognitive structure. We hypothesize that selection pressure on abilities for efficient learning (especially in settings with limited or no reward information) translates into selection pressure on correspondence relations between neurocognitive and environmental structure, since such correspondence allows for simple changes in the environment to be handled with simple learning updates in neurocognitive structure. We present a model in which a simple form of reinforcement-free learning is evolved in neural networks using neuromodulation and analyze the effect this selection for learning ability has on the virtual species' neural organization. We find a higher degree of organization than in a control population evolved without learning ability and discuss the relation between the observed neural structure and the environmental structure. We discuss our findings in the context of the environmental complexity thesis, the Baldwin effect, and other interactions between adaptation processes.

scholarly journals Embodied intelligence via learning and evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agrim Gupta ◽  
Silvio Savarese ◽  
Surya Ganguli ◽  
Li Fei-Fei
Keyword(s):  
Intelligent Control ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Baldwin Effect ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Embodied Intelligence ◽  
And Control

AbstractThe intertwined processes of learning and evolution in complex environmental niches have resulted in a remarkable diversity of morphological forms. Moreover, many aspects of animal intelligence are deeply embodied in these evolved morphologies. However, the principles governing relations between environmental complexity, evolved morphology, and the learnability of intelligent control, remain elusive, because performing large-scale in silico experiments on evolution and learning is challenging. Here, we introduce Deep Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning (DERL): a computational framework which can evolve diverse agent morphologies to learn challenging locomotion and manipulation tasks in complex environments. Leveraging DERL we demonstrate several relations between environmental complexity, morphological intelligence and the learnability of control. First, environmental complexity fosters the evolution of morphological intelligence as quantified by the ability of a morphology to facilitate the learning of novel tasks. Second, we demonstrate a morphological Baldwin effect i.e., in our simulations evolution rapidly selects morphologies that learn faster, thereby enabling behaviors learned late in the lifetime of early ancestors to be expressed early in the descendants lifetime. Third, we suggest a mechanistic basis for the above relationships through the evolution of morphologies that are more physically stable and energy efficient, and can therefore facilitate learning and control.

scholarly journals Phenotypic, genotypic and biochemical changes during pyrethroid resistance selection in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell G. Machani ◽  
Eric Ochomo ◽  
Daibin Zhong ◽  
Guofa Zhou ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Insecticide Resistance ◽  
Anopheles Gambiae ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Pyrethroid Resistance ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Biochemical Changes ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Selection For

Abstract The directional selection for insecticide resistance due to indiscriminate use of insecticides in public health and agricultural system favors an increase in the frequency of insecticide-resistant alleles in the natural populations. Similarly, removal of selection pressure generally leads to decay in resistance. Past investigations on the emergence of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes mostly relied on field survey of resistance in vector populations that typically had a complex history of exposure to various public health and agricultural pest control insecticides in nature, and thus the effect of specific insecticides on rate of resistance emergency or resistance decay rate is not known. This study examined the phenotypic, genotypic, and biochemical changes that had occurred during the process of selection for pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae, the most important malaria vector in Africa. In parallel, we also examined these changes in resistant populations when there is no selection pressure applied. Through repeated deltamethrin selection in adult mosquitoes from a field population collected in western Kenya for 12 generations, we obtained three independent and highly pyrethroid-resistant An. gambiae populations. Three susceptible populations from the same parental population were generated by removing selection pressure. These two lines of mosquito populations differed significantly in monooxygenase and beta-esterase activities, but not in Vgsc gene mutation frequency, suggesting metabolic detoxification mechanism plays a major role in generating moderate-intensity resistance or high-intensity resistance. Pre-exposure to the synergist piperonyl butoxide restored the susceptibility to insecticide among the highly resistant mosquitoes, confirming the role of monooxygenases in pyrethroid resistance. The rate of resistance decay to become fully susceptible from moderate-intensity resistance took 15 generations, supporting at least 2-years interval is needed when the rotational use of insecticides with different modes of action is considered for resistance management.

scholarly journals Brain Lateralization: A Comparative Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onur Güntürkün ◽  
Felix Ströckens ◽  
Sebastian Ocklenburg
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Neural Organization ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The 19Th Century

Comparative studies on brain asymmetry date back to the 19th century but then largely disappeared due to the assumption that lateralization is uniquely human. Since the reemergence of this field in the 1970s, we learned that left-right differences of brain and behavior exist throughout the animal kingdom and pay off in terms of sensory, cognitive, and motor efficiency. Ontogenetically, lateralization starts in many species with asymmetrical expression patterns of genes within the Nodal cascade that set up the scene for later complex interactions of genetic, environmental, and epigenetic factors. These take effect during different time points of ontogeny and create asymmetries of neural networks in diverse species. As a result, depending on task demands, left- or right-hemispheric loops of feedforward or feedback projections are then activated and can temporarily dominate a neural process. In addition, asymmetries of commissural transfer can shape lateralized processes in each hemisphere. It is still unclear if interhemispheric interactions depend on an inhibition/excitation dichotomy or instead adjust the contralateral temporal neural structure to delay the other hemisphere or synchronize with it during joint action. As outlined in our review, novel animal models and approaches could be established in the last decades, and they already produced a substantial increase of knowledge. Since there is practically no realm of human perception, cognition, emotion, or action that is not affected by our lateralized neural organization, insights from these comparative studies are crucial to understand the functions and pathologies of our asymmetric brain.

scholarly journals Characteristics of survivors: growth and nutritional condition of early stages of the hake species Merluccius paradoxus and M. capensis in the southern Benguela ecosystem

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Grote ◽  
Werner Ekau ◽  
Erling K. Stenevik ◽  
Catriona Clemmesen ◽  
Hans M. Verheye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Larval Mortality ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Nutritional Condition ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Benguela Upwelling ◽  
Selection For ◽  
High Selection

Abstract Grote, B., Ekau, W., Stenevik, E. K., Clemmesen, C., Verheye, H. M., Lipinski, M. R., and Hagen, W. 2012. Characteristics of survivors: growth and nutritional condition of early stages of the hake species Merluccius paradoxus and M. capensis in the southern Benguela ecosystem. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 553–562. Larval mortality in marine fish is strongly linked to characteristic traits such as growth and condition, but the variability in these traits is poorly understood. We tried to identify the variability in growth in relation to conditions leading to greater survival chances for early stages of Cape hake, Merluccius paradoxus and M. capensis, in the Benguela upwelling ecosystem. During two cruises in 2007 and one cruise in 2008, hake larvae and juveniles were caught. Otolith microstructures revealed a larval age ranging from 2 to 29 days post-hatching (dph), whereas juvenile age was 67–152 dph. RNA:DNA ratios, used to evaluate nutritional condition, were above the relevant threshold level for growth. No strong coupling between growth and condition was detected, indicating a complex relationship between these factors in the southern Benguela ecosystem. Merluccius paradoxus juveniles caught in 2007 (the surviving larvae of 2006) had significantly higher larval growth rates than larvae hatched in 2007 and 2008, possibly indicating selection for fast growth in 2006. High selection pressure on growth could be linked to predation avoidance, including cannibalism.

Effect of index selection for reduced backfat thickness and increased growth rate on sow weight changes through two parities in swine

1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Backfat Thickness ◽  
Index Selection ◽  
Weight Changes ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Impact

The impact of continued selection for reduced backfat thickness and improved growth rate on weight changes in Yorkshire and Hampshire sows, from breeding as gilts to weaning their second litter, was studied. Results suggest that some sow weight changes may have been influenced by selection pressure exerted. Key words: Sows, Canadian Yorkshire, Hampshire, liveweight change

SELECTION PRESSURE IN CELL POPULATIONS OF VICIA HAJASTANA CULTURED IN VITRO

1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Singh ◽  
B. L. Harvey ◽  
K. N. Kao ◽  
R. A. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Distribution ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Cell Populations ◽  
Tissue Cultures ◽  
Very Low Frequency ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Diploid Cells ◽  
Mature Seeds

Tissue cultures from mature seeds of Vicia hajastana Grossh (2n = 10) were maintained in liquid B5 medium with 4.5 × 10−6 M 2,4-D. Initially the cultures had a very low frequency of diploid cells, which increased to 91.7% after 295 days in culture, indicating a strong selection for diploid cells. Chromosomes with changed morphology were observed and anaphase analysis showed various abnormalities. The frequency distribution of different chromosomes of the genome in aneuploid cells was nonrandom.

Changes in resistance to powdery mildew in a barley composite cross

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 916-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Reinhold ◽  
M. E. Bjarko ◽  
D. C. Sands ◽  
H. E. Bockelman
Keyword(s):  
Hordeum Vulgare ◽  
Powdery Mildew ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Recurrent Selection ◽  
Erysiphe Graminis ◽  
Response To Selection ◽  
Multiple Alleles ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Representative Samples

The response of barley composite cross XLII to selection for resistance to powdery mildew was evaluated. Representative samples from eight cycles of recurrent selection were inoculated with two isolates of Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei. Frequencies of resistant plants were determined for each cycle. The resistance in composite cross XLII increased with selection. Increased selection pressure in 1986 resulted in a more rapid increase in resistance than in previous years. Multiple alleles occurring in the Ml-a locus did not seem to have a negative effect on the accumulation of resistance in composite cross XLII. Key words: Hordeum vulgare, barley, Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei, powdery mildew, response to selection, recurrent selection.

scholarly journals Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1567) ◽  
pp. 1008-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carel P. van Schaik ◽  
Judith M. Burkart
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Social Deprivation ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Cultural Skills ◽  
Independent Individual ◽  
Do So

If social learning is more efficient than independent individual exploration, animals should learn vital cultural skills exclusively, and routine skills faster, through social learning, provided they actually use social learning preferentially. Animals with opportunities for social learning indeed do so. Moreover, more frequent opportunities for social learning should boost an individual's repertoire of learned skills. This prediction is confirmed by comparisons among wild great ape populations and by social deprivation and enculturation experiments. These findings shaped the cultural intelligence hypothesis, which complements the traditional benefit hypotheses for the evolution of intelligence by specifying the conditions in which these benefits can be reaped. The evolutionary version of the hypothesis argues that species with frequent opportunities for social learning should more readily respond to selection for a greater number of learned skills. Because improved social learning also improves asocial learning, the hypothesis predicts a positive interspecific correlation between social-learning performance and individual learning ability. Variation among primates supports this prediction. The hypothesis also predicts that more heavily cultural species should be more intelligent. Preliminary tests involving birds and mammals support this prediction too. The cultural intelligence hypothesis can also account for the unusual cognitive abilities of humans, as well as our unique mechanisms of skill transfer.

scholarly journals Homeotic transformations and number changes in the vertebral column of Triturus newts

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Slijepčević ◽  
Frietson F Galis ◽  
Jan W Arntzen ◽  
Ana Ivanović
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Thoracic Vertebrae ◽  
Modal Number ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Species Hybridization ◽  
Range Of Variation

We explored intraspecific variation in vertebral formulae, more specifically the variation in the number of thoracic vertebrae and frequencies of transitional sacral vertebrae in Triturus newts (Caudata: Salamandridae). Within salamandrid salamanders this monophyletic group shows the highest disparity in the number of thoracic vertebrae and considerable intraspecific variation in the number of thoracic vertebrae. Triturus species also differ in their ecological preferences, from predominantly terrestrial to largely aquatic. Following Geoffroy St. Hilaire’s and Darwin’s rule which states that structures with a large number of serially homologous repetitive elements are more variable than structures with smaller numbers, we hypothesized that the variation in vertebral formulae increases in more elongated species with a larger number of thoracic vertebrae. We furthermore hypothesized that the frequency of transitional vertebrae will be correlated with the variation in the number of thoracic vertebrae within the species. We also investigated potential effects of species hybridization on the vertebral formula. The proportion of individuals with a number of thoracic vertebrae different from the modal number and the range of variation in number of vertebrae significantly increased in species with a larger number of thoracic vertebrae. Contrary to our expectation, the frequencies of transitional vertebrae were not correlated with frequencies of change in the complete vertebrae number. The frequency of transitional sacral vertebra in hybrids did not significantly differ from that of the parental species. Such a pattern could be a result of selection pressure against transitional vertebrae and/or a bias towards the development of full vertebrae numbers. Although our data indicate relaxed selection for vertebral count changes in more elongated, aquatic species, more data on different selective pressures in species with different numbers of vertebrae in the two contrasting, terrestrial and aquatic environments are needed to test for causality.

scholarly journals Regulatory and sequence evolution in response to selection for improved associative learning ability in Nasonia vitripennis

BMC Genomics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Kraaijeveld ◽  
Vicencio Oostra ◽  
Maartje Liefting ◽  
Bregje Wertheim ◽  
Emile de Meijer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Sequence Evolution ◽  
Response To Selection ◽  
Nasonia Vitripennis ◽  
Selection For
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