Insect lifestyle and evolution of brain morphology

Abstract

Insect lifestyles are extremely diversified and have important consequences for brain function. Lifestyle determines the resources and information that brains have access to, but also those that are required, to produce adaptive behaviors. Most of the observed adaptations of brain morphology to lifestyle are related to the first stages of sensory information processing (e.g. adaptations to diel habits). However, morphological signatures of lifestyles related to higher order processing of information are more difficult to demonstrate. Co-option of existing neural structures for new behaviors might hinder the detection of morphological changes at a large scale. Current methodological advances will make it possible to investigate finer structural changes and might shed light on whether or not some lifestyles (e.g. eusociality) require morphological adaptations.