Uncovering the Secrets of Animal Cognition: Lessons from Eusocial Insects

Published on July 20, 2022

Just like a bustling network of interconnected cities, the brain is a complex system teeming with diverse components. The study of animal cognition requires unraveling the origins and maintenance of cognitive variation, but exploring each element in isolation presents challenges. Imagine trying to understand a highway system by analyzing one traffic light at a time! That’s where eusocial-insect colonies come in. These impressive insect societies exhibit cognitive-like behaviors that emerge from the interactions of different individuals working together. Studying these remarkable colonies provides scientists with a tractable alternative model system to investigate the evolution of cognition. By observing and manipulating simple social interactions within a colony, researchers can gain valuable insights into how collective intelligence arises. So, buckle up and join the expedition as scientists delve into the secrets of animal cognition through the lens of eusocial insects!

Understanding the origins and maintenance of cognitive variation in animal populations is central to the study of the evolution of cognition. However, the brain is itself a complex, hierarchical network of heterogeneous components, from diverse cell types to diverse neuropils, each of which may be of limited use to study in isolation or prohibitively challenging to manipulate in situ. Consequently, highly tractable alternative model systems may be valuable tools. Eusocial-insect colonies display emergent cognitive-like properties from relatively simple social interactions between diverse subunits that can be observed and manipulated while operating collectively.

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