Science
Time-shifted inhibition helps electric fish ignore their own signals – Science Daily
African fish called mormyrids communicate using pulses of electricity. New research shows that a time-shifted signal in the brain helps the fish to ignore their own pulse. This skill has co-evolved with large and rapid changes in these signals across species.
Electric fish generate electric pulses to communicate with other fish and sense their surroundings. Some species broadcast shorter electric pulses, while others send out long ones. But all that zip-zapping in the water can get confusing. The fish need to filter out their own pulses so they can identify external messages and only respond to those signals.A solution to this problem is a brain function called a corollary discharge. It’s sort of like a negative copy of the original message — someth…
