Günther K H Zupanc, Charlotte Helfrich-Förster, Andrea Megela Simmons, Kentaro Arikawa, Uwe Homberg, Wolfgang Rössler, Eric J Warrant
{"title":"The Editors' and Readers' Choice Awards 2026: sustained recognition of outstanding articles in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A.","authors":"Günther K H Zupanc, Charlotte Helfrich-Förster, Andrea Megela Simmons, Kentaro Arikawa, Uwe Homberg, Wolfgang Rössler, Eric J Warrant","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01795-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-026-01795-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recognition of outstanding articles published in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A, Editors' and Readers' Choice Awards are conferred annually to the top papers in the categories Original Research Paper and Review/Review-History Article. The recipients of the 2026 Editors' Choice Awards were selected based on votes cast by the Editorial Board on articles published in 2025. In the category Original Research Paper, this distinction goes to 'Monoamine neurochemistry, behavior, and microhabitat contribute to male coquí frog modes: silent, territorial, and paternal' by Gary R. Ten Eyck, Erin M. Regen, Sarah E. Ten Eyck, Wayne J. Korzan, and Cliff H. Summers (J Comp Physiol A 211, 293-309, 2025). In the category Review/Review-History Article, this distinction goes to 'Path integration and optic flow in flying insects: a review of current evidence' by Martin Egelhaaf and Jens P. Lindemann (J Comp Physiol A 211, 375-401, 2025). The winners of the 2026 Readers' Choice Awards were determined by the number of online accesses of articles published in 2024. In the category Original Research Paper, the winner is 'Butterfly blues and greens caused by subtractive colour mixing of carotenoids and bile pigments' by Doekele G. Stavenga (J Comp Physiol A 210, 371-380, 2024). In the category Review/Review-History Article, the winner is 'One hundred years of excellence: the top one hundred authors of the Journal of Comparative Physiology A' by Günther K.H. Zupanc, Uwe Homberg, Charlotte Helfrich-Förster, Eric J. Warrant, and Andrea Megela Simmons (J Comp Physiol A 210, 109-144, 2024).</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147272920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The 2025 covers of the Journal of Comparative Physiology A.","authors":"Günther K H Zupanc","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01792-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-026-01792-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146120325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Not too different: Wild Lymnaea learning at the pondside and in the lab.","authors":"Jasper Hollings, Ken Lukowiak","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01774-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01774-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 1973, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, and Nikolaas Tinbergen for their pioneering work in the development of Ethology. This branch of science, which involves the study of animal behaviour, differs from others due to its emphasis on the behaviour of animals in their natural environment. We hypothesized that freshly collected wild Lymnaea stagnalis would be capable of demonstrating a form of conditioned taste aversion and memory in natural pond water, both at the pondside and in the lab. We further hypothesized that the snails would demonstrate similar learning and memory formation in laboratory-made pond water, both at the pondside and in the lab. The associative learning shown occurs between two stimuli, a stressor and a food substance, when they are experienced together over a 45-min period. Here, we demonstrate the similar learning and memory-forming capabilities of wild L. stagnalis, whether trained at the pondside or in the lab.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"21-32"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145379622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rashmi Karunakaran, Neena Baburaj, Aditi Manjare, Gaurav Das
{"title":"What goes down may come up: regurgitative behaviors and their underlying gut-brain axes-insights from genetic models and related pathologies.","authors":"Rashmi Karunakaran, Neena Baburaj, Aditi Manjare, Gaurav Das","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01781-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01781-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most humans have experienced regurgitation and vomiting (emesis) at some point in their lives. These behaviors are also commonly observed throughout the rest of the animal kingdom, serving various functions such as feeding, courtship, defense against predators, and protection from accidental toxin ingestion. Studying these behaviors offers valuable insights into the underlying gut-brain axis and presents opportunities to identify new therapeutic targets. However, detailed mechanistic studies on the molecular, genetic, and neural circuit basis of regurgitative behaviors have been hampered until recently due to the lack of suitable genetic model organisms capable of regurgitation. This review introduces researchers to the mechanisms of regurgitative behaviors, particularly those related to the gut-brain axis. We summarize these behaviors across different taxa, review current knowledge of their underlying mechanisms with a focus on gut-brain connections, and discuss related pathologies. Finally, we present recent findings from Drosophila models of regurgitation and emesis, and outline key questions that still require attention.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"117-143"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145566465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of daylength manipulation on migratory activity and fuelling in a long-distance nocturnal songbird migrant.","authors":"Susanne Åkesson, Mihaela Ilieva, Giuseppe Bianco","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01772-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01772-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Migratory birds have evolved a multitude of physiological and behavioural adaptations to reach their population-specific wintering areas during their first migration. The endogenous program encodes distance, direction and fuelling, and involves species-specific adaptations leading naïve migratory birds along highly diverse routes. While daylength has been extensively studied in relation to the onset of migration, its potential role in the transition out of the migratory phenotype remains largely untested. Here we study, by experimentally increasing the daylength in autumn simulating a temporal shift earlier in the season or a latitudinal displacement toward the wintering area as experienced later in the season after the autumn equinox, what effect a substantial photic treatment has on overall level and diel pattern of activity and fuelling in juvenile Eurasian reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) migrating to tropical Africa. The treatment group experienced a 2h increase in daylength in the evening, while the control group was held in the local photoperiod in southern Sweden. The controls showed strictly nocturnal migratory restlessness starting immediately after sunset, while the treatment birds responded by delaying the onset of nocturnal migratory restlessness following the artificially delayed sunset, without changing the level of activity. Treatment birds increased fuelling initially, but then reduced it after one week in captivity, resulting in a lower fuelling rate as compared to the controls by the end of experiment. The reduced fuelling suggests treatment birds possibly interpreted the diel period as arrival to the wintering area. The results confirm the importance of photic information in regulating phenotypic expressions of migratory activity and fuelling in juvenile birds.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"11-20"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13038741/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145370564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction: Dietary carotenoids enhance SWS1 expression in female western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) but do not impair their likelihood of pregnancy in the presence of male guppy.","authors":"Yu-Chun Wang, I-Pei Kao, Chia-Hao Chang","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01789-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01789-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"145-146"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146127594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vanessa Althaus, Naomi Takahashi, Stefanie Jahn, Jonathan Schlegel, Juliana Kolano, Erich M Staudacher, Uwe Homberg
{"title":"Neurons sensitive to sky compass signals in the brain of the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae.","authors":"Vanessa Althaus, Naomi Takahashi, Stefanie Jahn, Jonathan Schlegel, Juliana Kolano, Erich M Staudacher, Uwe Homberg","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01775-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01775-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many insects are formidable navigators illustrated by homing behavior in bees and ants or regular seasonal migrations in butterflies, moths, and others. For spatial orientation, many insects rely on celestial cues, in particular the position of the sun or the polarization pattern of the blue sky generated by the sun. In all species studied celestial polarization is perceived by photoreceptors in a highly specialized dorsal rim area of the eye. Studies in various insects showed that the central complex utilizes these and other sensory inputs to create an internal compass-like representation of external space for vector navigation. Cockroaches, likewise, rely on visual and antennal input for navigational decisions mediated by the central complex. To explore the possible contribution of sky compass signals, we have characterized the responsiveness of neurons of the optic lobe and central complex of the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae to the angle of polarized light and the azimuth of unpolarized light spots representing the sun or the chromatic gradient of the sky. Strong responses to polarization angle and to changing polarization angle were found in several cell types connecting both optic lobes. Responses to sky compass signals in neurons of the central complex were less pronounced, but were significant in several cell types corresponding to neurons encoding sun compass signals in other species. Although the Madeira cockroach is a nocturnal scavenger and the existence of a specialized dorsal eye region has not been established, sky compass signals likely play a substantial role in behavioral decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"45-67"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13038733/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145453948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Long-term exposure to extreme illumination regimes alters behavioral responses to light in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana L.","authors":"Ekaterina S Novikova, Marianna I Zhukovskaya","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01784-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01784-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The natural lighting conditions vary depending on latitude, niche, and time of day, and animals are evolutionarily adapted to them. Artificial lighting, along with global warming, drives population ranges toward high latitudes, which creates fast-changing environments for the biota. The American cockroach Periplaneta americana L. is a synanthropic species with a nocturnal lifestyle, rarely exposed to light. Three-month-long exposure to constant light or constant darkness compared to the control 12:12 h day and night cycle, causes behavioral changes explained by two main factors: adaptation of the visual system and circadian rhythm disruption. State of complete immobility, an indicator of the inactive phase of a 24 h rhythm, appeared in groups kept under constant light regimes and tested in the dark, as well as in those subjected to experimental lighting with low-intensity green light. Exposure to such light caused different behavioral changes in groups kept under different light regimes, reflecting the cockroaches' internal levels of arousal, stress, and light adaptation of their photoreceptor organs. Thus, altered lighting conditions impose significant challenges on different aspects of insect physiology and behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"103-115"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145679594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Praying mantises possess multiple spectral photoreceptor classes.","authors":"Ruchao Qian, Jamie C Theobald, Tamara M Frank","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01776-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01776-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Praying mantises often display elaborate camouflage, disappearing into the shapes, textures, and colors around them. But they have largely been thought to be monochromats, unable to perceive the colors they mimic. To examine this, we tested the compound eye spectral sensitivity of three species of praying mantises, each representing unique mimicry strategies: Theopropus elegans, Popa spurca, and Hymenopus coronatus. We quantified mantis spectral sensitivity to light, ranging from 350 to 650 nm wavelength, using electroretinography under both dark and chromatic adaptation. We find distinct spectral sensitivity peaks that suggest the presence of multiple photoreceptor types or varying expressions of visual pigments across the species studied. T. elegans and P. spurca exhibited potential trichromatic vision, with primary sensitivity peaks in green (515-525 nm), and secondary and tertiary peaks in ultraviolet (350-360 nm) and blue (441 nm and 416 nm). Conversely, H. coronatus displayed a simpler dichromatic pattern. This suggests praying mantises have the capacity for color vision, likely adapted to enhance camouflage and predatory efficiency in their environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"79-85"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13038772/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145472368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synchronous waving in a dotillid crab Ilyoplax pusilla: behavioral analyses using a robotic model.","authors":"Jiro Okada, Satoshi Nakagawa, Kazuyuki Honki, Kensho Fujisaki, Seiichi Uchida","doi":"10.1007/s00359-025-01766-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-025-01766-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The waving behavior exhibited by some species of male mudflat-dwelling crabs is characterized by rhythmic claw movement, which is considered to be a form of courtship toward females and agonism toward males. A fascinating aspect of the waving behavior is that its rhythm is synchronized with that of the surrounding males. To elucidate the behavioral mechanism underlying the synchronization of the waving rhythm in the dotillid crab (Ilyoplax pusilla), we conducted a laboratory experiment using a waving-mimicking robotic model. When a single robot was operated continuously at a certain frequency (0.91-1.66 Hz) in front of a burrow-holding male, the crab responded to the robot with corresponding waving. In cases of relatively slow operating frequencies (≤ 1.11 Hz), the crabs tended to perform synchronous waving at a timing that preceded the robot. In contrast, when the operating frequency was relatively high (≥ 1.25 Hz), they waved synchronously with the robot with almost no time lag. The crabs tended not to wave at the same frequency as the high-frequency robot but waved once every two or three movements of the robot. These results suggest that synchronous waving without delay occurs in situations where the waving frequency increases competitively among neighboring males. The crabs may also adjust their waving frequency to half or one-third of that of high-performance opponents while maintaining their waving to avoid delays.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"33-44"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145403106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}