title: Parallel mechanisms for visual search in zebrafish.
abstract: Parallel visual search mechanisms have been reported previously only in mammals and birds, and not animals lacking an expanded telencephalon such as bees. Here we report the first evidence for parallel visual search in fish using a choice task where the fish had to find a target amongst an increasing number of distractors. Following two-choice discrimination training, zebrafish were presented with the original stimulus within an increasing array of distractor stimuli. We found that zebrafish exhibit no significant change in accuracy and approach latency as the number of distractors increased, providing evidence of parallel processing. This evidence challenges theories of vertebrate neural architecture and the importance of an expanded telencephalon for the evolution of executive function.
authors.affiliation: Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Proulx
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matthew O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yasser
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tahir
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Caroline H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Brennan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception; D015027:Zebrafish