Cross-Species Studies of Cognitive Behaviors: Aspects of Physiological Mechanisms
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 44
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Historically, cross-species comparison is the most classic methodology of research employed in the field of animal investigations. By the 15th to the 16th century, Leonard da Vinci had already devoted himself to performing and comparing the anatomies of various creatures, assuming continuity among them up to the emergence of human being. In the 18th century, Wolfgang Goethe, on the basis of such findings, formulized the notion of comparative morphology. Having extended the theory into the aspect of behaviour, in 1873, Charles Darwin published “The Expressions of Emotions in Man and Animals”. In the 20th century, Darwin’s reasoning was more systematized by Konrad Lorenz, who founded modern ethology. Although comparison is a classic method, its future is promising and innovative; however, because, as regards the physiological and neurological mechanisms underlying our evolution, little is yet known, which is the theme dealt with in this Special Issue. It seems that this project is timely, in following the accumulating physiological and neurological evidence collected over the past two decades. Particularly noteworthy is the development of cognitive neuroscience research. Here, one can submit the results of any attempt of cross-species comparison, whether microscopic or macroscopic (e.g., social brains, communication, reproductive mechanisms, behavioural ecology), as concerns cognitive behaviour. Species under comparison can vary from invertebrates such as insects, to fish, birds, and mammals, including humans.
Dr. Nobuo Masataka
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cognitive neuroscience
- species-specificity
- neural network
- brain imaging
- communication
- social brain
- phylogeny
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
