Species-specific differences in sensorimotor adaptation are correlated with differences in social structure

Here, we report a species difference in the strength and duration of long-term sensorimotor adaptation in the electromotor output of weakly electric fish. The adaptation is produced by changes in intrinsic excitability in the electromotor pacemaker nucleus; this change is a form of memory that correlates with social structure. A weakly electric fish may be jammed by a similar electric organ discharge (EOD) frequency of another fish and prevents jamming by transiently raising its own emission frequency, a behavior called the jamming avoidance response (JAR). The JAR requires activation of NMDA receptors, and prolonged JAR performance results in long-term frequency elevation (LTFE) of a fish’s EOD frequency for many hours after the jamming stimulus. We find that LTFE is stronger in a shoaling species (Eigenmannia virescens) with a higher probability of encountering jamming conspecifics, when compared to a solitary species (Apteronotus leptorhynchus). Additionally, LTFE persists in Eigenmannia, whereas, it decays over 5–9 h in Apteronotus.