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Author Hogan, J. doi  openurl
  Title Causation: the study of behavioural mechanisms Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Animal Biology (formerly Netherlands Journal of Zoology) Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages 323-341  
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  Abstract This paper describes current work on the causal analysis of behaviour systems. It is noted that while causal work investigating the neural, hormonal, and genetic bases of behaviour is flourishing, work being conducted at a strictly behavioural level of analysis has declined greatly over the past 40 years. Nonetheless, most recent research on animal cognition and applied ethology is still being carried out at a behavioural level of analysis and examples of both types of research are presented: memory mechanisms of food-storing birds and decisions of spider-eating jumping spiders, as well as feather pecking in fowl and animal welfare issues, are all briefly discussed. Finally, I discuss the similarities between neural network modelling and early ethological models of motivation, and then show how a modern version of Lorenz's model of motivation can account for current research findings on dustbathing in chickens and sleep in humans. I conclude that valuable information can still be obtained by research at a behavioural level of analysis.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3134  
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Author Cook, R.G.; Shaw, R.; Blaisdell, A.P. doi  openurl
  Title Dynamic object perception by pigeons: discrimination of action in video presentations Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 4 Issue 3 Pages 137-146  
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  Abstract Two experiments examined the discrimination by pigeons of relative motion using computer-generated video stimuli. Using a go/no-go procedure, pigeons were tested with video stimuli in which the camera's perspective went either “around” or “through” an approaching object in a semi-realistic context. Experiment 1 found that pigeons could learn this discrimination and transfer it to videos composed from novel objects. Experiment 2 found that the order of the video's frames was critical to the discrimination of the videos. We hypothesize that the pigeons perceived a three-dimensional representation of the objects and the camera's relative motion and used this as the primary basis for discrimination. It is proposed that the pigeons might be able to form generalized natural categories for the different kinds of motions portrayed in the videos.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3142  
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Author Forkman, B. doi  openurl
  Title Domestic hens have declarative representations Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages 135-137  
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  Abstract It is generally considered that information can be stored either as a procedural or as a declarative representation. A devaluation technique was used to determine whether hens have declarative representations. Individual hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were fed in an enclosure with two containers, each with a new food type. One of the food types was devalued by pre-feeding with that food, after which the hens were tested with empty food containers. The pre-feeding should only affect the choice of the hens if they have learned where a particular food type was (declarative representation) rather than “go left when coming into the enclosure” (procedural representation). A significant proportion of the hens went to the location previously occupied by the non-devalued food (seven out of eight). This supports the hypothesis that domestic hens can form declarative representations.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3143  
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Author De Lillo,; C. De Lillo; Floreano,; D. Floreano; Antinucci,; F. Antinucci doi  openurl
  Title Transitive choices by a simple, fully connected, backpropagation neural network: implications for the comparative study of transitive inference Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 61-68  
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  Abstract In search of the minimal requirements for transitive reasoning, a simple neural network was trained and tested on the non-verbal version of the conventional “five-term-series task” – a paradigm used with human adults, children and a variety of non-human species. The transitive performance of the network was analogous in several aspects to that reported for children and animals. The three effects usually associated with transitive choices i.e. “symbolic distance”, “lexical marking” and “end-anchor”, were also clearly shown by the neural network. In a second experiment, where the training conditions were manipulated, the network failed to match the behavioural pattern reported for human adults in the test following an ordered presentation of the premises. However, it mimicked young children's performance when tested with a novel comparison term. Although we do not intend to suggest a new model of transitive inference, we conclude, in line with other authors, that a simple error-correcting rule can generate transitive behaviour similar to the choice pattern of children and animals in the binary form of the five-term-series task without requiring high-order logical or paralogical abilities. The analysis of the training history and of the final internal structure of the network reveals the associative strategy employed. However, our results indicate that the scope of the associative strategy used by the network might be limited. The extent to which the conventional five-term-series task, in absence of appropriate manipulations of training and testing conditions, is suitable to detect cognitive differences across species is also discussed on the basis of our results.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3145  
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Author Cordeiro de Sousa, M.; Xavier, N.; Alves da Silva, H.; Souza de Oliveira, M.; Yamamoto, M. doi  openurl
  Title Hand preference study in marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ) using food reaching tests Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Primates Abbreviated Journal Primates  
  Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 57-66  
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  Abstract Abstract  Hand preference has been investigated in New World primates but the data obtained thus far are controversial. In this study we investigated hand preference in common marmosets,Callithrix jacchus, during the execution of a reaching for food task. We used 46 adult common marmoset males (n=27) and females (n=19) from the Universidade of Rio Grande do Norte colony, both wild and captive-born. To test the hand preference we used a device measuring 10 cm2, with a central hole 1 cm in diameter, to force the animal to use only one hand to reach for food on a food dish located underneath. Each animal was tested 5 times and had to make a maximum of 20 successful attempts per session. A total of 100 successful attempts per animal and 4,600 successful attempts for all animals were recorded during the experiment. Latency and duration of the sessions were measured and we found preference for the use of one of the hands in common marmoset individuals, i.e. 45 of total of 46 animals used significantly more the right or the left hand when performing the task. However no bias at the population level was found. Females born in captivity presented an increase in the duration of latency for the first successful attempt and in the total duration of the test sessions. These findings might be indicating differences associated with a natural tendency for females to be more selective and to spend more time exploring alimentary sources. Additionally, captive-born females may have a constrain in developing cognitive abilities regarding foraging since they have food available during most part of the time.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3149  
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Author Saleh, N.; Chittka, L. doi  openurl
  Title The importance of experience in the interpretation of conspecific chemical signals Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.  
  Volume 61 Issue 2 Pages 215-220  
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  Abstract Abstract  Foraging bumblebees scent mark flowers with hydrocarbon secretions. Several studies have found these scent marks act as a repellent to bee foragers. This was thought to minimize the risk of visiting recently depleted flowers. Some studies, however, have found a reverse, attractive effect of scent marks left on flowers. Do bees mark flowers with different scents, or could the same scent be interpreted differently depending on the bees? previous experience with reward levels in flowers? We use a simple experimental design to investigate if the scent marks can become attractive when bees forage on artificial flowers that remain rewarding upon the bees? return after having depleted them. We contrast this with bees trained in the more natural scenario where revisits to recently emptied flowers are unrewarding. The bees association between scent mark and reward value was tested with flowers scent marked from the same source. We find that the bees experience with the level of reward determines how the scent mark is interpreted: the same scent can act as both an attractant and a repellent. How experience and learning influence the interpretation of the meaning of chemical signals deposited by animals for communication has rarely been investigated.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3150  
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Author Milgram, N.W. doi  openurl
  Title Cognitive Experience and Its Effect on Age-Dependent Cognitive Decline in Beagle Dogs Type Journal Article
  Year 2003 Publication Neurochemical Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 28 Issue 11 Pages 1677-1682  
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  Abstract Test-sophisticated beagle dogs show marked age sensitivity in a size discrimination learning task, with old and senior dogs performing significantly more poorly than young dogs. By contrast, age differences in learning were not seen in dogs naive with respect to neuropsychological test experience. These results indicate that old animals benefit less from prior cognitive experience than young animals, which is an example of an age-dependent loss in plasticity. This finding also suggests that behaviorally experienced animals are a more useful model of human cognitive aging than behaviorally naive animals. We also looked at the effect of a program of behavioral enrichment in aged dogs. One year of enrichment did not lead to significant differences, but after 2 years the behaviorally enriched group performed significantly better than the control group. The effect after 2 years indicates that a prolonged program of cognitive enrichment can serve as an effective intervention in aged dogs. These findings demonstrate that cognitive abilities in aged animals can be modified by providing behavioral experience, indicating that cognitive abilities remain moderately plastic, even in very old animals.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3151  
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Author Westergaard, G.C.; Liv, C.; Chavanne, T.J.; Suomi, S.J. doi  openurl
  Title Token-mediated tool-use by a tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) Type Journal Article
  Year 1998 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 1 Issue 2 Pages 101-106  
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  Abstract This research examined token-mediated tool-use in a tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella). We conducted five experiments. In experiment 1 we examined the use of plastic color-coded chips to request food, and in experiments 2-5 we examined the use of color-coded chips to request tools. Our subject learned to use chips to request tools following the same general pattern seen in great apes performing analogous tasks, that is, initial discrimination followed by an understanding of the relationship among tokens, tools, and their functions. Our findings are consistent with the view that parallel representational processes underlie the tool-related behavior of capuchins and great apes.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3152  
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Author Heiling, A.M.; Herberstein, M.E. doi  openurl
  Title The role of experience in web-building spiders (Araneidae) Type Journal Article
  Year 1999 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 2 Issue 3 Pages 171-177  
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  Abstract A typical feature of vertical orb-webs is the 'top/bottom' asymmetry, where the lower web region is larger than the upper web region. This asymmetry may improve prey capture success, because, sitting in the hub of the web, a spider can reach prey entangled below the hub faster than prey entangled in the area above the hub. While web asymmetry is known to vary intraspecifically, we tested if this variation also exists at the individual level and whether it is the result of experience, using two orb-web spider species, Argiope keyserlingi and Larinioides sclopetarius. The results reveal that experienced web-building spiders constructed more asymmetric webs than conspecifics deprived of any prior building experience over a period of several months. Experienced individuals invested more silk material into the web region below the hub, which covered a larger area. Moreover, web asymmetry was also influenced by previous prey capture experiences, as spiders increased the lower region of the web if it intercepted the most prey over a period of 6 days. Consequently, spiders may be able to use long-term web-building experience as well as short-term prey capture experience to build better traps. In contrast to previous views of spiders, experience can contribute to intraspecific as well as to individual variations in web design.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3154  
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Author Iversen, I.H.; Matsuzawa, T. doi  openurl
  Title Acquisition of navigation by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in an automated fingermaze task Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 4 Issue 3 Pages 179-192  
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  Abstract These experiments investigated how chimpanzees learn to navigate visual fingermazes presented on a touch monitor. The aim was to determine whether training the subjects to solve several different mazes would establish a generalized map-reading skill such that they would solve new mazes correctly on the first presentation. In experiment 1, two captive adult female chimpanzees were trained to move a visual object (a ball) with a finger over the monitor surface toward a target through a grid of obstacles that formed a maze. The task was fully automated with storage of movement paths on individual trials. Training progressed from very simple mazes with one obstacle to complex mazes with several obstacles. The subjects learned to move the ball to the target in a curved path so as to avoid obstacles and blind alleys. After training on several mazes, both subjects developed a high level of efficiency in moving the ball to the target in a path that closely approached the ideal shortest path. New mazes were then presented to determine whether the subjects had acquired a more generalized maze-solving performance. The subjects solved 65–100% of the new mazes the first time they were presented by moving the ball around obstacles to the target without making detours into blind alleys. In experiment 2, one of the chimpanzees was trained using mazes with two routes to the target. One of the routes was blocked at one of many possible locations. After training to avoid the blind alley in different mazes, new mazes were presented that also had one route blocked. The subject correctly solved 90.7% of the novel mazes. When the mazes had one short and one long open route to the target the subject preferred the shorter route. When the short route was blocked, the subject solved only 53.3% of the mazes because of the preference for the shorter route even when blocked. The overall results suggest that with the training methods used the subjects learned to solve specific mazes with a trial-and-error method. Although both subjects were able to solve many of the novel mazes they did not fully develop a more general “map-reading” skill.  
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  Notes (up) Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3160  
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