scholarly journals Cognitive Performance of Wild Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Rural and Urban, Native, and Non-native Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pizza Ka Yee Chow ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton ◽  
Michael A. Steele
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Success Rate ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
Novel Food ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Eastern Gray Squirrels

Enhanced cognitive ability has been shown to impart fitness advantages to some species by facilitating establishment in new environments. However, the cause of such enhancement remains enigmatic. Enhanced cognitive ability may be an adaptation occurring during the establishment process in response to new environments or, alternatively, such ‘enhancement’ may merely reflect a species’ characteristic. Based on previous findings that have shown ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability (i.e., higher success rate in solving novel food-extraction problems or, ‘innovation’) in Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), a successful mammalian invader and urban dweller, we used an intraspecific comparative paradigm to examine the cause of their ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability. We conducted a field study to compare cognitive performance of free-ranging squirrels residing in rural and urban habitats in native (United States) and non-native environments (United Kingdom). By using established tasks, we examined squirrels’ performance in easy and difficult, novel food-extraction problems (innovation), a motor memory recall test of the difficult problem, and a spatial learning task. We found that the four groups of squirrels showed comparable performance in most measures. However, we also found that the native urban squirrels showed: (1) higher success rate on the first visit for the difficult problem than the non-native urban squirrels; (2) some evidence for higher recall latency for the difficult problem after an extended period than the non-native rural squirrels; and (3) learning when encountering the same difficult problem. These results suggest that the previously reported ‘enhanced’ performance is likely to be a general characteristic and thus, a pre-adaptive phenotypic trait that brings fitness advantages to this species in a new environment. Despite this, some cognitive abilities in gray squirrels such as solving novel problems has undergone mild variation during the adaptive process in new environments.

PROGNOSTIC INDICATORS FOR SURVIVAL OF ORPHANED EASTERN GRAY SQUIRRELS (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Ivana H. Levy ◽  
Krista A. Keller ◽  
Matthew C. Allender ◽  
Sarah Reich ◽  
Julia Whittington
Keyword(s):  
Prognostic Indicators ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
Eastern Gray Squirrels

scholarly journals Investment Trait, Activity Engagement, and Age: Independent Effects on Cognitive Ability

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie von Stumm
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Investment Theory

In cognitive aging research, the “engagement hypothesis” suggests that the participation in cognitively demanding activities helps maintain better cognitive performance in later life. In differential psychology, the “investment” theory proclaims that age differences in cognition are influenced by personality traits that determine when, where, and how people invest their ability. Although both models follow similar theoretical rationales, they differ in their emphasis of behavior (i.e., activity engagement) versus predisposition (i.e., investment trait). The current study compared a cognitive activity engagement scale (i.e., frequency of participation) with an investment trait scale (i.e., need for cognition) and tested their relationship with age differences in cognition in 200 British adults. Age was negatively associated with fluid and positively with crystallized ability but had no relationship with need for cognition and activity engagement. Need for cognition was positively related to activity engagement and cognitive performance; activity engagement, however, was not associated with cognitive ability. Thus, age differences in cognitive ability were largely independent of engagement and investment.

Self-Reported Cognitive Ability and Global Cognitive Performance in Adults with HIV

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Vance ◽  
Lesley A. Ross ◽  
Charles A. Downs
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance

scholarly journals Optimization of Mechanically Assembled Van Der Waals Heterostructure Based On Solution Immersion and Hot Plate Heating

2022 ◽  
Vol 2152 (1) ◽  
pp. 012007
Author(s):  
Xunyong Lei
Keyword(s):  
Success Rate ◽  
Lattice Mismatch ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Hot Plate ◽  
Van Der Waals Heterostructure ◽  
Plate Heating ◽  
Thin Crystal

Abstract Layers of two-dimensional material are bonded together by van der Waals force, as a result, there is no need to take into consideration of the lattice mismatch in the formation of heterojunction, which is endowed with the characteristics of simple stacking in method, free of limitation to the type of materials and diverse changes. However, although the Van Der Waals heterojunction is relatively easy to stack, it is still difficult to generate inter-layer coupling between the thin crystal layers that form the Van Der Waals heterojunction. In most cases, the stacked heterojunction is simply stacked together without any new effects. Therefore, the realization of heterojunction coupling is a difficult problem to be considered in the process of preparing Van Der Waals heterojunction. In this paper, a method based on solution immersion and hot plate heating is proposed to optimize the mechanical stacking of Van Der Waals heterojunctions. It is found that the heterojunctions prepared by normal mechanical stacking method are usually uncoupled before treatment, but they can be stably coupled after treatment. Our method, simple, fast with low-cost, has been repeatedly verified to have a high success rate of coupling, which is suitable for most experimental groups to use and reproduce.

scholarly journals No evidence that footedness in pheasants influences cognitive performance in tasks assessing colour discrimination and spatial ability

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Whiteside ◽  
Mackenzie M. Bess ◽  
Elisa Frasnelli ◽  
Christine E. Beardsworth ◽  
Ellis J.G. Langley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Phasianus Colchicus ◽  
Spatial Learning And Memory ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Population Bias ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACTThe differential specialization of each side of the brain facilitates the parallel processing of information and has been documented in a wide range of animals. Animals that are more lateralized as indicated by consistent preferential limb use are commonly reported to exhibit superior cognitive ability as well as other behavioural advantages. We assayed the lateralization of 135 young pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), indicated by their footedness in a spontaneous stepping task, and related this measure to individual performance in either 3 assays of visual or spatial learning and memory. We found no evidence that pronounced footedness enhances cognitive ability in any of the tasks. We also found no evidence that an intermediate footedness relates to better cognitive performance. This lack of relationship is surprising because previous work revealed that pheasants have a slight population bias towards right footedness, and when released into the wild, individuals with higher degrees of footedness were more likely to die. One explanation for why extreme lateralization is constrained was that it led to poorer cognitive performance, or that optimal cognitive performance was associated with some intermediate level of lateralization. This stabilizing selection could explain the pattern of moderate lateralization that is seen in most non-human species that have been studied. However, we found no evidence in this study to support this explanation.

scholarly journals Digit symbol coding and general cognitive ability in schizophrenia: worth another look?

2008 ◽  
Vol 193 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Digit Symbol ◽  
General Cognitive Ability

SummaryFor decades, schizophrenia researchers have sought to map specific aspects of cognitive performance onto specific neurobiological systems in hopes of dividing broad cognition and neurobiology into more tractable components. Recent findings from studies using neuropsychological test batteries, in combination with emerging neurobiological evidence, argue for a complementary focus on more generalised cognitive and biological dimensions.

scholarly journals The associations between self-reported depression, self-reported chronic inflammatory conditions and cognitive abilities in UK Biobank

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 63-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Lyall ◽  
Breda Cullen ◽  
Donald M. Lyall ◽  
Samuel P. Leighton ◽  
Stefan Siebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Digit Symbol Substitution Test ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Inflammatory Conditions

AbstractBackground:Depression and chronic inflammatory medical conditions have been linked to impaired cognitive ability. However despite frequent comorbidity, their combined association with cognitive ability has rarely been examined.Methods:This study examined associations between self-reported depression and chronic inflammatory diseases and their interaction with cognitive performance in 456,748 participants of the UK Biobank, adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Numbers with available data ranged from 94,899 to 453,208 depending on the cognitive test.Results:Self-reported depression was associated with poorer performance compared to controls in several cognitive tests (fully adjusted models, reaction time: B = 6.08, 95% CI = 5.09, 7.07; pairs matching: incidence rate ratio = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.03; Trail Making Test B: B = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.88, 1.87; Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST): B = −0.35, 95% CI = −0.44, −0.27). Self-reported chronic inflammatory conditions were associated with slower reaction time (B = 3.79, 95% CI = 2.81, 4.78) and lower DSST scores (B = −0.21, 95% CI = −0.30, −0.13). No interaction effects were observed.Discussion:In this large, population-based study we provide evidence of lower cognitive performance in both depression and a comprehensive category of chronic inflammatory conditions. Results are consistent with additive effects of both types of disorder on cognitive ability. Clinicians should be aware of such effects, particularly as cognitive impairment is linked to poorer disease outcomes and quality of life.

Effects of the use of alcohol and cigarettes on cognition in elderly African American adults

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 690-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN A. SCHINKA ◽  
HEATHER BELANGER ◽  
JAMES A. MORTIMER ◽  
AMY BORENSTEIN GRAVES
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Neuropsychological Battery ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Study ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
History Of

In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of lifetime patterns of drinking and smoking on cognitive performance in elderly African Americans. A sample of 230 individuals with varying histories of alcohol and cigarette use was drawn from the Hillsborough Elder African American Life Study, a community-based, cross-sectional study of older adults aged 60 to 84. Dependent variables were the results of a neuropsychological battery that provided measures of general cognitive ability, executive function, and memory. Specifically, our study addressed (1) whether individuals with a lifetime history of sustained smoking and/or drinking show lower levels of cognitive performance in comparison to lifetime abstainers, (2) whether cumulative lifetime doses of alcohol or cigarettes, or of the two substances in interaction, have an effect on cognition, and (3) whether individuals who have histories of periodic, intense use of either alcohol or cigarettes show lower levels of cognitive performance in comparison to lifetime abstainers. When significant results were obtained, effect sizes were small, not exceeding 5% of the variance. A single exception occurred for the intensity analyses, in which drinking explained approximately 16% of the variance in global cognitive ability after adjusting for the contributions of control variables. In these analyses, drinking was found to have a U-shaped effect on global cognitive ability and total acquisition in the memory trials. Specifically, moderate users performed at a lower level than abstainers or heavy users, who did not differ from each other. (JINS, 2003, 9, 690–697.)

Tools for Investigating Cognitive Performance under Simulated Conditions

1989 ◽  
Vol 33 (16) ◽  
pp. 1072-1076
Author(s):  
William A. Wheeler ◽  
Jody L. Toquam
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Field Observation ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Cognitive Behavior ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Recording Equipment

Safe and efficient use of modern technology often hinges upon the ability of persons operating these systems to perform effectively under a wide variety of conditions. This paper describes several tools developed to investigate the influence of psycho-social variables on cognitive performance under stressful conditions. These tools include indirect, non-obtrusive video recording equipment to capture real-time cognitive behavior, and a several multi-dimensional and multi-method techniques to measure cognitive ability and psycho-social conditions. These techniques are used to bridge the gap between basic laboratory research and field observation.

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