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Author Reboreda, J.C.; Clayton, N.S.; Kacelnik, A.
Title Species and sex differences in hippocampus size in parasitic and non-parasitic cowbirds Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication Neuroreport Abbreviated Journal Neuroreport
Volume (up) 7 Issue 2 Pages 505-508
Keywords Animals; Birds/*physiology; Female; Hippocampus/*anatomy & histology; Male; Nesting Behavior/*physiology; Sex Characteristics; Species Specificity; Telencephalon/anatomy & histology
Abstract To test the hypothesis that selection for spatial abilities which require birds to locate and to return accurately to host nests has produced an enlarged hippocampus in brood parasites, three species of cowbird were compared. In shiny cowbirds, females search for host nests without the assistance of the male; in screaming cowbirds, males and females inspect hosts' nests together; in bay-winged cowbirds, neither sex searches because this species is not a brood parasite. As predicted, the two parasitic species had a relatively larger hippocampus than the non-parasitic species. There were no sex differences in relative hippocampus size in screaming or bay-winged cowbirds, but female shiny cowbirds had a larger hippocampus than the male.
Address Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0959-4965 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:8730816 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4798
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Author Martin, T.I.; Zentall, T.R.
Title Post-choice information processing by pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 4 Pages 273-278
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; *Columbidae; Discrimination Learning
Abstract In a conditional discrimination (matching-to-sample), a sample is followed by two comparison stimuli, one of which is correct, depending on the sample. Evidence from previous research suggests that if the stimulus display is maintained following an incorrect response (the so-called penalty-time procedure), acquisition by pigeons is facilitated. The present research tested the hypothesis that the penalty-time procedure allows the pigeons to review and learn from the maintained stimulus display following an incorrect choice. It did so by including a penalty-time group for which, following an incorrect choice, the sample changed to match the incorrect comparison, thus providing the pigeons with post-choice 'misinformation.' This misinformation group acquired the matching task significantly slower than the standard penalty-time group (that had no change in the sample following an error). Furthermore, acquisition of matching by a control group that received no penalty time fell midway between the other two groups, suggesting that the pigeons did not merely take more care in making choices because of the aversiveness of penalty-time. Thus, it appears that in the acquisition of matching-to-sample, when the stimulus display is maintained following an incorrect choice, the pigeons can review or acquire information from the display. This is the first time that such an effect has been reported for a nonhuman species.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15744507 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 225
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Author Zentall, T.R.
Title Configural/holistic processing or differential element versus compound similarity Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 2 Pages 141-142
Keywords Animals; *Chickens; Conditioning, Classical; *Discrimination Learning; Female; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Photic Stimulation; *Visual Perception
Abstract Before accepting a configural or holistic account of visual perception, one should be sure that an analytic (elemental) account does not provide an equal or better explanation of the results. I suggest that when one forms a compound of a color and a line orientation with one element previously trained as an S+ and the other as an S-, the resulting transfer found will depend on the relative salience of the two elements, and most important, the similarity of the compound to each of the training stimuli. Thus, if a line orientation is placed on a colored background (a separable compound), it will appear more like the colored field used in training, and color will control responding. However, if the line itself is colored (an integral compound), the compound will appear more like the line used in training, and line orientation will control responding. Not only does this account do a better job of explaining the data but it is simpler and it is testable.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15449103 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 229
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Clement, T.S.; Bhatt, R.S.; Allen, J.
Title Episodic-like memory in pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Psychonomic bulletin & review Abbreviated Journal Psychon Bull Rev
Volume (up) 8 Issue 4 Pages 685-690
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Columbidae; Memory, Short-Term/*physiology; Teaching
Abstract It has been proposed that memory for personal experiences (episodic memory, rather than semantic memory) relies on the conscious review of past experience and thus is unique to humans. In an attempt to demonstrate episodic-like memory in animals, we first trained pigeons to respond to the (nonverbal) question “Did you just peck or did you just refrain from pecking?” by training them on a symbolic matching task with differential responding required to the two line-orientation samples and reinforcing the choice of a red comparison if they had pecked and the choice of a green comparison if they had not pecked. Then, in Experiment 1, after providing the conditions for (but not requiring) the pigeons to peck at one new stimulus (a yellow hue) but not at another (a blue hue), we tested them with the new hue stimuli and the red and green comparisons. In Experiment 2, we tested the pigeons with novel stimuli (a circle, which they spontaneously pecked, and a dark response key, which they did not peck) and the red and green comparisons. In both experiments, pigeons chose the comparison appropriate to the response made to the test stimulus. Thus, the pigeons demonstrated that they could remember specific details about their past experiences, a result consistent with the notion that they have the capacity for forming episodic-like memories.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1069-9384 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11848586 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 243
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Author Markman, E.M.; Abelev, M.
Title Word learning in dogs? Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Trends in Cognitive Sciences Abbreviated Journal Trends. Cognit. Sci.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 11 Pages 479-81; discussion 481
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; Dogs; *Learning; *Verbal Learning; *Vocabulary
Abstract In a recent paper, Kaminski, Call and Fischer report pioneering research on word-learning in a dog. In this commentary we suggest ways of distinguishing referential word use from mere association. We question whether the dog is reasoning by exclusion and, if so, compare three explanations – learned heuristics, default assumptions, and pragmatic reasoning – as they apply to children and might apply to dogs. Kaminski et al.'s work clearly raises important questions about the origins and basis of word learning and social cognition.
Address Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Bldg 420, Stanford, CA 94305-2130, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1364-6613 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15491899 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 274
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Author Ottoni, E.B.; de Resende, B.D.; Izar, P.
Title Watching the best nutcrackers: what capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) know about others' tool-using skills Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 4 Pages 215-219
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Cebus/*psychology; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Male; Nuts; *Problem Solving
Abstract The present work is part of a decade-long study on the spontaneous use of stones for cracking hard-shelled nuts by a semi-free-ranging group of brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Nutcracking events are frequently watched by other individuals--usually younger, less proficient, and that are well tolerated to the point of some scrounging being allowed by the nutcracker. Here we report findings showing that the choice of observational targets is an active, non-random process, and that observers seem to have some understanding of the relative proficiency of their group mates, preferentially watching the more skilled nutcrackers, which enhances not only scrounging payoffs, but also social learning opportunities.
Address Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. ebottoni@usp.br
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15719240 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 355
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Author Shettleworth, S.J.; Krebs, J.R.
Title How marsh tits find their hoards: the roles of site preference and spatial memory Type Journal Article
Year 1982 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume (up) 8 Issue 4 Pages 354-375
Keywords Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Birds; Cues; Discrimination Learning; *Memory; *Mental Recall; *Orientation; *Space Perception
Abstract Marsh tits (Parus palustris) store single food items in scattered locations and recover them hours or days later. Some properties of the spatial memory involved were analyzed in two laboratory experiments. In the first, marsh tits were offered 97 sites for storing 12 seeds. They recovered a median of 65% of them 2-3 hr later, making only two errors per seed while doing so. Over trials, they used some sites more often than others, but during recovery they were more likely to visit a site of any preference value if they had stored a seed there that day than if they had not. Recovery performance was much worse if the experimenters moved the seeds between storage and recovery. A fixed search strategy that had some of the same average properties as the tits' search behavior also did worse than the real birds. In Experiment 2, any tendency to visit the same sites on successive daily tests in the aviary was placed in opposition to memory for storage sites by allowing the tits to store more seeds 2 hr after storing a first batch. They tended to avoid individual storage sites holding seeds from the first batch. When the tits searched for all the seeds 2 hr later, they tended to recover more seeds from the second batch than from the first, i.e., there was a recency effect.
Address
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:7175447 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 385
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Author Kitchen, D.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
Title Male chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) discriminate loud call contests between rivals of different relative ranks Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 1 Pages 1-6
Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; *Discrimination Learning; *Hierarchy, Social; Male; Papio hamadryas/*psychology; *Social Dominance; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Males in multi-male groups of chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) in Botswana compete for positions in a linear dominance hierarchy. Previous research suggests that males treat different categories of rivals differently; competitive displays between males of similar rank are more frequent and intense than those between disparately ranked males. Here we test whether males also respond differently to male-male interactions in which they are not directly involved, using playbacks of the loud 'wahoo' calls exchanged between competing males in aggressive displays. We played paired sequences of vocal contests between two adjacently ranked and two disparately ranked males to ten subjects, half ranking below the signalers in the call sequences and half above. Subjects who ranked above the two signalers showed stronger responses than lower-ranking subjects. Higher-ranking subjects also responded more strongly to sequences involving disparately ranked, as opposed to adjacently ranked opponents, suggesting that they recognized those individuals' relative ranks. Strong responses to sequences between disparately ranked opponents might have occurred either because such contests typically involve resources of high fitness value (defense of meat, estrous females or infants vulnerable to infanticide) or because they indicate a sudden change in one contestant's condition. In contrast, subjects who ranked lower than the signalers responded equally strongly to both types of sequences. These subjects may have been able to distinguish between the two categories of opponents but did not respond differently to them because they had little to lose or gain by a rank reversal between males that already ranked higher than they did.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. dkitchen@psych.upenn.edu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15164259 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 687
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Author Horner, V.; Whiten, A.
Title Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume (up) 8 Issue 3 Pages 164-181
Keywords Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; *Social Environment; Species Specificity
Abstract This study explored whether the tendency of chimpanzees and children to use emulation or imitation to solve a tool-using task was a response to the availability of causal information. Young wild-born chimpanzees from an African sanctuary and 3- to 4-year-old children observed a human demonstrator use a tool to retrieve a reward from a puzzle-box. The demonstration involved both causally relevant and irrelevant actions, and the box was presented in each of two conditions: opaque and clear. In the opaque condition, causal information about the effect of the tool inside the box was not available, and hence it was impossible to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant parts of the demonstration. However, in the clear condition causal information was available, and subjects could potentially determine which actions were necessary. When chimpanzees were presented with the opaque box, they reproduced both the relevant and irrelevant actions, thus imitating the overall structure of the task. When the box was presented in the clear condition they instead ignored the irrelevant actions in favour of a more efficient, emulative technique. These results suggest that emulation is the favoured strategy of chimpanzees when sufficient causal information is available. However, if such information is not available, chimpanzees are prone to employ a more comprehensive copy of an observed action. In contrast to the chimpanzees, children employed imitation to solve the task in both conditions, at the expense of efficiency. We suggest that the difference in performance of chimpanzees and children may be due to a greater susceptibility of children to cultural conventions, perhaps combined with a differential focus on the results, actions and goals of the demonstrator.
Address Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK. vkh1@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15549502 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 732
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Author Milinovich, G.J.; Trott, D.J.; Burrell, P.C.; van Eps, A.W.; Thoefner, M.B.; Blackall, L.L.; Al Jassim, R.A.M.; Morton, J.M.; Pollitt, C.C.
Title Changes in equine hindgut bacterial populations during oligofructose-induced laminitis Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Environmental Microbiology Abbreviated Journal Environ Microbiol
Volume (up) 8 Issue 5 Pages 885-898
Keywords Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteria/classification/*isolation & purification; DNA, Bacterial/analysis; Disease Models, Animal; Feces/microbiology; Foot Diseases/etiology/microbiology/*veterinary; Horse Diseases/*etiology/metabolism/microbiology; Horses; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Intestines/*microbiology; Oligosaccharides/*administration & dosage/*metabolism; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Bacterial/analysis; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/analysis
Abstract In the horse, carbohydrate overload is thought to play an integral role in the onset of laminitis by drastically altering the profile of bacterial populations in the hindgut. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate microbial ecology methods to monitor changes in bacterial populations throughout the course of experimentally induced laminitis and to identify the predominant oligofructose-utilizing organisms. Laminitis was induced in five horses by administration of oligofructose. Faecal specimens were collected at 8 h intervals from 72 h before to 72 h after the administration of oligofructose. Hindgut microbiota able to utilize oligofructose were enumerated throughout the course of the experiment using habitat-simulating medium. Isolates were collected and representatives identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The majority of these isolates collected belonged to the genus Streptococcus, 91% of which were identified as being most closely related to Streptococcus infantarius ssp. coli. Furthermore, S. infantarius ssp. coli was the predominant oligofructose-utilizing organism isolated before the onset of lameness. Fluorescence in situ hybridization probes developed to specifically target the isolated Streptococcus spp. demonstrated marked population increases between 8 and 16 h post oligofructose administration. This was followed by a rapid population decline which corresponded with a sharp decline in faecal pH and subsequently lameness at 24-32 h post oligofructose administration. This research suggests that streptococci within the Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex may be involved in the series of events which precede the onset of laminitis in the horse.
Address Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia. g.milinovich@uq.edu.au
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1462-2912 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16623745 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2625
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