scholarly journals Goats (Capra hircus) from different selection lines differ in their behavioural flexibility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Nawroth ◽  
Katrina ◽  
Nina Keil ◽  
Jan Langbein
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Learning ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Dairy Goats ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Dwarf Goats

Artificial selection by humans has likely affected animal’s ability to learn novel contingencies and their ability to adapt to changing environments. In addition, the selection for specific traits in domestic animals might have an additional impact on subject’s behavioural flexibility, but also their general learning performance, due to a re-allocation of resources towards parameters of productivity. To test whether animals bred for high productivity would experience a shift towards lower learning performance, we compared the performance of dwarf goats (not selected for production, 15 subjects) and dairy goats (selected for high milk yield, 18 subjects) in a visual discrimination learning and reversal learning task. To increase the heterogeneity of our test sample, data was collected by two experimenters at two research stations following a similar protocol. We did not find differences between selection lines in the initial discrimination learning task, but in the subsequent reversal learning task - dairy goats were slower to reach the learning criterion compared to dwarf goats (9.18 sessions versus 7.74 sessions, respectively). Our results indicate that the selection for milk production might have affected behavioural flexibility in goats. These breed-specific differences in adapting to changing environmental stimuli might have an impact on welfare-relevant parameters, e.g. when subjects are transferred or re-housed/re-grouped.

scholarly journals Learning and motor inhibitory control in crows and domestic chickens

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia A. F. Wascher ◽  
Katie Allen ◽  
Georgine Szipl
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Learning Experiment

Cognitive abilities allow animals to navigate through complex, fluctuating environments. In the present study, we tested the performance of a captive group of eight crows, Corvus corone and 10 domestic chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus , in the cylinder task, as a test of motor inhibitory control and reversal learning as a measure of learning ability and behavioural flexibility. Four crows and nine chickens completed the cylinder task, eight crows and six chickens completed the reversal learning experiment. Crows performed better in the cylinder task compared with chickens. In the reversal learning experiment, species did not significantly differ in the number of trials until the learning criterion was reached. The performance in the reversal learning experiment did not correlate with performance in the cylinder task in chickens. Our results suggest crows to possess better motor inhibitory control compared with chickens. By contrast, learning performance in a reversal learning task did not differ between the species, indicating similar levels of behavioural flexibility. Interestingly, we describe notable individual differences in performance. We stress the importance not only to compare cognitive performance between species but also between individuals of the same species when investigating the evolution of cognitive skills.

scholarly journals Learning and motor-impulse control in domestic fowl and crows

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia A.F. Wascher ◽  
Katie Allen ◽  
Georgine Szipl
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Domestic Fowl ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Acquisition Phase ◽  
Familiar Stimulus ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Learning Experiment ◽  
Reversal Phase

AbstractCognitive abilities allow animals to navigate through complex, fluctuating environments. For example, behavioural flexibility, which is the ability of an animal to alter their behaviour in response to a novel stimulus or to modify responses to as familiar stimulus or behavioural inhibition, defined as the ability to control a response in order to choose a conflicting course of action. Behavioural flexibility and inhibitory control are expected to vary between and within species based on socio-ecological factors. In the present study we compared performance of a captive group of eight crows, Corvus corone, and ten domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, in two cognitive tasks, the cylinder task as a test of motor inhibitory control, and reversal learning as a measure of learning ability and behavioural flexibility. Four crows and nine fowl completed the cylinder task, eight crows completed the reversal learning experiment and nine fowl were tested in the acquisition phase, however three fowl did not complete the reversal phase of the experiment due to time constraints. Crows performed significantly better in the cylinder task compared to domestic fowl. In the reversal learning experiment, species did not significantly differ in the number of trials until learning criterion was reached. In crows, individuals who needed less trials to reach learning criterion in the acquisition phase also needed less trials to reach the criterion in the reversal phase. This relationship was lacking in domestic fowl. Performance in the learning task did not correlate with performance in the cylinder task in domestic fowl. Our results show crows to possess significantly better motor-inhibitory control compared to domestic fowl, which could be indicative of this specific aspect of executive functioning to be lacking in domestic fowl. In contrast learning performance in a reversal learning task did not differ between crows and domestic fowl, indicating similar levels of behavioural flexibility in both species.

scholarly journals Cuttlefish exert self-control in a delay of gratification task

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1946) ◽  
pp. 20203161
Author(s):  
Alexandra K. Schnell ◽  
Markus Boeckle ◽  
Micaela Rivera ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton ◽  
Roger T. Hanlon
Keyword(s):  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Delay Of Gratification ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Delayed Gratification ◽  
Delayed Reward ◽  
Alternative Stimulus

The ability to exert self-control varies within and across taxa. Some species can exert self-control for several seconds whereas others, such as large-brained vertebrates, can tolerate delays of up to several minutes. Advanced self-control has been linked to better performance in cognitive tasks and has been hypothesized to evolve in response to specific socio-ecological pressures. These pressures are difficult to uncouple because previously studied species face similar socio-ecological challenges. Here, we investigate self-control and learning performance in cuttlefish, an invertebrate that is thought to have evolved under partially different pressures to previously studied vertebrates. To test self-control, cuttlefish were presented with a delay maintenance task, which measures an individual's ability to forgo immediate gratification and sustain a delay for a better but delayed reward. Cuttlefish maintained delay durations for up to 50–130 s. To test learning performance, we used a reversal-learning task, whereby cuttlefish were required to learn to associate the reward with one of two stimuli and then subsequently learn to associate the reward with the alternative stimulus. Cuttlefish that delayed gratification for longer had better learning performance. Our results demonstrate that cuttlefish can tolerate delays to obtain food of higher quality comparable to that of some large-brained vertebrates.

scholarly journals Reversal of a Spatial Discrimination Task in the Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bublitz ◽  
Guido Dehnhardt ◽  
Frederike D. Hanke
Keyword(s):  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Positive Reinforcement ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Spatial Discrimination ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Octopus Vulgaris ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Incorrect Choice

Reversal learning requires an animal to learn to discriminate between two stimuli but reverse its responses to these stimuli every time it has reached a learning criterion. Thus, different from pure discrimination experiments, reversal learning experiments require the animal to respond to stimuli flexibly, and the reversal learning performance can be taken as an illustration of the animal's cognitive abilities. We herein describe a reversal learning experiment involving a simple spatial discrimination task, choosing the right or left side, with octopus. When trained with positive reinforcement alone, most octopuses did not even learn the original task. The learning behavior changed drastically when incorrect choices were indicated by a visual signal: the octopuses learned the task within a few sessions and completed several reversals thereby decreasing the number of errors needed to complete a reversal successively. A group of octopus trained with the incorrect-choice signal directly acquired the task quickly and reduced their performances over reversals. Our results indicate that octopuses are able to perform successfully in a reversal experiment based on a spatial discrimination showing progressive improvement, however, without reaching the ultimate performance. Thus, depending on the experimental context, octopus can show behavioral flexibility in a reversal learning task, which goes beyond mere discrimination learning.

Contribution to the special issue on reptile cognition: Dealing with the unexpected: the effect of environmental variability on behavioural flexibility in a Mediterranean lizard

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Gilles De Meester ◽  
Alkyoni Sfendouraki-Basakarou ◽  
Panayiotis Pafilis ◽  
Raoul Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Spatial Learning Task ◽  
Stable Habitat

Abstract Harsh and variable environments have been hypothesized to both drive and constrain the evolution towards higher cognitive abilities and behavioural flexibility. In this study, we compared the cognitive abilities of island and mainland Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii), which were expected to live in respectively a more variable and a more stable habitat. We used four proxies of behavioural flexibility: a neophobia assay, a problem-solving test and a spatial + reversal learning task. Surprisingly, the two populations did not differ in neophobia or problem-solving. Insular lizards, however, outperformed mainland conspecifics in an initial spatial learning task, but were less successful during the subsequent reversal learning. Our results thus seem to indicate that the effect of environmental variability on cognition is complex, as it may favour some, but not all aspects of behavioural flexibility.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Feedback-based Learning is Modulated by Working Memory Capacity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jil Humann ◽  
Adrian Georg Fischer ◽  
Markus Ullsperger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Learning Rates

Research suggests that working memory (WM) has an important role in instrumental learning in changeable environments when reinforcement histories of multiple options must be tracked. Working memory capacity (WMC) not only reflects the ability to maintain items, but also to update and shield items against interference in a context-dependent manner; functions conceivably also essential to instrumental learning. To address the relationship of WMC and instrumental learning, we studied choice behavior and EEG of participants performing a probabilistic reversal learning task. Their separately measured WMC positively correlated with reversal learning performance. Computational modeling revealed that low-capacity participants modulated learning rates less dynamically around value reversals. Their choices were more stochastic and less guided by learnt values, resulting in less stable performance and higher susceptibility to misleading probabilistic feedback. Single-trial model-based EEG analysis revealed that prediction errors and learning rates were less strongly represented in cortical activity of low-capacity participants, while the centroparietal positivity, a general correlate of adaptation, was independent of WMC. In conclusion, cognitive functions tackled by WMC tasks are also necessary in instrumental learning. We suggest that noisier representations render items held in WM as well as tracked values in instrumental learning less stable and more susceptible to distractors.

scholarly journals Reversal learning performance in the XY* mouse model of Klinefelter and Turner Syndromes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn M. Aarde ◽  
Haley Hrncir ◽  
Arthur P. Arnold ◽  
J. David Jentsch
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Klinefelter Syndrome ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Attentional Dysfunction ◽  
Behavioral Impairments ◽  
Learning Impairment

ABSTRACTKlinefelter syndrome (KS; 47, XXY) and Turner syndrome (TS; 45, XO) are caused by two relatively common sex chromosome aneuploidies. These conditions are associated with an increased odds of neuropsychiatric disorders, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as impairments in cognition that include learning delays, attentional dysfunction and impulsivity. We studied cognitive functions in the XY* mouse model, which allows comparison of XXY to XY males (KS model), and XO to XX females (TS model). We evaluated adult mice with and without gonads, using a version of an operant reversal-learning task (RLT) that can be used to measure various facets of learning, impulsivity and attention. In the KS model, only one measure related to impulsivity – perseverative responding under reversal conditions – reliably discriminated gonadally intact XXY and XY mice. In contrast, a fundamental learning impairment (more trials to criterion in acquisition phase) in XXY mice, as compared to XY, was observed in gonadectomized subjects. No other task measures showed differences consistent with KS. In the TS mouse model, XO mice did not show a pattern of results consistent with TS, similar to past observations. Thus, the application of this RLT to these XY* models reveals only limited behavioral impairments relevant to KS.

scholarly journals Multiple factors affect discrimination learning performance, but not between-individual variation, in wild mixed-species flocks of birds

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 192107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Reichert ◽  
Sam J. Crofts ◽  
Gabrielle L. Davidson ◽  
Josh A. Firth ◽  
Ipek G. Kulahci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Learning ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Learning Experiment ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Measure Of Discrimination ◽  
Mixed Species Flocks ◽  
Blue Tits

Cognition arguably drives most behaviours in animals, but whether and why individuals in the wild vary consistently in their cognitive performance is scarcely known, especially under mixed-species scenarios. One reason for this is that quantifying the relative importance of individual, contextual, ecological and social factors remains a major challenge. We examined how many of these factors, and sources of bias, affected participation and performance, in an initial discrimination learning experiment and two reversal learning experiments during self-administered trials in a population of great tits and blue tits. Individuals were randomly allocated to different rewarding feeders within an array. Participation was high and only weakly affected by age and species. In the initial learning experiment, great tits learned faster than blue tits. Great tits also showed greater consistency in performance across two reversal learning experiments. Individuals assigned to the feeders on the edge of the array learned faster. More errors were made on feeders neighbouring the rewarded feeder and on feeders that had been rewarded in the previous experiment. Our estimates of learning consistency were unaffected by multiple factors, suggesting that, even though there was some influence of these factors on performance, we obtained a robust measure of discrimination learning in the wild.

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