The study, published in Current Biology, investigates the neural foundations of behavioral innovation in Heliconius butterflies, the only genus known to feed on both nectar and pollen. As part of this behavior, they demonstrate a remarkable ability to learn and remember spatial information about their food sources—skills previously connected to the expansion of a brain structure called the mushroom bodies, responsible for learning and memory.

Lead author Dr. Max Farnworth from the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences explained, "There is huge interest in how bigger brains may support enhanced cognition, behavioral precision or flexibility. But during brain expansion, it's often difficult to disentangle effects of increases in overall size from changes in internal structure."

To answer this question, the study authors delved deeper into the changes that occurred in the neural circuits that support learning and memory in Heliconius butterflies. Neural circuits are quite similar to electrical circuits as each cell has specific targets that they connect with, and assembles a net with its connections. This net then elicits specific functions by constructing a circuitry.