ArticleEvolution; international journal of organic evolution2019
Artificial selection on brain size leads to matching changes in overall number of neurons.
Article in Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endothermy, neuron counts, and other issues: Further remarks on neurocognitive evolution in fossil vertebrates.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2026Article
- Visual field map size constrains working memory precision.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Specialization of male reproductive tactics corresponds with large gonads and small brains.Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2026Article
- Deficiency of vital organic nutrients in ecosystems limits brain development and fitness in wild fish.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Larger Fish Have Larger Brains With More Neurons Across but Not Within Cohorts Raised in Different Growth Conditions.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2025Article
- Influences of Diet Quality, Nursery-Habitat Complexity and Sex on Brain Development and Cognitive Performance of Brown Trout (Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- The fish challenge to vertebrate cognitive evolution.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Rapid Neural DNA Methylation Responses to Predation Stress in Trinidadian Guppies.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Evolution of cellular architecture and function of the hippocampus: insights from the artificial selection experiment.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Goldfish phenomics reveals commonalities and a lack of universality in the domestication process for ornamentation.Evolution letters · 2024Article
- Article
- Breed function and behaviour correlate with endocranial volume in domestic dogs.Biology letters · 2024Article
- Comparative MRI analysis of the forebrain of three sauropsida models.Brain structure & function · 2024Article
- Habitat complexity influences neuron number in six species of Puerto RicanBiology letters · 2024Article
- Experimental expansion of relative telencephalon size improves the main executive function abilities in guppy.PNAS nexus · 2023Article
- Investigation of structural and neurobiochemical differences in brains from high-performance and native hen breeds.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Linking omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in natural diet with brain size of wild consumers.Oecologia · 2022Article
- Brain morphology correlates of learning and cognitive flexibility in a fish species (Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Article
- The evolution of brain neuron numbers in amniotes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Neurons are the basic computational units of the brain, but brain size is the predominant surrogate measure of brain functional capacity in comparative and cognitive neuroscience. This approach is based on the assumption that larger brains harbor higher numbers of neurons and their connections, and therefore have a higher information-processing capacity. However, recent studies have shown that brain mass may be less strongly correlated with neuron counts than previously thought. Till now, no experimental test has been conducted to examine the relationship between evolutionary changes in brain size and the number of brain neurons. Here, we provide such a test by comparing neuron number in artificial selection lines of female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) with >15% difference in relative brain mass and numerous previously demonstrated cognitive differences. Using the isotropic fractionator, we demonstrate that large-brained females have a higher overall number of neurons than small-brained females, but similar neuronal densities. Importantly, this difference holds also for the telencephalon, a key region for cognition. Our study provides the first direct experimental evidence that selection for brain mass leads to matching changes in number of neurons and shows that brain size evolution is intimately linked to the evolution of neuron number and cognition.
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