Abstract

Executive functions are a set of cognitive control processes required for optimizing goal-directed behavior. Despite more than two centuries of research on executive functions, mostly in humans and nonhuman primates, there is still a knowledge gap in what constitutes the mechanistic basis of evolutionary variation in executive function abilities. Here, we show experimentally that size changes in a forebrain structure (i.e. telencephalon) underlie individual variation in executive function capacities in a fish. For this, we used male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) issued from artificial selection lines with substantial differences in telencephalon size relative to the rest of the brain. We tested fish from the up- and down-selected lines not only in three tasks for the main core executive functions: cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory, but also in a basic conditioning test that does not require executive functions. Individuals with relatively larger telencephalons outperformed individuals with smaller telencephalons in all three executive function assays but not in the conditioning assay. Based on our findings, we propose that the telencephalon is the executive brain in teleost fish. Together, it suggests that selective enlargement of key brain structures with distinct functions, like the fish telencephalon, is a potent evolutionary pathway toward evolutionary enhancement of advanced cognitive abilities in vertebrates.

Details

Title
Experimental expansion of relative telencephalon size improves the main executive function abilities in guppy
Author
Triki, Zegni 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Fong, Stephanie 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Amcoff, Mirjam 1 ; Vàsquez-Nilsson, Sebastian 1 ; Kolm, Niclas 1 

 Department of Zoology, Stockholm University , Svante Arrheniusväg 18 B, Stockholm 106 91 , Sweden 
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Jun 2023
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
27526542
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3191892156
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Academy of Sciences. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.