Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Rakesh Kumar Behera, Sanjay Kumar Pradhan, Swagatika Sahoo and Nikita Negi

Abstract:
Insects are crucial for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. They play a significant role in pollinating plants, which is directly related to human food security. Although insects have tiny brains, recent discoveries have challenged conventional wisdom about what is possible with their ostensibly straightforward nervous systems. Insect brains are not simple. Understanding their learning and cognition mechanisms and the depth of their perceptual worlds gives their conservation and research ethics a unique perspective. Recent studies have shown that various insect species possess previously undiscovered cognitive abilities that go beyond the framework of traditionally studied simple associative learning and spread into the higher stages like concept learning, social learning and numerical cognition. Understanding these concepts and mechanisms will certainly help in revealing the mystery of brain functions and give us an edge in the artificial intelligence.