Biology subjects

Gatto, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Gatto, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Big-team science reveals that patterns of inhibitory control variation in teleost fishes differ from those in mammals and birds

Understanding the evolution of cognition is fundamental to understanding the origins and nature of our own cognitive abilities, with cross-species comparisons providing a cornerstone of this endeavor. Yet, comparative cognition so far has largely focused on endothermic vertebrates, particularly mammals and birds, while ectotherms--representing a substantial proportion of vertebrate diversity--remain relatively understudied. Moreover, variation in experimental methods makes existing data difficult to compare across species. Big-team science offers a way to overcome these limitations by enabling standardized cognitive testing across broad taxonomic scales. Here, we apply this approach to fishes, using inhibitory control as a proof of concept for standardized comparative testing in 444 individuals across 22 teleost species spanning 19 genera. We demonstrate that standardized cognitive testing across such diversity is feasible, while also revealing substantial heterogeneity in the sample. Performance varied markedly among species, but, strikingly, showed only a weak phylogenetic signal, contrasting with patterns previously reported in mammals and birds. In addition, we detected great within-species variation, including differences across research groups, suggesting that performance may reflect not only species-level evolutionary history but also ontogenetic experience and the capacity to adjust decision rules to local conditions. Together, our findings highlight the importance of both evolutionary and environmental sources of cognitive variation and demonstrate that extending standardized comparative approaches beyond traditionally studied endotherms can reveal a more dynamic and complex picture of cognitive evolution across the vertebrate lineage.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Biomass-derived Lignin Nanoparticles for the Sustained Delivery of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C (VEGFC) is a promising biological drug, as preclinical studies have shown its potential in treating a variety of conditions, including myocardial infarction and neurodegenerative diseases. For lymphedema, a disease that currently can only be treated symptomatically, adenoviral VEGFC gene therapy has been evaluated up to phase II studies. However, the AdVEGFC is rapidly inactivated by the immune system, and alternative delivery methods might yield better results. Thus, we wanted to investigate the synthesis, characterization, and stability of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) as carriers for VEGFC. As biomass-derived lignin nanoparticles provide a sustainable, cost-effective, and tunable platform for drug delivery, with the potential to enhance drug stability and release, lignin was extracted from wood biomass derived from grape shoots using the organosolv method and subsequently synthesized into nanoparticles. The resulting lignin nanoparticles (LNPs), with an average size of 142{+/-}62 nm and a zeta potential of -40{+/-}8 mV, were characterized through comprehensive techniques, including spectroscopy and microscopy, to gain insights into their structural and morphological properties. Furthermore, the loading and release efficiency of VEGFC onto LNPs were evaluated, demonstrating effective loading and controlled release. Stability tests in plasma and cell proliferation/viability assessments using the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay were conducted to assess biocompatibility and therapeutic potential. Our data shows that VEGFC is a relatively stable protein and that the primary advantage of nanoparticle-based delivery would be to delay release as opposed to protect VEGFC from degradation/inactivation. Graphical AbstractFlow chart of the generation and analysis of biomass-derived VEGFC-loaded lignin nanoparticles. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=109 SRC="FIGDIR/small/649697v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (36K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1476841org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@10d861corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@dfa209org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@72c81_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2023

An insect's view of a numerosity illusion: a simple strategy may explain complex numerical performance in bumblebees

Despite some similarities in numerical abilities among vertebrates, animals seem to differ with respect to the perceptual factors underlying numerical estimation. This is particularly evident in the case of numerosity illusions, a type of illusory phenomena elicited by the spatial arrangement of the elements that compose it. We investigated whether an insect experiences the most famous numerosity illusion, the Solitaire Illusion. Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris audax) presented with two mixed arrays containing magenta and yellow dots were trained to select the array containing the larger number of a target colour (either magenta or yellow). In the test phases, bumblebees were presented with sets of stimuli differing in the numerical ratio, including the illusory arrays: in one array, magenta dots were centrally located (yellow dots in the perimeter), whereas in the other one, magenta dots were located in the perimeter (yellow dots in the centre). Bees discriminated up to a ratio of 0.78 (14 vs. 18). Video analyses showed that bumblebees sequentially scanned the stimuli before making a choice. Bumblebees required longer scanning time for patterns with smaller numbers of reinforced colour dots, suggesting that bumblebees spent longer time on searching for more information or finding a reinforced arrangement of spatial dots before making an accurate decision. In the presence of the "illusion arrangement", bees behaved in a manner consistent with misperception of numerosity, overestimating the number of centrally located dots. The spatial configuration of the stimuli influenced how the patterns were assessed: bees examined the clustered reinforced colour dots longer. Flying paths analysis suggested that bumblebees followed the paths formed by similar colour dots rather than counting each dot to make a numerical discrimination. These results challenge the notion that visual illusions can be inferred simply from evaluating choices of different visual patterns and reinforce the idea that multiple strategies can potentially be used to achieve seemingly similar cognitive outcomes. Detailed analyses of decision-making processes are essential to deduce the cognitive strategies underpinning discrimination tasks, whether they are numerical or other visual tasks.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2017

Fish perform like mammals and birds in inhibitory motor control tasks

Inhibitory control is an executive function that positively predicts performance in several cognitive tasks and has been considered typical of vertebrates with large and complex nervous systems such as primates. However, evidence is growing that some fish species have evolved complex cognitive abilities in spite of their relatively small brain size. We tested whether fish might also show enhanced inhibitory control by subjecting guppies, Poecilia reticulata, to the motor task used to test warm-blooded vertebrates. Guppies were trained to enter a horizontal opaque cylinder to reach a food reward; then, the cylinder was replaced by a transparent one, and subjects needed to inhibit the response to pass thought the transparency to reach the food. Guppies performed correctly in 58 % of trials, a performance fully comparable to that observed in most birds and mammals. In experiment 2, we tested guppies in a task with a different type of reward, a group of conspecifics. Guppies rapidly learned to detour a transparent barrier to reach the social reward with a performance close to that of experiment 1. Our study suggests that efficient inhibitory control is shown also by fish, and its variation between-species is only partially explained by variation in brain size.

animal behavior and cognition↗