Expanding evolutionary neuroscience : insights from comparing variation in behavior

Neuroscientists have long studied species with convenient biological features to discover how behavior emerges from conserved molecular, neural, and circuit level processes. With the advent of new tools, from viral vectors and gene editing to automated behavioral analyses, there has been a recent wave of interest in developing new, ?nontraditional?model species. Here, we advocate for a complementary approach to model species development, that is, model clade development, as a way to integrate an evolutionary comparative approach with neurobiological and behavioral experiments. Capitalizing on natural behavioral variation in and investing in experimental tools for model clades will be a valuable strategy for the next generation of neuroscience discovery.

Automated summary

Neuroscientists advocate for a complementary approach to model clade development, integrating evolutionary comparative methods with neurobiological and behavioral experiments to capitalize on natural behavioral variation in model clades and invest in experimental tools for the next generation of neuroscience discovery.