Screen time and young guppy brain size

[gwand]

The findings aren’t really surprising. Does it translate to children who prefer screen time to live social interaction. Parents beware. Go guppies.

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-real-fish-interaction-enlarges-young.html

 

[anewbie]

I find it a bit weak as a study but lack the desire to explain why - that is it might be true for humans but i doubt the study is sufficient to even attempt to draw the analogy.

In any event there are already deep concerning evidence that screen time (all devices including tvs) are bad for kids but that doesn't lead validity to this study on guppies being applicable to humans from an experimental perspective.

 

[gwand]

You don’t know the neuroscience literature like I do. It was my career. Guppies, zebra fish and Killies have made tremendous advances for subsequent findings in human brain development and function. They are vital models. But I agree that a single study does not prove the point. But the model is valid.

 

[anewbie]

You don’t know the neuroscience literature like I do. It was my career. Guppies, zebra fish and Killies have made tremendous advances for subsequent findings in human brain development and function. They are vital models. But I agree that a single study does not prove the point. But the model is valid.

That is a true fact my career was not in neuroscience still does a guppy brain react to screens in the same fashion as humans or more importantly does their reaction trigger the same response. The other problem i have is do guppies 'choose' to use screens over playing with tank mates or did they force the isolation to test the screen and was the problem the forced isolation ?

 

[GaryE]

When I see a study like this, it opens a question. More studies may step into the opening - I hope so. For certain, a single study proves nothing, but it does ground a question. We humans have had some startling inabilities to ask questions, so let's see where other researchers go with this.

 

[gwand]

That is a true fact my career was not in neuroscience still does a guppy brain react to screens in the same fashion as humans or more importantly does their reaction trigger the same response. The other problem i have is do guppies 'choose' to use screens over playing with tank mates or did they force the isolation to test the screen and was the problem the forced isolation ?

The fish were raised under one of three conditions: with visual contact with live fish, with video recordings of fish on a screen, or with very limited social contact.There is no indication of forced isolation since the fish were exposed to one of the three conditions from birth. What is clear is that in guppies interactive social experiences during development is important for adult brain morphology.

 

[gwand]

When I see a study like this, it opens a question. More studies may step into the opening - I hope so. For certain, a single study proves nothing, but it does ground a question. We humans have had some startling inabilities to ask questions, so let's see where other researchers go with this.

First and foremost I bring these fish studies to the attention of the forum because they are fun. We all love fish. The studies may not be perfectly designed or definitive. But it is amazing how useful fish models have been to the advancement of neuroscience research.

 

[anewbie]

The fish were raised under one of three conditions: with visual contact with live fish, with video recordings of fish on a screen, or with very limited social contact.There is no indication of forced isolation since the fish were exposed to one of the three conditions from birth. What is clear is that in guppies interactive social experiences during development is important for adult brain morphology.

I'm sorry why is not 'visual contact with live fish' with no opportunity to interact with live fish forced isolation ?

 

[gwand]

The visual contact group is the control group who developed normally. They were not restricted from social contact interactions. I guess you misinterpreted that grouping. The other two groups were the experimental groups, one with minimal social contact and the other with screen contact only. The two experimental groups had similar brain morphology. The flaw in the study is that the findings could equally be explained by minimal social contact and not related to viewing a video screen. That’s why I said in the previous post that interactive social experiences during development is important for normal brain development. Similar findings have been shown in rodents and primates.

But as I said above I post these studies because we all love fish and fish play an important role in neuroscience research. I bring that to your attention.

 

[anewbie]

The visual contact group is the control group who developed normally. They were not restricted from social contact interactions. I guess you misinterpreted that grouping. The other two groups were the experimental groups, one with minimal social contact and the other with screen contact only. The two experimental groups had similar brain morphology. The flaw in the study is that the findings could equally be explained by minimal social contact and not related to viewing a video screen. That’s why I said in the previous post that interactive social experiences during development is important for normal brain development. Similar findings have been shown in rodents and primates.

But as I said above I post these studies because we all love fish and fish play an important role in neuroscience research. I bring that to your attention.

It sounds like you are going in a circle. I said the force isolation could be the problem; you said they didn't have force isolation they had screen time; now you are saying that the issue could be caused by minimal social contact.

 

[gwand]

It sounds like you are going in a circle. I said the force isolation could be the problem; you said they didn't have force isolation they had screen time; now you are saying that the issue could be caused by minimal social contact.

What is the evidence for forced isolation? The fry were placed in each of the three grouping soon after birth. This is the only environment they ever experienced. BTW Screen time is equivalent to lack of social contact. If you can’t understand that let’s end the discussion here.

 

[anewbie]

What is the evidence for forced isolation? The fry were placed in each of the three grouping soon after birth. This is the only environment they ever experienced. BTW Screen time is equivalent to lack of social contact. If you can’t understand that let’s end the discussion here.

WHen the fish was placed in the group that only had screen time could they interact with other fishes ?

 

[GaryE]

First and foremost I bring these fish studies to the attention of the forum because they are fun. We all love fish. The studies may not be perfectly designed or definitive. But it is amazing how useful fish models have been to the advancement of neuroscience research.

I was unaware of the usefulness of fish models for neuroscience, and appreciate the pointer. These article postings are one of my favourite aspects of the forum, as they make me think about ideas I hadn't encountered before. Here, it isn't the screen time issue, but the usefulness of the models. The more exposure we get to the questions being investigated, the better off we are.

As for the debate, my work included a lot of editing and writing, and the argument seems to hinge on a loaded adjective. "Forced". If we want to quibble, our entire hobby is based on forcing. We as humans decide how our fish live. Some keep social fish alone, some keep shoals as large as they can manage. The fish don't get to choose.

The researchers kept some fish alone, some with screens and some in groups. By using 'forced' to describe that, you get a judgmental word in there. It becomes a different debate than one over an experiment.

I now have another thing to watch for as research moves along. Please, as you find these things, keep posting them.