Dragonflies
lack humans' big brains, but they still get the job done, according to new
research that suggests that these insects have brain cells capable of feats
previously seen only in primates.
Specifically,
the dragonflies can screen out useless visual information to focus on a target,
a process called selective attention. The new study, published Dec. 20 in the
journal Current Biology, is the first to find brain cells devoted to selective
attention in an invertebrate animal.
Selective
attention is crucial for responding to one stimulus among the dozens of
distractions that clamor for notice at any given time, said Steven Wiederman of
the University of Adelaide in Australia.
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