May 2, 2024

Termite Brains Anticipate Future Visual Challenges

EDITORS CHOICE IN NEUROSCIENCEThe paper S. ODonnell et al., “Experience-expectant brain plasticity corresponds to caste-specific abiotic obstacles in dampwood termites (Zootermopsis angusticollis and Z. nevadensis),” Sci Nat, 108:57, 2021. The brains of lots of types, consisting of human beings, modification as a repercussion of the stimuli they experience throughout life. The scientists found that the visual processing brain regions, or optic lobes, of king and queen termites were about three times bigger, on average, than the optic lobes of workers or soldiers.