Messina Andrea, Potrich Davide, Perrino Matilde, Sheardown Eva, Miletto Petrazzini Maria Elena, Luu Peter, Nadtochiy Anna, Truong Thai V, Sovrano Valeria Anna, Fraser Scott E, Brennan Caroline H, Vallortigara Giorgio
Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, New Hunt's House, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom.
Front Neuroanat. 2022 Jul 14;16:943504. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2022.943504. eCollection 2022.
An ability to estimate quantities, such as the number of conspecifics or the size of a predator, has been reported in vertebrates. Fish, in particular zebrafish, may be instrumental in advancing the understanding of magnitude cognition. We review here the behavioral studies that have described the ecological relevance of quantity estimation in fish and the current status of the research aimed at investigating the neurobiological bases of these abilities. By combining behavioral methods with molecular genetics and calcium imaging, the involvement of the retina and the optic tectum has been documented for the estimation of continuous quantities in the larval and adult zebrafish brain, and the contributions of the thalamus and the dorsal-central pallium for discrete magnitude estimation in the adult zebrafish brain. Evidence for basic circuitry can now be complemented and extended to research that make use of transgenic lines to deepen our understanding of quantity cognition at genetic and molecular levels.
据报道，脊椎动物具有估计数量的能力，例如同种个体的数量或捕食者的大小。鱼类，特别是斑马鱼，可能有助于推进对数量认知的理解。我们在此回顾那些描述了鱼类数量估计的生态相关性的行为学研究，以及旨在探究这些能力的神经生物学基础的研究现状。通过将行为学方法与分子遗传学和钙成像相结合，已证明视网膜和视顶盖参与了幼体和成体斑马鱼大脑中连续数量的估计，而丘脑和背中央 pallium 则参与了成体斑马鱼大脑中离散数量大小的估计。现在，基本神经回路的证据可以得到补充，并扩展到利用转基因品系的研究中，以加深我们在基因和分子水平上对数量认知的理解。
