(Left) The optic lobes are thought to be involved in visual processing. In this study, researchers found that guppies with larger optic lobes more quickly learned a visual discrimination task—identifying which color well contained food. (Right) The fish telencephalon is thought to be involved in spatial learning, memory, and inhibitory control. Here, the researchers found that a larger telencephalon might enhance the fish’s cognitive flexibility, allowing them to more quickly associate food with a new color after the researchers switched it.
| 1 min read
While guppies with larger optic lobes were champions at learning visual discrimination tasks, guppies with larger telencephalons fared better when researchers switched things up.

animal intelligence

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Uncovering Monkey Pattern Recognition: Why Macaques See Patterns That Aren't There

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Book Excerpt from When Animals Dream

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Opinion: Animal Dreaming Should Give Us Ethical Pause

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Do Crabs Have Feelings? Exploring Emotions in Invertebrates

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Reshuffled Genomes May Explain Cephalopods’ Smarts

an Australian magpie stares down the camera

Altruism in Birds? Magpies Have Outwitted Scientists by Helping Each Other Remove Tracking Devices

Cuttlefish, cephalopod, mollusk, mollusca, animal behavior, marshmallow test, cognition, intelligence, evolution

Cuttlefish Delay Gratification, a Sign of Smarts

See Pigs Master a Joystick Video Game

Cats recognize their names

Cats Perk Up at the Sound of Their Own Names

Trending

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The Ear as a Therapeutic Gateway to the Vagus Nerve

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Universe 25 Experiment

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T Cell Nomenclature Gets an Update

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Freeze-Tolerant Frogs Power Organ Cryopreservation Strategies

Multimedia

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Unchained Labs
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Thermo Scientific X and S Series General Purpose Centrifuges

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Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026, Issue 1

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

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Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

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An Automated DNA-to-Data Framework for Production-Scale Sequencing

illumina
Exploring Cellular Organization with Spatial Proteomics

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Organoid Origins and How to Grow Them

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BRANDTECH Scientific Introduces the Transferpette® pro Micropipette: A New Twist on Comfort and Control

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Biotium Launches GlycoLiner™ Cell Surface Glycoprotein Labeling Kits for Rapid and Selective Cell Surface Imaging

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Thermo Scientific X and S Series General Purpose Centrifuges

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VANTAstar Flexible microplate reader with simplified workflows

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