Stimulus Contrast Information Modulates Sensorimotor Decision Making in Goldfish.

ABSTRACT: Animal survival relies on environmental information gathered by their sensory systems. We found that contrast information of a looming stimulus biases the type of defensive behavior that goldfish (Carassius auratus) perform. Low-contrast looms only evoke subtle alarm reactions whose probability is independent of contrast. As looming contrast increases, the probability of eliciting a fast escape maneuver, the C-start response, increases dramatically. Contrast information also modulates the decision of when to escape. Although response latency is known to depend on looming retinal size, we found that contrast acts as an additional parameter influencing this decision. When presenting progressively higher contrast stimuli, animals need shorter periods of stimulus processing to initiate

SUBMITTER: Otero Coronel S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7270408 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature