scholarly journals Task Aspects Triggering Observational Learning in Jackdaws (Corvus monedula)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-588
Author(s):  
Berenika Mioduszewska ◽  
Xenia Schleuning ◽  
Anaïs Brunon ◽  
Mark O’Hara ◽  
Alice M. I. Auersperg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Observational Learning ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Action Sequence ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Informational Cues ◽  
Foraging Task ◽  
Corvus Monedula

Complex novel tasks are often used in animal cognition research to allow discrimination between various learning mechanisms. Successful performance relies on the capacity to identify informational cues from features in the environment. Additionally, observational learning is often considered more beneficial for survival than individual learning. Despite the importance of controlling task complexity, it can often be challenging to operationalize. This study investigated whether jackdaws, a highly social corvid species, can learn to drop stones inside a tube to release a reward after observing a trained conspecific. Additionally, it aimed to identify the underlying learning mechanisms and to detect the informational cues triggering learning. A research design was developed to highlight different aspects of the required action sequence. Experimental conditions included a conspecific model demonstrating the full sequence, parts of the sequence, consuming the reward without solving the task, and consuming the reward after the solution was demonstrated without a visible model. None of the 12 naïve jackdaws solved the task in pretests. Two subjects started solving in test sessions and they developed modified versions of the demonstrated action. Observing the full action sequence performed by a conspecific seemed to trigger learning. The majority of the subjects exhibited changes in their stone-oriented behavior, most likely due to stimulus and/or local enhancement. As predicted, jackdaws were influenced by conspecific model demonstrations when manipulating a complex novel foraging task. Factors contributing to the apparent task difficulty and directions for future studies are discussed within a tri-dimensional framework including the task, setup, and individuals.

scholarly journals Odor-taste interactions in food perception: Exposure protocol shows no effects of associative learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Fondberg ◽  
Johan N Lundström ◽  
Janina Seubert
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Exposure Phase ◽  
Experimental Setting ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Food Perception ◽  
Equivalence Tests ◽  
Taste And Odor ◽  
Chewing Gums

Abstract Repeated exposure can change the perceptual and hedonic features of flavor. Associative learning during which a flavor’s odor component is affected by co-exposure with taste is thought to be central in this process. However, changes can also arise due to exposure to the odor in itself. The aim of this study was to dissociate effects of associative learning from effects of exposure without taste by repeatedly presenting one odor together with sucrose and a second odor alone. Sixty individuals attended two testing sessions separated by a five-day exposure phase during which the stimuli were presented as flavorants in chewing gums that were chewed three times daily. Ratings of odor sweetness, odor pleasantness, odor intensity enhancement by taste, and odor referral to the mouth were collected at both sessions. Consistent with the notion that food preferences are modulated by exposure, odor pleasantness increased between the sessions independently of whether the odor (basil or orange flower) had been presented with or without sucrose. However, we found no evidence of associative learning in any of the tasks. In addition, exploratory equivalence tests suggested that these effects were either absent or insignificant in magnitude. Taken together, our results suggest that the hypothesized effects of associative learning are either smaller than previously thought or highly dependent on the experimental setting. Future studies are needed to evaluate the relative support for these explanations and, if experimental conditions can be identified that reliably produce such effects, to identify factors that regulate the formation of new odor-taste associations.

Chaotic dimensionality of hand movements define processing capacity by relational complexity

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 842-843
Author(s):  
Danko Nikolic
Keyword(s):  
Task Complexity ◽  
Behavioral Data ◽  
Hand Movements ◽  
Chaotic Attractors ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Neural Firing ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Relational Complexity

Measurements of the dimensionality of chaotic attractors obtained on behavioral data represent the task complexity and also could be hypothesized to reflect the number of synchronized neural groups involved in the generation of the data. The changes in dimensionality for different experimental conditions suggest that limited processing capacity, task complexity, demand, and synchrony in neural firing might be closely related.

scholarly journals Investigation of glutathione peroxidase activity in chicken meat under different experimental conditions

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre José Cichoski ◽  
Renata Bezerra Rotta ◽  
Gerson Scheuermann ◽  
Anildo Cunha Junior ◽  
Juliano Smanioto Barin
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Peroxide ◽  
Glutathione Peroxidase ◽  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Frozen Storage ◽  
Potassium Phosphate ◽  
Reaction Medium ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Different Sources

Due to the fact that previous studies on the enzymatic activity of Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) diverge widely in their methodology and results, this study aimed to investigate the influence of different analytical conditions on GSH-Px activity in chicken thighs from broilers that were fed different diets with different sources and concentrations of selenium. GSH-Px activity was evaluated six hours after slaughter and 120 days after frozen storage at -18 ºC. The different analytical conditions included time of pre-incubation (0, 10 and 30 minutes), reaction medium, types of substrate (H2O2 (0.72 mM, 7.2 mM, and 72 mM) and Terc-butil hydroperoxide 15 mM), and different buffer concentrations (buffer 1, potassium phosphate 50 mM pH 7.0 + EDTA 1 mM + mercaptoethanol 1 mM, and buffer 2, tris-HCl 50 mM pH 7.6 + EDTA 1 mM + mercapthanol 5 mM). The results show that the highest GSH-Px activity was observed when enzyme and substrate were in contact at 22 ºC without any pre-incubation, and that, when used at concentrations above 0.72 mM, hydrogen peroxide saturated the GSH-Px enzyme and inhibited its activity. The enzyme presented higher affinity to hydrogen peroxide when compared to terc-butil peroxide, and the addition of a buffer containing mercaptoethanol did not increase GSH-Px enzymatic activity. The activity of GSH-Px was not influenced by the source and concentration of selenium in the diet either. The obtained results allowed the determination of the best temperature of contact between the enzyme and substrate (22 ºC), the optimum concentration, and the type of substrate and buffer to be used. This information is extremely useful for future studies on GSH-Px activity in meat due to the divergence and little information found in the literature.

Experimental comparisons of observational learning mechanisms for movement imitation in mobile robots

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Saunders ◽  
Chrystopher L. Nehaniv ◽  
Kerstin Dautenhahn
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Observational Learning ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Dynamic Movement ◽  
Dynamic Observation ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Movement Imitation ◽  
Dependent Behaviour ◽  
Experimental Comparisons

Research into robotic social learning, especially that concerned with imitation, often focuses at differing ends of a spectrum from observational learning at one end to following or matched-dependent behaviour at the other. We study the implications and differences that arise when carrying out experiments both at the extremes and within this spectrum. Physical Khepera robots with minimal sensory capabilities are used, and after training, experiments are carried out where an imitating robot perceives the dynamic movement behaviours of another model robot carrying a light source. It learns the movement behaviour of the model by either statically observing the model, dynamically observing the model or by following the model. It finally re-enacts the learnt behaviour. We compare the results of these re-enactments and illustrate the differences and trade-offs that arise between static observational and reactive following learning methods. We also consider circumstances where, for this robotic embodiment, dynamic observation has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to static observation. We conclude by discussing the implications that arise from using and combining these types of social learning.

scholarly journals Great Himalayan Leaf-Nosed Bats Produce Different Territorial Calls to Respond to Sympatric Species and Non-Living Objects

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2040
Author(s):  
Hexuan Qin ◽  
Lei Feng ◽  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Congnan Sun ◽  
Jiang Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Territory Defense ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Living Objects ◽  
Acoustic Responses

Territorial signals are important for reducing the cost of territory defense. Normally, male animals will produce keep-out signals to repel intruders from entering their territory. However, there is currently no evidence that bats can adjust their territorial calls to respond differently to sympatric species or non-living objects. In this study, we simulated the process of territory defense in male Great Himalayan leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros armiger) toward two sympatric species (Hipposideros pratti and Rhinolophus sinicus) and four different non-living objects (a fur specimen of H. armiger, a bat model, a speaker, and a speaker with playback of H. armiger echolocation calls) to investigate their acoustic responses. There were significant differences in the territorial call complexity, syllable rate, and syllable ratio produced by H. armiger under the different experimental conditions. Our results confirmed that bats can adjust their territorial calls to respond to different sympatric species and non-living objects. The results will further our understanding of animal cognition and interactions among bat species from an acoustic perspective.

scholarly journals A Review of the Model/Rival (M/R) Technique for Training Interspecies Communication and Its Use in Behavioral Research

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2479
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg
Keyword(s):  
Observational Learning ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Behavioral Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Interspecies Communication ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper, I will review the Model/Rival (M/R) technique that has been used to establish interspecies communication with Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus). I will describe the original format developed by Todt, the relationship to other forms of observational learning outlined by other researchers, and the adaptations that I devised. I will describe how my undergraduate trainers and I isolated the various components that constitute the technique and explain how each is necessary, but how only the combination of all components is sufficient for successful implementation—and how improper implementation can lead to failure. I will briefly summarize the results of proper implementation—including the importance of interspecies communication itself as a technique for studying animal cognition.

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