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Author Mendl, M. url  openurl
  Title Performing under pressure: stress and cognitive function Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 221-244  
  Keywords Stress; Cognition; Attention; Learning; Memory; Welfare  
  Abstract The way in which cognitive functioning is affected by stressors is an important area of research for applied ethologists because stress caused by captive conditions may disrupt cognitive processes and lead to welfare and husbandry problems. Such problems may be minimised through an understanding of the links between stress and cognition. The effects of stress on cognitive function have been studied in disciplines ranging from human perceptual psychology to animal neuroscience. The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction to this research, focusing on the effects of stressors on attention, memory formation and memory recall. Findings from such a diverse literature with little apparent inter-disciplinary communication are inevitably complex and often contradictory. Nevertheless, some generalities do emerge. The idea that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between an individual's state of stress or arousal and its ability to perform a cognitive task effectively, the so-called Yerkes-Dodson law, is commonly encountered. The law has limited explanatory value because it is unlikely that different stressors act on cognitive function via the same intervening, non-specific state. Furthermore, the law only provides a very general description of the relationship between stress and cognitive function. Empirical research on attention and memory processes reveals more specific findings. Stressors appear to cause shifts, lapses and narrowing of attention, and can also influence decision speed. These processes may be viewed as serving an adaptive role helping the animal to search for and scrutinise a source of danger. There is conflicting evidence as to whether hormones involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress response play a part in these processes. These hormones and those involved in the sympathetic-adrenomedullary stress response do appear to play an important role in memory formation. Low or moderate concentrations of circulating glucocorticoids and catecholamines can enhance memory formation, while excessively high or prolonged elevations of these hormones can lead to memory disruption. The effects of stressors on memory recall are less clear. There is evidence for disruptive effects, and for facilitatory effects indicating state-dependent memory recall; events experienced under conditions of high arousal may be best recalled under similar conditions. Applied ethologists have the opportunity to extend work in this area, which often involves studies of single stressors/stress hormones acting in isolation and limited measures of cognitive function, by focusing on real-life husbandry stressors encountered by captive animals. This will yield fundamental information which also has direct relevance to animal welfare and management issues.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 393  
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Author Whiten, A.; Goodall, J.; McGrew, W.C.; Nishida, T.; Reynolds, V.; Sugiyama, Y.; Tutin, C.E.; Wrangham, R.W.; Boesch, C. doi  openurl
  Title Cultures in chimpanzees Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature  
  Volume 399 Issue 6737 Pages 682-685  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cognition; *Culture; Humans; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Species Specificity  
  Abstract As an increasing number of field studies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have achieved long-term status across Africa, differences in the behavioural repertoires described have become apparent that suggest there is significant cultural variation. Here we present a systematic synthesis of this information from the seven most long-term studies, which together have accumulated 151 years of chimpanzee observation. This comprehensive analysis reveals patterns of variation that are far more extensive than have previously been documented for any animal species except humans. We find that 39 different behaviour patterns, including tool usage, grooming and courtship behaviours, are customary or habitual in some communities but are absent in others where ecological explanations have been discounted. Among mammalian and avian species, cultural variation has previously been identified only for single behaviour patterns, such as the local dialects of song-birds. The extensive, multiple variations now documented for chimpanzees are thus without parallel. Moreover, the combined repertoire of these behaviour patterns in each chimpanzee community is itself highly distinctive, a phenomenon characteristic of human cultures but previously unrecognised in non-human species.  
  Address Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, UK  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:10385119 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 742  
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Author Cowell, P.E.; Fitch, R.H.; Denenberg, V.H. openurl 
  Title Laterality in animals: relevance to schizophrenia Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Schizophrenia Bulletin Abbreviated Journal Schizophr Bull  
  Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 41-62  
  Keywords Adult; Animals; Cognition; *Disease Models, Animal; Functional Laterality/*physiology; Humans; Language; Motor Activity/physiology; Schizophrenia/*physiopathology  
  Abstract Anomalies in the laterality of numerous neurocognitive dimensions associated with schizophrenia have been documented, but their role in the etiology and early development of the disorder remain unclear. In the study of normative neurobehavioral organization, animal models have shed much light on the mechanisms underlying and the factors affecting adult patterns of both functional and structural asymmetry. Nonhuman species have more recently been used to investigate the environmental, genetic, and neuroendocrine factors associated with developmental language disorders in humans. We propose that the animal models used to study the basis of lateralization in normative development and language disorders such as dyslexia could be modified to investigate lateralized phenomena in schizophrenia.  
  Address Dept. of Human Communication Sciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0586-7614 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:10098913 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2827  
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Author Timney, B.; Keil, K. doi  openurl
  Title Local and global stereopsis in the horse Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Vision Research Abbreviated Journal Vision Res  
  Volume 39 Issue 10 Pages 1861-1867  
  Keywords Animals; Depth Perception/*physiology; Female; Horses/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/physiology; Psychophysics; Sensory Thresholds/physiology; Vision, Binocular/physiology; Vision, Monocular/physiology  
  Abstract Although horses have laterally-placed eyes, there is substantial binocular overlap, allowing for the possibility that these animals have stereopsis. In the first experiment of the present study we measured local stereopsis by obtaining monocular and binocular depth thresholds for renal depth stimuli. On all measures, the horses' binocular performance was superior to their monocular. When depth thresholds were obtained, binocular thresholds were several times superior to those obtained monocularly, suggesting that the animals could use stereoscopic information when it was available. The binocular thresholds averaged about 15 min arc. In the second experiment we obtained evidence for the presence of global stereopsis by testing the animals' ability to discriminate between random-dot stereograms with and without consistent disparity information. When presented with such stimuli they showed a strong preference for the cyclopean equivalent of the positive stimulus with the real depth. These results provide the first behavioral demonstration of a full range of stereoscopic skills in a lateral-eyed mammal.  
  Address Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. timney@julian.uwo.ca  
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  ISSN 0042-6989 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:10343877 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3580  
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Author Matzke, S.M.; Oubre, J.L.; Caranto, G.R.; Gentry, M.K.; Galbicka, G. openurl 
  Title Behavioral and immunological effects of exogenous butyrylcholinesterase in rhesus monkeys Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior Abbreviated Journal Pharmacol Biochem Behav  
  Volume 62 Issue 3 Pages 523-530  
  Keywords Animals; Antibody Formation/drug effects; Behavior, Animal/*drug effects; Butyrylcholinesterase/*immunology/pharmacokinetics/*pharmacology; Cognition/drug effects; Color Perception/drug effects; Conditioning, Operant/drug effects; Discrimination Learning/drug effects; Half-Life; Horses; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Male  
  Abstract Although conventional therapies prevent organophosphate (OP) lethality, laboratory animals exposed to such treatments typically display behavioral incapacitation. Pretreatment with purified exogenous human or equine serum butyrylcholinesterase (Eq-BuChE), conversely, has effectively prevented OP lethality in rats and rhesus monkeys, without producing the adverse side effects associated with conventional treatments. In monkeys, however, using a commercial preparation of Eq-BuChE has been reported to incapacitate responding. In the present study, repeated administration of commercially prepared Eq-BuChE had no systematic effect on behavior in rhesus monkeys as measured by a six-item serial probe recognition task, despite 7- to 18-fold increases in baseline BuChE levels in blood. Antibody production induced by the enzyme was slight after the first injection and more pronounced following the second injection. The lack of behavioral effects, the relatively long in vivo half-life, and the previously demonstrated efficacy of BuChE as a biological scavenger for highly toxic OPs make BuChE potentially more effective than current treatment regimens for OP toxicity.  
  Address Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5100, USA  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0091-3057 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:10080246 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4064  
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Author Meyer, W.; Pakur, M. openurl 
  Title [Remarks on the domestic dog as an object of instruction for the education of the developing child] Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 1999 Publication Berliner und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift Abbreviated Journal Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr  
  Volume 112 Issue 4 Pages 131-138  
  Keywords Animals; Animals, Domestic; *Bonding, Human-Pet; Character; Child; *Child Development; Child, Preschool; Cognition; *Dogs; Emotions; Empathy; Humans  
  Abstract Based on an intensive analysis of literature, the study summarizes problems involved in the significance of domesticated dogs as objects of instruction and assistants of the education of children. Several important topics are discussed in view of advances for children in families keeping dogs. Such topics are mainly related to a general socio-emotional level, the support of cognitive development and character formation. Further aspects are the acquisition of a sense of responsibility, and the development of self-confidence, a sense of social membership and security, as well as important attributes of character such as frankness, broad mindedness, and sympathetic understanding. Moreover, knowledge about the life cycle and functions of body organs can be conveyed, and the dog could, at least in part, substitute for brothers and sisters. Basically, positive attitudes towards animals in general, as well as nature and environment are supported. All topics are critically commented and considered to be realistic or not. The supporting role of parents, in particular, is emphasized. Parental commitment should include deep concern with the typical attributes of the dog breed desired, and optimal dog keeping conditions to prevent harm to the children. The final commentary lays special emphasis on negative features of domestication for a pet owner, and cautions against non-biological and illusionary ideas about domesticated animals.  
  Address Anatomisches Institut der Tierakztlichen Hochschule Hannover  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language German Summary Language Original Title Bemerkungen zum Haushund als Lehrobjekt und Erziehungshilfe fur das sich entwickelnde Kind  
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  ISSN 0005-9366 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:10337055 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4155  
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Author Clement, T.S.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Development of a single-code/default coding strategy in pigeons Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2000 Publication Psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society / APS Abbreviated Journal Psychol Sci  
  Volume 11 Issue 3 Pages 261-264  
  Keywords Animals; Attention; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; *Problem Solving; Retention (Psychology)  
  Abstract We tested the hypothesis that pigeons could use a cognitively efficient coding strategy by training them on a conditional discrimination (delayed symbolic matching) in which one alternative was correct following the presentation of one sample (one-to-one), whereas the other alternative was correct following the presentation of any one of four other samples (many-to-one). When retention intervals of different durations were inserted between the offset of the sample and the onset of the choice stimuli, divergent retention functions were found. With increasing retention interval, matching accuracy on trials involving any of the many-to-one samples was increasingly better than matching accuracy on trials involving the one-to-one sample. Furthermore, following this test, pigeons treated a novel sample as if it had been one of the many-to-one samples. The data suggest that rather than learning each of the five sample-comparison associations independently, the pigeons developed a cognitively efficient single-code/default coding strategy.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0956-7976 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:11273414 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 246  
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Author Clement, T.S.; Feltus, J.R.; Kaiser, D.H.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title “Work ethic” in pigeons: reward value is directly related to the effort or time required to obtain the reward Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2000 Publication Psychonomic bulletin & review Abbreviated Journal Psychon Bull Rev  
  Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 100-106  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Female; Male; Reinforcement (Psychology); *Reward; Time Factors  
  Abstract Stimuli associated with less effort or with shorter delays to reinforcement are generally preferred over those associated with greater effort or longer delays to reinforcement. However, the opposite appears to be true of stimuli that follow greater effort or longer delays. In training, a simple simultaneous discrimination followed a single peck to an initial stimulus (S+FR1 S-FR1) and a different simple simultaneous discrimination followed 20 pecks to the initial stimulus (S+FR20 S-FR20). On test trials, pigeons preferred S+FR20 over S+FR1 and S-FR20 over S-FR1. These data support the view that the state of the animal immediately prior to presentation of the discrimination affects the value of the reinforcement that follows it. This contrast effect is analogous to effects that when they occur in humans have been attributed to more complex cognitive and social factors.  
  Address University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA  
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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:10780022 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 248  
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Author B. Agnetta,; B. Hare,; M. Tomasello, doi  openurl
  Title Cues to food location that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) of different ages do and do not use Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2000 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 107-112  
  Keywords Dogs – Arctic wolves – Social cognition – Gaze following – Communication  
  Abstract Autoren

B. Agnetta, B. Hare, M. Tomasello

Zusammenfassung

The results of three experiments are reported. In the main study, a human experimenter presented domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with a variety of social cues intended to indicate the location of hidden food. The novel findings of this study were: (1) dogs were able to use successfully several totally novel cues in which they watched a human place a marker in front of the target location; (2) dogs were unable to use the marker by itself with no behavioral cues (suggesting that some form of human behavior directed to the target location was a necessary part of the cue); and (3) there were no significant developments in dogs' skills in these tasks across the age range 4 months to 4 years (arguing against the necessity of extensive learning experiences with humans). In a follow-up study, dogs did not follow human gaze into “empty space” outside of the simulated foraging context. Finally, in a small pilot study, two arctic wolves (Canis lupus) were unable to use human cues to locate hidden food. These results suggest the possibility that domestic dogs have evolved an adaptive specialization for using human-produced directional cues in a goal-directed (especially foraging) context. Exactly how they understand these cues is still an open question.

Schlüsselwörter

Key words Dogs – Arctic wolves – Social cognition – Gaze following – Communication
 
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  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 598  
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Author Healy,S.; Braithwaite, V doi  openurl
  Title Cognitive ecology: a field of substance? Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2000 Publication Trends in Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal Trends. Ecol. Evol  
  Volume 15 Issue 1 Pages 22-26  
  Keywords Cognitive ecology; Neuroethology; Cognition; Ecology; Evolution; Orientation mechanisms  
  Abstract In 1993, Les Real invented the label 'cognitive ecology'. This label was intended for work that brought cognitive science and behavioural ecology together. Real's article stressed the importance of such an approach to the understanding of behaviour. At the end of a decade in which more interdisciplinary work on behaviour has been seen than for many years, it is time to assess whether cognitive ecology is a label describing an active field.  
  Address Division of Biological Sciences, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, UK EH9 3JT  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0169-5347 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:10603501 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 837  
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