2021/06/15 by Andrea Messina, Davide Potrich, Ilaria Schiona +4 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills #Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhab218
openalex publication_date 2021/06/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
We found a region of the zebrafish pallium that shows selective activation upon change in the numerosity of visual stimuli. Zebrafish were habituated to sets of small dots that changed in individual size, position, and density, while maintaining their numerousness and overall surface. During dishabituation tests, zebrafish faced a change in number (with the same overall surface), in shape (with the same overall surface and number), or in size (with the same shape and number) of the dots, whereas, in a control group, zebrafish faced the same stimuli as during the habituation. Modulation of the expression of the immediate early genes c-fos and egr-1 and in situ hybridization revealed a selective activation of the caudal part of the dorso-central division of the zebrafish pallium upon change in numerosity. These findings support the existence of an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for approximate magnitude and provide an avenue for understanding its underlying molecular correlates.