(Prof. Ronen Segev and Prof. Avishai Henik)
The ability to detect an object in space and react according to changing circumstances are important survival skills across species. The source of these abilities has been assumed to lie in the cortex -- the most evolved part of the brain. Studying the archerfish -- an animal without a developed cortex - we ask whether the cortex is necessary for such abilities. We have found that the archerfish performs visual search and cognitive control tasks in a similar way to humans. Our results suggest that the source of abilities that are considered to be "high cognitive functions" lies in the more primitive brain areas. We believe that science will benefit from further study of the primitive brain structure in this context.

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