Contextual Plasticity Research Articles

Disentangling genetic, plastic and social learning drivers of sex-specific foraging behaviour in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata).

Evolutionary biologists have long been interested in parsing out the roles of genetics, plasticity and their interaction on adaptive trait divergence. Since males and females often have different ecological and reproductive roles, separating how their traits are shaped by interactions between their genes and environment is necessary and important. Here, we disentangle the sex-specific effects of genetic divergence, developmental plasticity, social learning and contextual plasticity on foraging behaviour in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) adapted to high- or low-predation habitats. We reared second-generation siblings from both predation regimes with or without predator chemical cues, and with adult conspecifics from either high- or low-predation habitats. We then quantified their foraging behaviour in water with and without predator chemical cues. We found that high-predation guppies forage more efficiently than low-predation guppies, but this behavioural difference is context-dependent and shaped by different mechanisms in males and females. Higher foraging efficiency in high-predation females is largely genetically determined, and to a smaller extent socially learned from conspecifics. However, in high-predation males, higher foraging efficiency is plastically induced by predator cues during development. Our study demonstrates sex-specific differences in genetic versus plastic responses in foraging behaviour, a trait of significance in organismal fitness and ecosystem dynamics.

Environmental effects on the ontogenesis of tadpole personality

Behaviours are highly plastic phenotypic traits whose variation depends on the short-term response to external stimuli (contextual plasticity) and on the long-term response to past experiences (developmental plasticity). Despite this great flexibility, behaviours often show individual differences that are consistent across time and context (i.e. ‘animal personality’). By adopting a behavioural-reaction-norm (BRN) approach, we used a factorial common garden experiment to investigate the effects of contextual and developmental plasticity on the antipredator behaviour of treefrog tadpoles, Hyla intermedia . We raised 96 tadpoles from eight half sib–full sib families under different biotic (predation risk) and abiotic (shading) environmental conditions and described their activity and spatial behaviour in experimental arenas with either a caged predator, a caged conspecific or an empty cage. Tadpoles raised with predator cues were always less active and stayed further away from caged predators than their predator-naïve siblings. Tadpoles raised in the shade were less active than those raised in the sun. Not only was the raising environment responsible for among-individual variation but it also acted at the within-individual level by affecting behavioural repeatability, which was higher in predator-naïve than in predator-experienced tadpoles. Besides the important role of the environment, this study also shows consistent variation in BRNs with body size and time: tadpoles became more active as they got larger and their activity increased with time in the presence of caged predators, decreased in the presence of empty cages and did not change with caged conspecifics. These results suggest that the effects of past and present experiences on tadpole behaviour vary with time as a consequence of growth and development. • We investigate the environmental effects on the development of tadpole behaviour. • Tadpoles were raised under different predation risk and shady conditions. • The ontogenetic environment has strong effects on tadpole personality. • Stressful environments reduce variation in personality. • Independent of the environment, personality changes during growth and development.

Why are some personalities less plastic?

Individuals from the same population typically show consistent differences in behavioural traits that are frequently associated with differences in contextual plasticity. Yet such a correlation might arise either because some individuals are better able than others to detect environmental changes or because the benefits of being plastic are condition-dependent. To discriminate between these two competing hypotheses, I developed an individual-based model that simulates a population in which individuals of varying fighting ability compete by pairwise interactions using either the fixed hawk (aggressive) or dove (peaceful) strategies or a conditional assessment strategy. As anticipated, the model predicts that only individuals with low (and/or intermediate) fighting ability should use the assessment strategy, giving rise to a negative (or dome-shaped) relationship between aggressiveness and plasticity. The proportion of plastic individuals, however, should be affected not only by the environmental conditions in which individuals live but also by the mechanism that would maintain variation in the traits that determine the benefits of plasticity. In particular, if individual differences in fighting ability may be eroded by natural selection, it predicts that ecological conditions that cause assortative interactions (e.g. high predation risks) would contribute in maintaining variation among individuals in their fighting ability, thereby favouring greater plasticity.

Single-Cell Transcriptomics Analyses of Neural Stem Cell Heterogeneity and Contextual Plasticity in a Zebrafish Brain Model of Amyloid Toxicity

The neural stem cell (NSC) reservoir can be harnessed for stem cell-based regenerative therapies. Zebrafish remarkably regenerate their brain by inducing NSC plasticity in a Amyloid-β-42 (Aβ42)-induced experimental Alzheimer's disease (AD) model. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is also critical for AD-induced NSC proliferation. However, the mechanisms of this response have remained unknown. Using single-cell transcriptomics in the adult zebrafish brain, we identify distinct subtypes of NSCs and neurons and differentially regulated pathways and their gene ontologies and investigate how cell-cell communication is altered through ligand-receptor pairs in AD conditions. Our results propose the existence of heterogeneous and spatially organized stem cell populations that react distinctly to amyloid toxicity. This resource article provides an extensive database for the molecular basis of NSC plasticity in the AD model of the adult zebrafish brain. Further analyses of stem cell heterogeneity and neuro-regenerative ability at single-cell resolution could yield drug targets for mobilizing NSCs for endogenous neuro-regeneration in humans.

Temporal characteristics of contextual effects in sound localization.

Two experiments examined plasticity induced by context in a simple target localization task. The context was represented by interleaved localization trials with the target preceded by a distractor. In a previous study, the context induced large response shifts when the target and distractor stimuli were identical 2-ms-noise clicks [Kopčo, Best, and Shinn-Cunningham (2007). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 121, 420-432]. Here, the temporal characteristics of the contextual effect were examined for the same stimuli. Experiment 1 manipulated the context presentation rate and the distractor-target inter-stimulus interval (ISI). Experiment 2 manipulated the temporal structure of the context stimulus, replacing the one-click distractor either by a distractor consisting of eight sequentially presented clicks or by a noise burst with total energy and duration identical to the eight-click distractor. In experiment 1, the contextual shift size increased with increasing context rate while being largely independent of ISI. In experiment 2, the eight-click-distractor induced a stronger shift than the one-click-distractor context, while the noise-distractor context induced a very small shift. These results suggest that contextual plasticity is an adaptation driven both by low-level factors like spatiotemporal context distribution and higher-level factors like perceptual similarity between the stimuli, possibly related to precedence buildup.

Predictive Place-Cell Sequences for Goal-Finding Emerge from Goal Memory and the Cognitive Map: A Computational Model.

Hippocampal place-cell sequences observed during awake immobility often represent previous experience, suggesting a role in memory processes. However, recent reports of goals being overrepresented in sequential activity suggest a role in short-term planning, although a detailed understanding of the origins of hippocampal sequential activity and of its functional role is still lacking. In particular, it is unknown which mechanism could support efficient planning by generating place-cell sequences biased toward known goal locations, in an adaptive and constructive fashion. To address these questions, we propose a model of spatial learning and sequence generation as interdependent processes, integrating cortical contextual coding, synaptic plasticity and neuromodulatory mechanisms into a map-based approach. Following goal learning, sequential activity emerges from continuous attractor network dynamics biased by goal memory inputs. We apply Bayesian decoding on the resulting spike trains, allowing a direct comparison with experimental data. Simulations show that this model (1) explains the generation of never-experienced sequence trajectories in familiar environments, without requiring virtual self-motion signals, (2) accounts for the bias in place-cell sequences toward goal locations, (3) highlights their utility in flexible route planning, and (4) provides specific testable predictions.

Mechanisms of contextual plasticity in sound localization

Contextual plasticity (CP) is a form of short-term adaptation in sound localization, operating on time scales of tens of seconds to minutes. At least two different mechanisms have been proposed to underlie this effect: 1) adaptation in auditory spatial representation that reflects a change in the stimulus range caused by the context (as the context typically included a distractor presented from a new location outside the range of the experimental targets), and 2) precedence buildup-like mechanism activated by the context (because the context typically consisted of distractor-target click pairs presented on majority of trials and interleaved with target-alone experimental trials). Here a new experiment was performed and previous experimental data were analyzed with the goal of determining which of the two mechanisms is more likely to cause CP. The experiments manipulated the following aspects of the context: 1) whether the distractor and target were presented as pairs 2) the distribution of distractor and target locations, and 3) the order of distractor and target. Results are partially consistent with the adaptation mechanism. But in some conditions, the shifts predicted by the adaptation mechanism were not observed, suggesting that the precedence buildup or other mechanisms are also active. [Work supported by APVV-0452-12.]

Genetic Correlations among Developmental and Contextual Behavioral Plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster.

Correlations among traits, including behaviors, are important because traits that are genetically correlated may not evolve independently. Recently, behavioral-correlations research has expanded to include correlations not only in mean-level behaviors but also in behavioral plasticity, that is, the degree to which individuals change their behavior in response to environmental stimuli. Positive correlations among behavioral plasticities would imply that individuals or genotypes that are behaviorally plastic in one way may also be plastic in other ways; negative correlations could imply trade-offs. Here, we examine aversive odor conditioning (learning) at two time points and plasticity in pupation site selection behavior across substrates in a panel of Drosophila genotypes. These behaviors represent different types of behavioral plasticity: contextual plasticity describes behavioral responses to stimuli that are currently present, while developmental plasticity describes behavioral responses to remembered experiences with stimuli in the recent past. We find that learning scores and plasticity in pupation site selection behavior are positively genetically correlated, representing the first example of a genetic correlation between developmental and contextual plasticity. These findings imply that ecological and evolutionary theories focusing on variation in a single dimension of behavioral plasticity may be incomplete.

New View on Endothelial Cell Migration

Cell-matrix interactions are crucial for regulating cellular activities, such as migration. This is of special importance for morphogenic processes, such as angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels). Most of our understanding of cell migration relies on 2-dimensional (2D) experiments. However, the awareness that 3D settings might elicit different results has increased. Knowledge about endothelial cell (EC) behavior in 3D environments and the influence of matrix composition on EC migration, in particular, is still limited. We characterize the migration of single ECs through 2 structurally different hydrogels: spongy Matrigel and fibrillar collagen I. Our observations reveal an elongated migration phenotype in Matrigel and a rounded phenotype with pronounced cell blebs (blebs >2 µm) in collagen I, which have not previously been described in ECs. Directed migration seems to depend on Rac1 and Cdc42 in collagen, but not in Matrigel (shown using appropriate pharmacological inhibitors). By applying anti-integrin antibodies and supplementing laminin in collagen gels, we identify laminin as the main determinant of the elongated phenotype. Laminin seems to induce a morphological switch between modes of migration. As an in situ proof of principle, we performed live imaging of EC migration during vascular growth in a murine retina in the absence and presence of anti-integrin antibodies. We show that, surprisingly, ECs can evade the pharmacological inhibition of central signaling pathways involved in migration (contractility, small GTPases, and proteolysis) by shifting gears between modes of migration. This finding indicates an unexpected contextual plasticity of EC behavior.

Buildup of contextual plasticity in sound localization

Contextual plasticity (CP) is a form of plasticity in sound localization induced by preceding stimulation. CP is observed as shifts in responses to a click stimulus when, on interleaved trials, the target click is preceded by an identical distractor click coming from a known location. This study examines temporal properties of CP by analyzing behavioral data from two previous experiments [Kopčo, Best, Shinn-Cunningham (2005), ARO Abstract #965; Tomoriová, Kopčo and Andoga (2010), ARO Abstract #827]. In the experiments, the distractor type (single click, train of 8 clicks, or noise), consistency (distractor type fixed within block vs. varying from trial to trial), and location (frontal vs. lateral) were manipulated. The results show that contextual plasticity buildup duration depends on the distractor location. Also, the buildup was stronger with 8-click distractor than 1-click distractor. When distractor type varied, the context type on immediately preceding trial influenced performance in the middle of the run, such that trials following an 8-click context exhibited shifts up to 5° larger than the trials following a 1-click context. No such bi-stable percept was observed in other parts of the run. These results show that CP has complex temporal profile on time scales of seconds to minutes. [Work supported by APVV-0452-12.]

Level up: the expression of male sexually selected cuticular hydrocarbons is mediated by sexual experience

The use of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in species recognition, sex identification and sexual selection is widespread in insects. However, few studies have studied plasticity in CHCs. Here we examine the effect of age and social environment on a suite of sexually selected CHCs in Drosophila serrata. We demonstrate that the combination of CHCs that is associated with increased male mating success (CHCβ) changes as males age, and this effect is mediated by social environment. When single males were housed with multiple females, their expression of CHCβ increased across the first few days of their adult life, after which expression declined with increasing age. In contrast, sexually selected CHCs of males housed with other males, males housed with other males and females, and males housed alone all decreased across days. To determine the long-term consequences of mating on CHC expression, we allowed males a single mating opportunity and subsequently found some indication of a brief spike in CHCβ. Finally, to determine whether visual and olfactory contact with females, copulation, or intromission causes males to express high values of CHCβ, we manipulated male access and physical contact with females. We found that although prolonged copulation causes a slight increase in male CHCβ, only a successful copulation with sperm transfer induced males to develop CHCs associated with high mating success. Taken as a whole, our results demonstrate that the expression of sexually selected CHCs in males varies with both age and social context, and suggest that the latter is mediated at least in part by successful matings with females. More generally, contextual plasticity in CHCs is likely to affect both the experimental design of CHC-based experiments and the evolution of CHC signals as naturally and sexually selected traits.

Individual differences in behavioural plasticities.

Interest in individual differences in animal behavioural plasticities has surged in recent years, but research in this area has been hampered by semantic confusion as different investigators use the same terms (e.g. plasticity, flexibility, responsiveness) to refer to different phenomena. The first goal of this review is to suggest a framework for categorizing the many different types of behavioural plasticities, describe examples of each, and indicate why using reversibility as a criterion for categorizing behavioural plasticities is problematic. This framework is then used to address a number of timely questions about individual differences in behavioural plasticities. One set of questions concerns the experimental designs that can be used to study individual differences in various types of behavioural plasticities. Although within-individual designs are the default option for empirical studies of many types of behavioural plasticities, in some situations (e.g. when experience at an early age affects the behaviour expressed at subsequent ages), 'replicate individual' designs can provide useful insights into individual differences in behavioural plasticities. To date, researchers using within-individual and replicate individual designs have documented individual differences in all of the major categories of behavioural plasticities described herein. Another important question is whether and how different types of behavioural plasticities are related to one another. Currently there is empirical evidence that many behavioural plasticities [e.g. contextual plasticity, learning rates, IIV (intra-individual variability), endogenous plasticities, ontogenetic plasticities) can themselves vary as a function of experiences earlier in life, that is, many types of behavioural plasticity are themselves developmentally plastic. These findings support the assumption that differences among individuals in prior experiences may contribute to individual differences in behavioural plasticities observed at a given age. Several authors have predicted correlations across individuals between different types of behavioural plasticities, i.e. that some individuals will be generally more plastic than others. However, empirical support for most of these predictions, including indirect evidence from studies of relationships between personality traits and plasticities, is currently sparse and equivocal. The final section of this review suggests how an appreciation of the similarities and differences between different types of behavioural plasticities may help theoreticians formulate testable models to explain the evolution of individual differences in behavioural plasticities and the evolutionary and ecological consequences of individual differences in behavioural plasticities.

Contextual plasticity, top-down, and non-auditory factors in sound localization with a distractor.

Localization of a 2-ms-click target was previously shown to be influenced by interleaved localization trials in which the target was preceded by an identical distractor [Kopčo, Best, and Shinn-Cunningham (2007). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 121, 420-432]. Here, two experiments were conducted to explore this contextual effect. Results show that context-related bias is not eliminated (1) when the response method is changed so that vision is available or that no hand-pointing is required; or (2) when the distractor-target order is reversed. Additionally, a keyboard-based localization response method is introduced and shown to be more accurate than traditional pointer-based methods.

Fear is the mother of invention: anuran embryos exposed to predator cues alter life-history traits, post-hatching behaviour and neuronal activity patterns.

Neurophysiological modifications associated to phenotypic plasticity in response to predators are largely unexplored, and there is a gap of knowledge on how the information encoded in predator cues is processed by prey sensory systems. To explore these issues, we exposed Rana dalmatina embryos to dragonfly chemical cues (kairomones) up to hatching. At different times after hatching (up to 40 days), we recorded morphology and anti-predator behaviour of tadpoles from control and kairomone-treated embryo groups as well as their neural olfactory responses, by recording the activity of their mitral neurons before and after exposure to a kairomone solution. Treated embryos hatched later and hatchlings were smaller than control siblings. In addition, the tadpoles from the treated group showed a stronger anti-predator response than controls at 10 days (but not at 30 days) post-hatching, though the intensity of the contextual response to the kairomone stimulus did not differ between the two groups. Baseline neuronal activity at 30 days post-hatching, as assessed by the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic events and by the firing rate of mitral cells, was higher among tadpoles from the treated versus the control embryo groups. At the same time, neuronal activity showed a stronger increase among tadpoles from the treated versus the control group after a local kairomone perfusion. Hence, a different contextual plasticity between treatments at the neuronal level was not mirrored by the anti-predator behavioural response. In conclusion, our experiments demonstrate ontogenetic plasticity in tadpole neuronal activity after embryonic exposure to predator cues, corroborating the evidence that early-life experience contributes to shaping the phenotype at later life stages.

Personality correlates with contextual plasticity in a free-living, long-lived seabird

Despite a rapid increase in animal personality research, critical gaps remain. We have little knowledge of the long-term (as opposed to short-term) consistency of personality and the relationships between personality and behavioural flexibility in wild, free-living animals. This study investigates personality (i.e., consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour) and contextual plasticity (i.e., plasticity in behaviour between contexts) of these traits in the Nazca booby (Sula granti), a long-lived, free-living seabird. We tested birds for personality in the field, during incubation, using a human intruder test, two novel object tests, and a social stimulus test (mirror), and determined repeatability of behavioural traits both within-season (short-term) and between several years (long-term). We found high short- and long-term repeatability of aggressive and anxiety-related behaviours when confronted with a nest intruder and novel objects, but lower repeatability during social stimulation. Contextual plasticity was highly repeatable across years for aggressive behaviours, and low for anxiety-related behaviours. Plasticity did not correlate across behaviours into a ‘meta-personality’ trait. Contextual plasticity in behavioural traits was highly correlated with the expression of those traits, suggesting that individuals are able to both react strongly and modify their behaviour depending on context, perhaps due to consistent differences in individual quality. Model selection exercises using structural equation models evaluated the relationships between personality factors, indicating a behavioural syndrome in which anxiety- or agitation-related behaviours covary strongly and positively, and both covary weakly and negatively with aggression.

P.1.c.031 Effects of citalopram treatment on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced alterations in contextual learning and brain plasticity in adult mouse hippocampus

P.1.c.031 Effects of citalopram treatment on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced alterations in contextual learning and brain plasticity in adult mouse hippocampus

Virtual Machines, Virtual Infrastructures: The New Historiography of Information TechnologyComputer: A History of the Information Machine. Martin Campbell-Kelly , William AsprayInformation Technology as Business History: Issues in the History and Management of Computers. James W. CortadaTransforming Computer Technology: Information Processing for the Pentagon, 1962-1986. Arthur L. Norberg , Judy E. O'NeillWhere Wizards Stay up Late: The Origins of the Internet.

Previous articleNext article No AccessEssay ReviewsVirtual Machines, Virtual Infrastructures: The New Historiography of Information Technology Computer: A History of the Information Machine. Martin Campbell-Kelly , William Aspray Information Technology as Business History: Issues in the History and Management of Computers. James W. Cortada Transforming Computer Technology: Information Processing for the Pentagon, 1962-1986. Arthur L. Norberg , Judy E. O'Neill Where Wizards Stay up Late: The Origins of the Internet. Katie Hafner , Matthew Lyon Trapped in the Net: The Unanticipated Consequences of Computerization. Gene I. Rochlin The Trouble with Computers: Usefulness, Usability, and Productivity. Thomas K. Landauer Paul N. EdwardsPaul N. Edwards Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 89, Number 1Mar., 1998 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/383925 Views: 18Total views on this site Citations: 4Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1998 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Lambert Williams, William Thomas The Epistemologies of Non-Forecasting Simulations, Part II: Climate, Chaos, Computing Style, and the Contextual Plasticity of Error, Science in Context 22, no.22 (Jun 2009): 271–310.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269889709002221Casper Bruun Jensen, Peter Lauritsen Reading Digital Denmark: IT Reports as Material-Semiotic Actors, Science, Technology, & Human Values 30, no.33 (Aug 2016): 352–373.https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243904273449Richard R. John Rendezvous with Information? Computers and Communications Networks in the United States, Business History Review 75, no.11 (Dec 2011): 1–13.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007680500075358 John Neu Current Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences, 1998, Isis 89 (Oct 2015): 1–308.https://doi.org/10.1086/384238