Paper wasps form abstract concept of 'same and different'

Visuo-spatial compound stimuli discrimination with (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) in two-choices rewarding learning tasks

This paper proposes an experimental protocol allowing Gryllus pennsylvanicus to discriminate an A-A and A-B motif pairs of compound visual stimuli. Specifically, this study consists in an operant conditioning procedure including a dichotomous Y-maze, two different pairs of compound visual colored cues and a water reward. Results are conclusive for this visuo-spatial regularities study,(Gryllus pennsylvanicus) were able to significantly discriminate between the two compound visual patterns and learned the association with the reinforcer.

Viewpoint-independent face recognition via extrapolation in paper wasps

Visual recognition of three-dimensional signals, such as faces, is challenging because the signals appear different from different viewpoints. A flexible but cognitively challenging solution is viewpoint-independent recognition, where receivers identify signals from novel viewing angles. Here, we used same/different concept learning to test viewpoint-independent face recognition in Polistes fuscatus, a wasp that uses facial patterns to individually identify conspecifics. We found that wasps use extrapolation to identify novel views of conspecific faces. For example, wasps identify a pair of pictures of the same wasp as the 'same', even if the pictures are taken from different views (e.g. one face 0 deg rotation, one face 60 deg rotation). This result is notable because it provides the first evidence of view-invariant recognition via extrapolation in an invertebrate. The results suggest that viewpoint-independent recognition via extrapolation may be a widespread strategy to facilitate individual face recognition.

Diversity of visual inputs to Kenyon cells of the Drosophila mushroom body

The arthropod mushroom body is well-studied as an expansion layer representing olfactory stimuli and linking them to contingent events. However, 8% of mushroom body Kenyon cells in Drosophila melanogaster receive predominantly visual input, and their function remains unclear. Here, we identify inputs to visual Kenyon cells using the FlyWire adult whole-brain connectome. Input repertoires are similar across hemispheres and connectomes with certain inputs highly overrepresented. Many visual neurons presynaptic to Kenyon cells have large receptive fields, while interneuron inputs receive spatially restricted signals that may be tuned to specific visual features. Individual visual Kenyon cells randomly sample sparse inputs from combinations of visual channels, including multiple optic lobe neuropils. These connectivity patterns suggest that visual coding in the mushroom body, like olfactory coding, is sparse, distributed, and combinatorial. However, the specific input repertoire to the smaller population of visual Kenyon cells suggests a constrained encoding of visual stimuli.

Diversity of visual inputs to Kenyon cells of the Drosophila mushroom body

The arthropod mushroom body is well-studied as an expansion layer that represents olfactory stimuli and links them to contingent events. However, 8% of mushroom body Kenyon cells in Drosophila melanogaster receive predominantly visual input, and their tuning and function are poorly understood. Here, we use the FlyWire adult whole-brain connectome to identify inputs to visual Kenyon cells. The types of visual neurons we identify are similar across hemispheres and connectomes with certain inputs highly overrepresented. Many visual projection neurons presynaptic to Kenyon cells receive input from large swathes of visual space, while local visual interneurons, providing smaller fractions of input, receive more spatially restricted signals that may be tuned to specific features of the visual scene. Like olfactory Kenyon cells, visual Kenyon cells receive sparse inputs from different combinations of visual channels, including inputs from multiple optic lobe neuropils. The sets of inputs to individual visual Kenyon cells are consistent with random sampling of available inputs. These connectivity patterns suggest that visual coding in the mushroom body, like olfactory coding, is sparse, distributed, and combinatorial. However, the expansion coding properties appear different, with a specific repertoire of visual inputs projecting onto a relatively small number of visual Kenyon cells.

Social experience drives the development of holistic face processing in paper wasps

Most recognition is based on identifying features, but specialization for face recognition in some taxa relies on a different mechanism, termed 'holistic processing' where facial features are bound together into a gestalt which is more than the sum of its parts. Although previous work suggests that extensive experience may be required for the development of holistic processing, we lack experiments that test how age and experience interact to influence holistic processing. Here, we test how age and experience influence the development of holistic face processing in Polistes fuscatus paper wasps. Previous work has shown that P. fuscatus use facial patterns to individually identify conspecifics and wasps use holistic processing to discriminate between conspecific faces. We tested face processing in three groups of P. fuscatus: young (1-week-old), older, experienced (2-weeks-old, normal experience), and older, inexperienced (2-weeks-old, 1 week normal social experience and 1 week social isolation). Older, experienced wasps used holistic processing to discriminate between conspecific faces. In contrast, older inexperienced wasps used featural rather than holistic mechanisms to discriminate between faces. Young wasps show some evidence of holistic face processing, but this ability was less refined than older, experienced wasps. Notably, wasps only required 2 weeks of normal experience to develop holistic processing, while previous work suggests that humans may require years of experience. Overall, P. fuscatus wasps rapidly develop holistic processing for conspecific faces. Experience rather than age facilitates the transition between featural and holistic face processing mechanisms.

Undercompression errors as evidence for conceptual primitives

The Meaning First Approach offers a model of the relation between thought and language that includes a Generator and a Compressor. The Generator build non-linguistic thought structures and the Compressor is responsible for its articulation through three processes: structure-preserving linearization, lexification, and compression via non-articulation of concepts when licensed. One goal of this paper is to show that a range of phenomena in child language can be explained in a unified way within the Meaning First Approach by the assumption that children differ from adults with respect to compression and, specifically, that they may undercompress in production, an idea that sets a research agenda for the study of language acquisition. We focus on dependencies involving pronouns or gaps in relative clauses and wh-questions, multi-argument verbal concepts, and antonymic concepts involving negation or other opposites. We present extant evidence from the literature that children produce undercompression errors (a type of commission errors) that are predicted by the Meaning First Approach. We also summarize data that children's comprehension ability provides evidence for the Meaning First Approach prediction that decompression should be challenging, when there is no 1-to-1 correspondence.