1 Innate visual recognition

2 E Wolf decoy for geese (plenty in New England).Canadian geese are a nuisance in NH. The gees eat the grass and leave feces behind. So NH landowners found a solution. The landowner install mockup of wolves around a lake. Geese are afraid of wolves and do not come near the fields. The flock of geese flies toward the field, then 20 meters from the wolf they recognize the wolf and turn back. Thus they most likely have innate ability to recognize a wolf. Wolf decoy for geese (plenty in New England). Why are these decoys efficient? Geese do not have pictures to teach their young ones what animals to avoid… … and so they must be born with images of predators engraved in their brain

3 Why are we surprised to observe innate predator recognition in visual domain?For us innate predator recognition in the olfactory domain is much more intuitive. Rats are born knowing the smell of cats. Even humans are born with innate aversion to certain smells (such as smell of rotten eggs).

4 Frogs Frogs can recognize prey stimuli—worm-like objects—immediately after metamorphosis. (Although the accuracy of this recognition improves during ontogeny) Lesion studies: bilateral ablation of both telencephalic hemispheres and removal of the dorsal thalamus  Frogs readily responded to moving visual stimuli with prey orienting and snapping. Lesions to the optic tectum (superior colliculus homologue) cause a total loss of responses to moving predator and prey objects. In amphibian species, there are no telencephalic components that correspond to the visual cortex of mammalian species. Conclusion: optic tectum includes all the neurons frogs need for visual recognition of predators and prey. In amphibian species, sensory awareness and object recognition in the visual modality are mediated by brainstem and diencephalic structures (thalamus, hypothalamus), and there are no telencephalic components that correspond to the visual cortex of mammalian species (Straube et al., 1987). It is likely that auditory awareness and stimulus recognition are also mediated by brainstem and diencephalic structures (Hall and Feng, 1987; Kicliter, 1979). Thus, visual and auditory object recognition in these species is limited to classes of objects that are genetically predetermined, and they are unable to learn to recognize individual objects through these two modalities. However, the study of Ewert and Kehl (1978) indicates that individual objects within a class of objects that is innately recognized may be discriminated. The only modality through which amphibians are able to recognize (rather than discriminate) abstract objects not belonging to an innately recognized class is olfaction Electrical stimulation of the optic tectum elicits snapping.

5 Birds Naive turkey chicks respond with escape behaviors to the overhead presentation of moving birdlike silhouettes. Newly hatched chicks will peck at small objects shortly after birth and show definite preferences for certain types, colors and shapes of objects, even when these objects produce no reward. Complete bilateral hemispherectomy performed in early life spares many behaviors that require stimulus discrimination, such as pecking at food objects, flying and cleaning feathers with beak

6 Birds Right after hatching chicks have the innate predisposition to approach stimuli that resemble their own species, both in their shape and color, and in the way they move. Telencephalic ablation does not change preference for their own species. The process of imprinting involves the learned recognition of a particular stimulus object, which becomes ‘mother’ for the chicks. This imprinting is stored in telencephalon. Telencephalic ablation erases the imprinted memory. Conclusion: same pattern as in frogs, chicks are born with neurons (in optic lobe = tectum) necessary for visual recognition of predators and food objects. Telencephalon is only necessary for memory. Soon after hatching, visually naive chicks will approach a wide range of conspicuous objects and will follow those objects that move. These chicks exhibit a predisposition to follow certain types of objects. For example, white leghorn chicks raised in isolation prefer moving painted silhouettes of ducks and other birds to static objects or moving objects that lack bird-like characteristics. Chicks show a tendency to approach a stuffed jungle fowl in preference to a red box. Lesions to particular portions of the telencephalon have revealed that a restricted part of the chick forebrain, the intermediate region of the hyperstriatum ventrale, is necessary for imprinting to particular objects (McCabe et al., 1981; Horn, 1986, 1990; Bolhuis and Honey, 1998). Lesions to this area abolish learned object preferences as effectively as do complete ablations of the telencephalon, confirming the fact that the recognition of individual objects, including individual conspecifics, requires the participation of telencephalic structures.

7 Rats Naïve rats (laboratory born and raised) exposed to a cat respond with freezing behavior, and wild running and jumping. Complete bilateral lesion of visual cortex  same behavior. Rodents without visual cortex pursue objects that move in a naturalistic fashion. As in the case of prey recognition in frogs, the precise shape of the stimulus object is not overly important, and recognition is primarily based on the characteristics of the movement of the object. Conclusion: As in frogs and birds, recognition of predator and prey can be mediated primarily by optic tectum (superior colliculus). Most of the behaviors that can be elicited from rodents by naturally threatening stimuli, including orienting, freezing, rapid running can also be produced by electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus.

8 Primates Snakes are oldest predators of monkeys.The infant monkeys raised in isolation respond to the pictures of threatening monkeys with alarm vocalizations. Wild-reared adult monkeys are afraid of both live snakes and snake models. Monkeys respond by moving to the back of the cage, jumping in the cage, etc. Laboratory-reared adult monkeys react to the snakes with much milder avoidance responses. For example, of the juveniles that had been exposed to snakes as infants, six out of seven emitted alarm calls, while only one out of seven inexperienced subjects emitted an alarm call. But no monkeys approached the snake and almost all of them oriented to the snake.

9 Vervet monkey Vervet monkey select correct calls for four classes of predators (a leopard, an eagle, a snake, a baboon). A young vervet can mistakenly produce the raptor call to hawks (which resemble the true predator), produce the snake call to inappropriate snakes, and the leopard call to inappropriate ground animals. It corrects these errors, learning to confine the call to the correct member of each category, and to respond more quickly. However, even when the vervet produces its first calls, it does not make between-category errors, for example, issue the snake call to a bird, and so on. That means they have innate representation of these classes in their brain. Furthermore vervet monkey select correct calls for four classes of predators (a leopard, an eagle, a snake, a baboon). That means they have innate representation of these classes in their brain. For example, a young vervet can mistakenly produce the raptor call to hawks (which resemble the true predator), produce the snake call to inappropriate snakes, and the leopard call to inappropriate ground animals. It corrects these errors, learning to confine the call to the correct member of each category, and to respond more quickly. However, even when the vervet produces its first calls, it does not make between-category errors, for example, issue the snake call to a bird, and so on. Hence, vervets do not “figure out the structure of the problem space.” They come with the structure.

10 Humans Human neonates at only 9 minutes from birth track a slowly moving schematic face stimulus with their head and eyes significantly further than they follow scrambled faces or blank stimuli. As in frogs, birds, and monkeys, mediated by superior colliculi. The tendency to orient to face-like stimuli continues into the second month, and thereafter decays to be replaced by learned recognition of individual faces, starting at approximately 3 months of age. The learned response is mediated by the cortex. Similarly, it has been shown that infant monkeys develop visual recognition memory, as determined by the delayed non-matching to sample test, as early as 4months of age (Bachevalier and Mishkin, 1984). In this regard, it is interesting that Armony et al. (1997) have reported that rats lacking auditory cortex can learn to discriminate between pure auditory tones of different frequencies. After the cortical lesions have been effected, the behavioral responses to the these auditory signals are mediated by the subcortical auditory pathway originating in the cochlear nucleus, and extending through the inferior colliculus and auditory thalamus (medial geniculate body) to the lateral amygdala. The controlled study of human fear of snakes: In Harold and Mary Jones “ Maturation and Emotion: Fear of snakes” Journal of Childhood education. They found that children up to 2 years of age had no fear of harmless 6-foot-long North American snake nor of a small boa constrictor, but by the age of 3, children showed caution around the snakes, and definite fear was apparent after the age of 4.

11 Conclusions: Innate visual recognitionAlmost all vertebrates are capable of recognizing the classes of biologically relevant stimuli (prey vs. predator) at or shortly after birth. In some phylogenetically ancient species (frogs) visual object recognition even in adulthood is exclusively innate. In rodent species the innate sensory recognition systems function throughout ontogeny. In adulthood it is acting in parallel with the cortical recognition systems. In primates the structures involved in innate stimulus recognition are essentially the same as those in rodents, but innate recognition is only present in very early ontogeny, and after a transition period gives way to learned object recognition mediated by cortical structures. After the transition period, primate superior colliculi still function to provide unconscious innate stimulus recognition of the object’s class (prey vs. predator), and this recognition can still generate orienting and emotional response! In mammals, the generation of involuntary saccades to suddenly appearing or moving objects presented in the periphery of the visual field is known to be primarily mediated by neuronal activities in the superior colliculus. At least some involuntary saccades occur in response to the recognition of biologically relevant visual stimuli, and this recognition is mediated by the subcortical visual system. For example, ‘looming’ stimuli are probably recognized as potential predators by all vertebrate species, and these stimuli elicit saccades and defensive responses.

12 stop

13 4.5 BILLION years ago The Earth forms 12 1.5 3 Vertebrates originated about 525 million years ago (Cambrian explosion: twice complete genome duplication) MICHAEL GRAZIANO is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University. author of Consciousness and the Social Brain: “…consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: Too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed. The brain evolved increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for deeply processing a few select signals at the expense of others… consciousness evolved gradually over the past half billion years and is present in a range of vertebrate species” 4 Dinosaurs originated ~230 million years ago 5 6 Primates originated ~70 million years ago 7 Human line split from chimpanzee line ~6 million years ago Modern humans: ~0.1 million YA

14 1. Hydra (relative of jellyfish)1cm “…consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: Too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed. The brain evolved increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for deeply processing a few select signals at the expense of others… consciousness evolved gradually over the past half billion years and is present in a range of vertebrate species” “Even before the evolution of a central brain, nervous systems took advantage of a simple computing trick: competition. Neurons act like candidates in an election, each one shouting and trying to suppress its fellows. At any moment only a few neurons win that intense competition, their signals rising up above the noise and impacting the animal’s behavior. This process is called selective signal enhancement, and without it, a nervous system can do almost nothing.” When selective signal enhancement first evolved? “The hydra, a small relative of jellyfish, arguably has the simplest nervous system known—a nerve net. If you poke the hydra anywhere, it gives a generalized response. It shows no evidence of selectively processing some pokes while strategically ignoring others. The split between the ancestors of hydras and other animals, according to genetic analysis, may have been as early as 700 million years ago. Selective signal enhancement probably evolved after that.” MICHAEL GRAZIANO is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University. author of Consciousness and the Social Brain:

15 2. Arthropod compound eye“The arthropod eye, on the other hand, has one of the best-studied examples of selective signal enhancement. It sharpens the signals related to visual edges and suppresses other visual signals, generating an outline sketch of the world.” “Selective enhancement therefore probably evolved sometime between hydras and arthropods—between about 700 and 600 million years ago.” “Selective signal enhancement is so primitive that it doesn’t even require a central brain. The eye, the network of touch sensors on the body, and the auditory system can each have their own local versions of attention focusing on a few select signals.”

16 3. Tectum - the centralized controller of attention“The next evolutionary advance was a centralized controller for attention that could coordinate among all senses. In many animals, that central controller is a brain area called the tectum. (“Tectum” means “roof” in Latin, and it often covers the top of the brain.) Tectum coordinates attention – aiming the satellite dishes of the eyes, ears, and nose toward anything important. All vertebrates (evolved 525 million years ago)—fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals—have a tectum; Tectum is absent from all invertebrates. Tectum “simulates the current state of the eyes, head, and other major body parts, making predictions about how these body parts will move next and about the consequences of their movement. For example, if you move your eyes to the right, the visual world should shift across your retinas to the left in a predictable way. The tectum compares the predicted visual signals to the actual visual input, to make sure that your movements are going as planned. ... In fish and amphibians, the tectum is the pinnacle of sophistication and the largest part of the brain. A frog has a pretty good simulation of itself.” Human brainstem with thalamus on top

17 Cerebral cortex “The cortex is like an upgraded tectum. We still have a tectum buried under the cortex and it performs the same functions as in fish and amphibians. If you hear a sudden sound or see a movement in the corner of your eye, your tectum directs your gaze toward it quickly and accurately. The cortex also takes in sensory signals and coordinates movement, but it has a more flexible repertoire. ” Unlike the tectum, which models concrete objects like the eyes and the head, the cortex can model something much more abstract.  ”We say we have consciousness because deep in the brain, something quite primitive is computing that semi-magical self-description. … and self-models become models of others.” “…consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: Too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed. The brain evolved increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for deeply processing a few select signals at the expense of others… consciousness evolved gradually over the past half billion years and is present in a range of vertebrate species” MICHAEL GRAZIANO is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University. author of Consciousness and the Social Brain: “…consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: Too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed. The brain evolved increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for deeply processing a few select signals at the expense of others… consciousness evolved gradually over the past half billion years and is present in a range of vertebrate species”