In a discovery that may prove important for cognitive science, our understanding of nature and applications for robot vision, researchers at the University of Adelaide have found evidence that the dragonfly is capable of higher-level thought processes when hunting its prey.

Dr Steven Wiederman and Associate Professor David O'Carroll from the University of Adelaide's Centre for Neuroscience Research have been studying insect vision for many years.

Using a tiny glass probe with a tip that is only 60 nanometers wide -- 1500 times smaller than the width of a human hair -- the researchers have discovered neuron activity in the dragonfly's brain that enables this selective attention.