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Author |
Gentner, T.Q.; Fenn, K.M.; Margoliash, D.; Nusbaum, H.C. |
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Title |
Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds |
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Journal Article |
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Year  |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
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Volume |
440 |
Issue |
7088 |
Pages |
1204-1207 |
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Keywords |
Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/*physiology; Humans; *Language; Learning/*physiology; Linguistics; Models, Neurological; Semantics; Starlings/*physiology; Stochastic Processes |
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Abstract |
Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation. |
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Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. tgentner@ucsd.edu |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:16641998 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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353 |
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Author |
Miklósi, Á.; Soproni, K. |
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Title |
A comparative analysis of animals' understanding of the human pointing gesture |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
9 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
81-93 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Child; Child, Preschool; Dogs; Fixation, Ocular; *Gestures; Hand; Humans; *Nonverbal Communication; Pinnipedia; Primates; Problem Solving; *Recognition (Psychology); Species Specificity |
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Abstract |
We review studies demonstrating the ability of some animals to understand the human pointing gesture. We present a 3-step analysis of the topic. (1) We compare and evaluate current experimental methods (2) We compare available experimental results on performance of different species and investigate the interaction of species differences and other independent variables (3) We evaluate how our present understanding of pointing comprehension answers questions about function, evolution and mechanisms. Recently, a number of different hypotheses have been put forward to account for the presence of this ability in some species and for the lack of such comprehension in others. In our view, there is no convincing evidence for the assumption that the competitive lifestyles of apes would inhibit the utilization of this human gesture. Similarly, domestication as a special evolutionary factor in the case of some species falls short in explaining high levels of pointing comprehension in some non-domestic species. We also disagree with the simplistic view of describing the phenomenon as a simple form of conditioning. We suggest that a more systematic comparative research is needed to understand the emerging communicative representational abilities in animals that provide the background for comprehending the human pointing gesture. |
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Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Pazmany P 1/c, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary. miklosa@ludens.elte.hu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16235075 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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463 |
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Author |
Watanabe, S.; Huber, L. |
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Title |
Animal logics: decisions in the absence of human language |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
235-245 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Brain/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Decision Making/*physiology; Evolution; Humans; *Language; *Logic; Problem Solving/physiology |
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Without Abstract |
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Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-15-45, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, Japan. swat@flet.keio.ac.jp |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16909231 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2453 |
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Author |
Barry, K.L.; Goth, A. |
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Title |
Call recognition in chicks of the Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
9 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
47-54 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Australia; Cues; Galliformes/*physiology; Robotics; *Social Behavior; Species Specificity; Visual Perception |
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Abstract |
Most birds rely on imprinting and experience with conspecifics to learn species-specific recognition cues. Australian brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami) do not imprint and form no bonds with parents. They hatch asynchronously, disperse widely and meet juvenile conspecifics at an unpredictable age. Nevertheless, in captivity, hatchlings respond to other chicks. A recent study, which involved the use of robotic models, found that chicks prefer to approach robots that emit specific visual cues. Here, we evaluated their response to acoustic cues, which usually play an important role in avian social cognition. However, in simultaneous choice tests, neither 2-day-old nor 9-day-old chicks preferred the choice arm with playback of either chick or adult conspecific calls over the arm containing a silent loudspeaker. Chicks of both age classes, however, scanned their surroundings more during chick playback, and the response was thus consistent in younger and older chicks. We also presented the chicks with robotic models, either with or without playback of chick calls. They did not approach the calling robot more than they did the silent robot, indicating that the combination of visual and acoustic cues does not evoke a stronger response. These results will allow further comparison with species that face similar cognitive demands in the wild, such as brood parasites. Such a comparative approach, which is the focus of cognitive ecology, will enable us to further analyse the evolution and adaptive value of species recognition abilities. |
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Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia |
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1435-9448 |
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Notes |
PMID:16160818 |
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no |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2484 |
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Author |
Franks, N.R.; Richardson, T. |
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Title |
Teaching in tandem-running ants |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
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Volume |
439 |
Issue |
7073 |
Pages |
153 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Ants/*physiology; Feedback/physiology; Learning/*physiology; *Teaching |
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Abstract |
The ant Temnothorax albipennis uses a technique known as tandem running to lead another ant from the nest to food--with signals between the two ants controlling both the speed and course of the run. Here we analyse the results of this communication and show that tandem running is an example of teaching, to our knowledge the first in a non-human animal, that involves bidirectional feedback between teacher and pupil. This behaviour indicates that it could be the value of information, rather than the constraint of brain size, that has influenced the evolution of teaching. |
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School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 IUG, UK. nigel.franks@bristol.ac.uk |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:16407943 |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4651 |
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Author |
Anderson, J.R.; Kuwahata, H.; Fujita, K. |
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Title |
Gaze alternation during “pointing” by squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)? |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
267-271 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Attention; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Cues; Female; Humans; *Learning; Male; Saimiri/*physiology |
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Abstract |
Gaze alternation (GA) is considered a hallmark of pointing in human infants, a sign of intentionality underlying the gesture. GA has occasionally been observed in great apes, and reported only anecdotally in a few monkeys. Three squirrel monkeys that had previously learned to reach toward out-of-reach food in the presence of a human partner were videotaped while the latter visually attended to the food, a distractor object, or the ceiling. Frame-by-frame video analysis revealed that, especially when reaching toward the food, the monkeys rapidly and repeatedly switched between looking at the partner's face and the food. This type of GA suggests that the monkeys were communicating with the partner. However, the monkeys' behavior was not influenced by changes in the partner's focus of attention. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK. jra1@stir.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17242934 |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2424 |
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