Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish
Abstract Cerebral lateralisation, the differential cognitive processing in the two brain hemispheres, is variable among individuals in most vertebrates. Part of this variance has been attributed to plasticity in response to environmental stressors experienced by individuals and might be therefore me...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01943-4 |
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| author | Eleonora Rovegno Elena Frigato Luisa Dalla Valle Cristiano Bertolucci Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato |
| author_facet | Eleonora Rovegno Elena Frigato Luisa Dalla Valle Cristiano Bertolucci Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato |
| author_sort | Eleonora Rovegno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cerebral lateralisation, the differential cognitive processing in the two brain hemispheres, is variable among individuals in most vertebrates. Part of this variance has been attributed to plasticity in response to environmental stressors experienced by individuals and might be therefore mediated by the action of glucocorticoids (GCs). Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that the GC pathway related to stress, which involved its cognate receptor GR, affects individuals’ lateralisation. First, we characterised the behavioural lateralisation phenotype of outbred wild-type zebrafish using three different tests: a motor test, a test involving a visual social stimulus (subject’s mirror image), and a test with a visual stimulus of negative valence (predator). Subsequently, we quantified the expression of the gr gene in the brain of the subjects, specifically in the telencephalon and mesencephalon of each hemisphere. Our zebrafish population exhibited individual variation but no population-level bias in behavioural lateralisation and gr expression across the two hemispheres. When we correlated the lateralisation patterns in the behavioural tests with gr expression, we observed that individuals with higher mesencephalic expression of gr in the right hemisphere were more inclined to process their mirror image using the right hemisphere. Additionally, individuals with higher gr expression in the telencephalon, showed reduced lateralisation in processing the predator stimulus. This study supports the hypothesis that GCs might affect some aspects of lateralisation, in particular those related to visual stimuli, thought the GC-Gr pathway and suggests that intraspecific variance in lateralisation could result from individual differences in gr expression. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae91a194e6a54ffc8cd6c37c8aed1fe9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae91a194e6a54ffc8cd6c37c8aed1fe92025-08-20T03:46:17ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562025-03-0128111310.1007/s10071-025-01943-4Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafishEleonora Rovegno0Elena Frigato1Luisa Dalla Valle2Cristiano Bertolucci3Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato4Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of FerraraDepartment of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of FerraraDepartment of Biology, University of PadovaDepartment of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of FerraraDepartment of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of FerraraAbstract Cerebral lateralisation, the differential cognitive processing in the two brain hemispheres, is variable among individuals in most vertebrates. Part of this variance has been attributed to plasticity in response to environmental stressors experienced by individuals and might be therefore mediated by the action of glucocorticoids (GCs). Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that the GC pathway related to stress, which involved its cognate receptor GR, affects individuals’ lateralisation. First, we characterised the behavioural lateralisation phenotype of outbred wild-type zebrafish using three different tests: a motor test, a test involving a visual social stimulus (subject’s mirror image), and a test with a visual stimulus of negative valence (predator). Subsequently, we quantified the expression of the gr gene in the brain of the subjects, specifically in the telencephalon and mesencephalon of each hemisphere. Our zebrafish population exhibited individual variation but no population-level bias in behavioural lateralisation and gr expression across the two hemispheres. When we correlated the lateralisation patterns in the behavioural tests with gr expression, we observed that individuals with higher mesencephalic expression of gr in the right hemisphere were more inclined to process their mirror image using the right hemisphere. Additionally, individuals with higher gr expression in the telencephalon, showed reduced lateralisation in processing the predator stimulus. This study supports the hypothesis that GCs might affect some aspects of lateralisation, in particular those related to visual stimuli, thought the GC-Gr pathway and suggests that intraspecific variance in lateralisation could result from individual differences in gr expression.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01943-4Cognitive ecologyDanio rerioFish cognitionIndividual differencesLaterality |
| spellingShingle | Eleonora Rovegno Elena Frigato Luisa Dalla Valle Cristiano Bertolucci Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish Animal Cognition Cognitive ecology Danio rerio Fish cognition Individual differences Laterality |
| title | Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| title_full | Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| title_fullStr | Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| title_short | Expression of glucocorticoid-receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| title_sort | expression of glucocorticoid receptor covaries with individual differences in visual lateralisation in zebrafish |
| topic | Cognitive ecology Danio rerio Fish cognition Individual differences Laterality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01943-4 |
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