| Records |
| Author |
Acuna, B.D.; Sanes, J.N.; Donoghue, J.P. |
| Title |
Cognitive mechanisms of transitive inference |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year  |
2002 |
Publication |
Experimental brain research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Experimentation cerebrale |
Abbreviated Journal |
Exp Brain Res |
| Volume |
146 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-10 |
| Keywords |
Adolescent; Adult; Attention/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Female; Humans; Learning/physiology; Linear Models; Male; Photic Stimulation; Psychomotor Performance/physiology; Reaction Time/physiology |
| Abstract |
We examined how the brain organizes interrelated facts during learning and how the facts are subsequently manipulated in a transitive inference (TI) paradigm (e.g., if A<B and B<C, then A<C). This task determined features such as learned facts and behavioral goals, but the learned facts could be organized in any of several ways. For example, if one learns a list by operating on paired items, the pairs may be stored individually as separate facts and reaction time (RT) should decrease with learning. Alternatively, the pairs may be stored as a single, unified list, which may yield a different RT pattern. We characterized RT patterns that occurred as participants learned, by trial and error, the predetermined order of 11 shapes. The task goal was to choose the shape occurring closer to the end of the list, and feedback about correctness was provided during this phase. RT increased even as its variance decreased during learning, suggesting that the learnt knowledge became progressively unified into a single representation, requiring more time to manipulate as participants acquired relational knowledge. After learning, non-adjacent (NA) list items were presented to examine how participants reasoned in a TI task. The task goal also required choosing from each presented pair the item occurring closer to the list end, but without feedback. Participants could solve the TI problems by applying formal logic to the previously learnt pairs of adjacent items; alternatively, they could manipulate a single, unified representation of the list. Shorter RT occurred for NA pairs having more intervening items, supporting the hypothesis that humans employ unified mental representations during TI. The response pattern does not support mental logic solutions of applying inference rules sequentially, which would predict longer RT with more intervening items. We conclude that the brain organizes information in such a way that reflects the relations among the items, even if the facts were learned in an arbitrary order, and that this representation is subsequently used to make inferences. |
| Address |
Department of Neuroscience, Box 1953, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI 02912, USA |
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English |
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| ISSN |
0014-4819 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12192572 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
602 |
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| Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
| Title |
What are big brains for? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
99 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
4141-4142 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Brain/*anatomy & histology; *Intelligence; Learning; Primates/*anatomy & histology/*psychology; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
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| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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English |
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| ISSN |
0027-8424 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11929989 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
692 |
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| Author |
Barnard, C.J.; Luo, N. |
| Title |
Acquisition of dominance status affects maze learning in mice |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
| Volume |
60 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
53-59 |
| Keywords |
Social status; Learning; Radial maze; Mouse |
| Abstract |
Learning is likely to be costly and thus subject to trade-off with other components of life history. An obvious prediction, therefore, is that investment in learning, and thus learning performance, will vary with individual life history strategy and the reproductive value of the learning outcome. We tested this idea in the context of social dominance in male laboratory mice, using a simple radial maze paradigm to compare the ability of high- and low-ranking male mice to track changing food location. We tested animals in randomly selected pairs before and after establishing aggressive rank relationships to distinguish intrinsic differences in learning ability from those attributable to acquiring high or low rank. There was no difference in learning between later dominants and subordinates prior to establishing rank relationships. After pairing, however, dominants showed a significantly greater percentage of correct responses, with the difference being greatest earlier in a sequence of trials. The percentage of correct responses also increased with the amount of aggression initiated during pairing. The results thus appeared to reflect a state-dependent change in learning associated with the aggressive social relationships formed during pairing. |
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no |
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Serial |
2075 |
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| Author |
Reader, S.M.; Laland, K.N. |
| Title |
Social intelligence, innovation, and enhanced brain size in primates |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
99 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
4436-4441 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Brain/*anatomy & histology; Evolution; *Intelligence; Learning; Primates/*anatomy & histology/*psychology; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
Despite considerable current interest in the evolution of intelligence, the intuitively appealing notion that brain volume and “intelligence” are linked remains untested. Here, we use ecologically relevant measures of cognitive ability, the reported incidence of behavioral innovation, social learning, and tool use, to show that brain size and cognitive capacity are indeed correlated. A comparative analysis of 533 instances of innovation, 445 observations of social learning, and 607 episodes of tool use established that social learning, innovation, and tool use frequencies are positively correlated with species' relative and absolute “executive” brain volumes, after controlling for phylogeny and research effort. Moreover, innovation and social learning frequencies covary across species, in conflict with the view that there is an evolutionary tradeoff between reliance on individual experience and social cues. These findings provide an empirical link between behavioral innovation, social learning capacities, and brain size in mammals. The ability to learn from others, invent new behaviors, and use tools may have played pivotal roles in primate brain evolution. |
| Address |
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, High Street, Madingley, Cambridge CB3 8AA, United Kingdom |
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English |
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0027-8424 |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:11891325 |
Approved |
no |
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Serial |
2149 |
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| Author |
Ray, E.D.; Heyes, C.M. |
| Title |
Do rats in a two-action test encode movement egocentrically or allocentrically? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
245-252 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination Learning; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Random Allocation; Rats/physiology/*psychology; Smell |
| Abstract |
Two-action tests of imitation compare groups that observe topographically different responses to a common manipulandum. The general aim of the two experiments reported here was to find a demonstrator-consistent responding effect in a procedure that could be elaborated to investigate aspects of what was learned about the demonstrated lever response. Experiment 1 was a pilot study with rats of a variant of the two-action method of investigating social learning about observed responses. Groups of observer rats ( Rattus norvegicus) saw a demonstrator push a lever up or down for a food reward. When these observers were subsequently given access to the lever and rewarded for responses in both directions, their directional preferences were compared with two 'screen control' groups that were unable to see their demonstrators' behaviour. Demonstrator-consistent responding was found to be restricted to observers that were able to see demonstrator performance, suggesting that scent cues alone were insufficient to cue a preference for the demonstrators' response direction and thereby that the rats learned by observation about body movements (imitation) or lever movement (emulation). Experiment 2 assessed responding on two levers, one that had been manipulated by the demonstrator, and a second, transposed lever positioned some distance away. Demonstrator-consistent responding was abolished when actions were observed and performed in different parts of the apparatus, suggesting that observed movement was encoded allocentrically with respect to the apparatus rather than egocentrically with respect to the actor's body. With particular reference to the influence of scent cues, the results are discussed in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of this and other varieties of the two-action procedure as tests of imitation in animals and human infants. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. e.ray@ucl.ac.uk |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12461602 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2588 |
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| Author |
Waite, T.A. |
| Title |
Interruptions improve choice performance in gray jays: prolonged information processing versus minimization of costly errors |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
209-214 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Female; Learning; Male; Models, Biological; Motivation; Reinforcement Schedule; Songbirds/*physiology; Time Factors |
| Abstract |
Under the assumption that selection favors minimization of costly errors, erroneous choice may be common when its fitness cost is low. According to an adaptive-choice model, this cost depends on the rate at which an animal encounters the choice: the higher this rate, the smaller the cost of choosing a less valuable option. Errors should thus be more common when interruptions to foraging are shorter. A previous experiment supported this prediction: gray jays, Perisoreus canadensis, were more error prone when subjected to shorter delays to access to food rewards. This pattern, though, is also predicted by an attentional-constraints model. Because the subjects were able to inspect the rewards during delays, their improved performance when subjected to longer delays could have been a byproduct of the experimentally prolonged opportunity for information processing. To evaluate this possibility, a follow-up experiment manipulated both delay to access and whether rewards could be inspected during delays. Depriving jays of the opportunity to inspect rewards (using opaque lids) induced only a small, nonsignificant increase in error rate. This effect was independent of length of delay and so the jays' improved performance when subjected to longer delays was not simply a byproduct of prolonged information processing. More definitively, even when the jays were prevented from inspecting rewards during delays, their performance improved when subjected to longer delays. The findings are thus consistent with the adaptive-choice model. |
| Address |
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1293, USA. waite.1@osu.edu |
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English |
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Edition |
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1435-9448 |
ISBN |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:12461598 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2592 |
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| Author |
Caldwell, C.A.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Evolutionary perspectives on imitation: is a comparative psychology of social learning possible? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
193-208 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Evolution; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Learning; Models, Animal |
| Abstract |
Studies of imitation in animals have become numerous in recent times, but do they contribute to a comparative psychology of social learning? We review this burgeoning field to identify the problems and prospects for such a goal. Difficulties of two main kinds are identified. First, researchers have tackled questions about social learning from at least three very different theoretical perspectives, the “phylogenetic”, “animal model”, and “adaptational”. We examine the conflicts between them and consider the scope for integration. A second difficulty arises in the methodological approaches used in the discipline. In relation to one of these – survey reviews of published studies – we tabulate and compare the contrasting conclusions of nine articles that together review 36 studies. The basis for authors' disagreements, including the matters of perceptual opacity, novelty, sequential structure, and goal representation, are examined. In relation to the other key method, comparative experimentation, we identify 12 studies that have explicitly compared species' imitative ability on similar tasks. We examine the principal problems of comparing like with like in these studies and consider solutions, the most powerful of which we propose to be the use of a systematic range of task designs, rather than any single “gold standard” task. |
| Address |
School of Psychology, Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK. C.A.Caldwell@exeter.ac.uk |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12461597 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2593 |
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| Author |
Pepperberg, I.M. |
| Title |
The value of the Piagetian framework for comparative cognitive studies |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
177-182 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Discrimination Learning; *Intelligence; *Models, Psychological; *Models, Theoretical |
| Abstract |
Although the Piagetian framework has been used by numerous researchers to compare cognitive abilities of diverse species, the system is often criticized as implemented. I examine the various criticisms, suggest ways in which the system can be improved, and argue for the need for descriptive systems such as the Piagetian framework to complement programs that look for cellular and molecular bases or mathematical models to explain behavior. |
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School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. impepper@media.mit.edu |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12357290 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2595 |
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| Author |
Funk, M.S. |
| Title |
Problem solving skills in young yellow-crowned parakeets (Cyanoramphus auriceps) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
167-176 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Motor Skills; *Parakeets; Play and Playthings; *Problem Solving; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
Despite the long divergent evolutionary history of birds and mammals, early avian and primate cognitive development have many convergent features. Some of these features were investigated with a series of tasks designed to assess human infant development. The tasks were presented to young parakeets to assess their means-end problem solving abilities. Examples of these early skills are: attaining and playing with objects, retrieving rewards through use of a stick or rake, or by pulling in rewards on supports or on the ends of strings. Twelve such tasks were presented to 11 young yellow-crowned parakeets ( Cyanoramphus auriceps) to investigate their natural abilities; there was no attempt to train them to do those tasks that they did not spontaneously perform. Six of the birds were parent-raised and five were hand-raised. The birds completed 9 of the 12 tasks, demonstrating all the Piagetian sensorimotor circular reactions, but they failed to hand-watch (“claw-watch”), to stack objects, or to fill a container. Their ordinality on the tasks differed from that of human infants in that locomotion to obtain objects occurred earlier in the avian sequence of development and the mid-level tasks were performed by the two groups of avian subjects in a mixed order perhaps indicating that these abilities may not emerge in any particular order for these birds as they supposedly do for human infants. The hand-raised group needed fewer sessions to complete these means-end tasks. |
| Address |
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. mdfunk@northwestern.edu |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12357289 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2596 |
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| Author |
Hauber, M.E.; Pearson, H.E.; Reh, A.; Merges, A. |
| Title |
Discrimination between host songs by brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
129-137 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Auditory Perception; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; Sexual Behavior; *Songbirds; *Vocalization, Animal |
| Abstract |
Songbirds can learn both to produce and to discriminate between different classes of acoustic stimuli. Varying levels of auditory discrimination may improve the fitness of individuals in certain ecological and social contexts and, thus, selection is expected to mold the cognitive abilities of different species according to the potential benefits of acoustic processing. Although fine-scale auditory discrimination of conspecific songs and calls has been frequently reported for brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), it remains unclear why and how they perceive differently the songs of their many host species. Using habituation-dishabituation paradigms and measuring behavioral and physiological (heart-rate) responses, we found that captive female cowbirds consistently discriminated between songs of two host species, the song sparrow ( Melospiza melodia) and the red-winged blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus). Playback experiments with stimuli composed of con-specific followed by heterospecific vocalizations in the field also demonstrated discrimination between these heterospecific songs even though cowbirds were not attracted to playbacks of either host species' songs alone. Our results do not directly support a nest-searching function of heterospecific song discrimination by cowbirds and are most consistent with a function of the parasites' avoidance of attacks by their aggressive hosts. These data demonstrate discrimination between heterospecific vocalizations by brown-headed cowbirds and add a novel dimension to the already expansive auditory perceptual abilities of brood parasitic species and other songbirds. |
| Address |
Field Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell, University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. hauberm@socrates.berkeley.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12357285 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2600 |
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