Platypus have a "sixth-sense" that allows them to hunt underwater: electroreception. To find meals in the mud, it uses its bill to detect movements and subtle electric fields produced by its prey. Receptors on the bill detect changes in pressure and motion. Two types of receptors track the electrical signals produced by small prey when they contract their muscles. The platypus moves its head side-to-side to determine the direction and distance of its next meal by collecting and processing this sensory information. The platypus has about 40,000 of these special receptors.

Based on the passage, which of the following sentences best describes how the platypus processes an electrical signal?

The brain is where all information received from the senses is processed.

True or false: A chameleon changing colors is an example of an animal processing information.

True or false: Animals are similar to humans because they both use sense organs to gather information from the environment.

Why is it important that the animals’ brains process and store information?

Which of the following is an example of a type of information an animal may process?

Vipers, pythons, and boas have a special adaptation that allows them to process information uniquely. These snakes can detect infrared radiation from warm bodies up to a meter away. The snakes then build an image of what is emitting this heat to help the snake decide if it should attack or flee. Snakes have poor eyesight, so these pits are vital.

Which sentence demonstrates how the snakes process the information they receive?

When animals process information they have received, they often store it for use later as memories. These memories help to influence their future actions.

Animals process information to make decisions about how to respond.

Echolocation is a behavior in which animals emit calls and then listen to the echoes that bounce back off of stable things in the environment. This behavior can be used to navigate and to find food or mates. Orcas, dolphins, sperm whales, and pilot whales are all creatures that use this function to gather information. They release small bursts of air from air sacs in their heads and then through their mouths. This burst of air will make a click or ringing sound. The sound will bounce off an object and return to the whale or dolphin. That information is then transferred to a centralized place (the brain) where it is processed, and the organism responds in ways that will help it survive and reproduce.

Where is the information processed that whales or dolphins receive?