{"id":26529,"date":"2023-04-26T15:31:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T13:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=142516"},"modified":"2023-04-26T15:38:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T13:38:25","slug":"this-cyborg-fish-is-teaching-us-how-your-brain-handles-navigation","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/this-cyborg-fish-is-teaching-us-how-your-brain-handles-navigation\/","title":{"rendered":"This cyborg fish is teaching us how your brain handles navigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

That hat though. <\/p>

By Noa Leach\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 26 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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No, this isn\u2019t the aquatic version of the Chelsea Flower Show. The hat-wearing goldfish above is actually one of the stars in a new study finally explaining how the animals navigate in water.<\/p>\n

This \u201ccyborg fish\u201d, as Ronen Segev<\/a> \u2013 professor at Israel\u2019s Ben-Gurion University \u2013 calls it, was one of several used in the study. \u201cStudying fish present a real opportunity for brain science,\u201d Segev told BBC Science Focus<\/em> \u2013 and apparently it\u2019s all because of that hat.<\/p>\n

Navigation is vital to finding food and shelter and escaping from predators. And it\u2019s not straightforward:\u00a0navigating involves learning the environment, embedding information about that environment in the brain, and then retrieving it when needed. In fact, despite their reputation for having a bad memory, Segev explains, fish actually learn and remember their environment in order to navigate it better. We\u2019ve been unaware of exactly how this works \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n

The researchers used recording devices to measure a neuron in a part of the fish\u2019s brain that is associated with navigation while it swam along channels in a fish tank. This helped the researchers identify boundary vector cells (cells that respond to an animal\u2019s direction and distance from a boundary) that are similar to those found in mammals. However, unlike mammals, the goldfish\u2019s boundary vector cells allow it to move in \u2018three-dimensional\u2019 environments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Humans don\u2019t, of course, live in a cartoon-like world \u2013 but unlike terrestrial creatures, fish must navigate horizontally, diagonally and<\/em> vertically.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s actually in the hat? What looks like a stack of luggage is actually electronics that capture the neural signal, amplify it and then store it on a memory chip. The researchers then used the data to plot the fish\u2019s neuron activity against its motion detected by a camera in front of the tank.<\/p>\n

According to Segev, the benefit of working with fish is that this hat effectively becomes a floating device in water rather than weighing the fish down \u2013 causing no disturbance to its swimming.<\/p>\n

The study published in PLOS Biology<\/em> shows that goldfish navigation is comparable to rats, suggesting that mammals share some navigational tools with fish. Given that mammals and fish separated off into a different evolutionary<\/a> stream from mammals billions of years ago, these results may aid our understanding of the navigation system in human brains.<\/p>\n

The next step for the researchers will be sending the cyborg fish into the semi-natural environment of a pond. Here, they will track the neuron activity of the fish while they interact in a larger environment \u2013 including with other fish. Apparently, Segev says, other fish aren\u2019t too bothered by the cyborgs: \u201cThey don\u2019t seem to care. We initially thought the device might weaken the fish and that it might be attacked by others, but it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cFish are extremely important for the environment \u2013 so it is important that we understand their physiology, the way they behave and how they do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNavigation helps us learn about understanding, learning and memory which is why it is such an important aspect of behaviour and brain science.\u201d<\/p>\n

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About our expert<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Dr Ronen Segev is a professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neurosciences, and Life Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research has been published in journals including\u00a0Frontiers In Neuroscience<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Nature Communications.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n