The performance of cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, in a reversal learning task varies across experimental paradigms

Testing cognitive performance in controlled laboratory experiments is a powerful tool for understanding the extent and evolution of cognitive abilities in non-human animals. However, cognitive testing is prone to a number of potential biases, which, if unnoticed or unaccounted for, may affect the conclusions drawn. We examined whether slight modifications to the experimental procedure and apparatus used in a spatial discrimination and reversal learning task affected performance outcomes in the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus (hereafter ‘cleaners’). Using two-alternative forced choice tests, fish had to learn to associate a food reward with a side (left or right) in their holding aquarium. Individuals were tested in one of four experimental treatments that differed slightly in procedure and/or physical set-up. Cleaners from all four treatment groups were equally able to solve the initial spatial discrimination test. However, groups differed in their ability to solve the reversal learning task: no individuals solved the reversal task when tested in small tanks with a transparent partition separating the two options, whereas over 50% of individuals solved the task when performed in a larger tank, or with an opaque partition. These results clearly show that seemingly insignificant details to the experimental set-up matter when testing cognitive performance, and might significantly influence the outcome of experiments. When designing the methodology for comparative cognitive tests, care should be taken to ensure that all groups understand and can respond to the relevant cue to avoid misinterpretations.

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The performance of cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, in a reversal learning task varies across experimental paradigms

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4745 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4745 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Simon Gingins ◽

Fanny Marcadier ◽

Sharon Wismer ◽

Océane Krattinger ◽

Fausto Quattrini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reversal Learning ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Learning Task ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Spatial Task ◽

Cognitive Testing ◽

Labroides Dimidiatus ◽

Testing Performance ◽

Set Up ◽

Experimental Treatments

Testing performance in controlled laboratory experiments is a powerful tool for understanding the extent and evolution of cognitive abilities in non-human animals. However, cognitive testing is prone to a number of potential biases, which, if unnoticed or unaccounted for, may affect the conclusions drawn. We examined whether slight modifications to the experimental procedure and apparatus used in a spatial task and reversal learning task affected performance outcomes in the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus (hereafter “cleaners”). Using two-alternative forced-choice tests, fish had to learn to associate a food reward with a side (left or right) in their holding aquarium. Individuals were tested in one of four experimental treatments that differed slightly in procedure and/or physical set-up. Cleaners from all four treatment groups were equally able to solve the initial spatial task. However, groups differed in their ability to solve the reversal learning task: no individuals solved the reversal task when tested in small tanks with a transparent partition separating the two options, whereas over 50% of individuals solved the task when performed in a larger tank, or with an opaque partition. These results clearly show that seemingly insignificant details to the experimental set-up matter when testing performance in a spatial task and might significantly influence the outcome of experiments. These results echo previous calls for researchers to exercise caution when designing methodologies for cognition tasks to avoid misinterpretations.

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Learning and motor inhibitory control in crows and domestic chickens

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.210504 ◽

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.

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Peer Review #1 of "The performance of cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, in a reversal learning task varies across experimental paradigms (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.4745v0.1/reviews/1 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Reversal Learning ◽

Learning Task ◽

Labroides Dimidiatus

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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 ◽

10.1163/1568539x-bja10088 ◽

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.

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Associative learning profiles in Borderline Personality Disorder: Acquisition, Kamin blocking, and metacognitive performance

10.31234/osf.io/4gv8m ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Kathryn Fineberg ◽

Jason C. Hu ◽

Kaylee Null ◽

Eli S. Neustadter ◽

Madison Sakheim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Reversal Learning ◽

Learning Task ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

The Novel ◽

Learning Deficits ◽

Neuropsychological Measures ◽

Set Up ◽

Previous Learning

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with deficits in neuropsychological measures such as memory, cognitive flexibility, and learning. Mixed findings suggest that deficits may be specific to particular aspects of learning. This is the first study to examine Kamin blocking in a BPD sample. A sample of 51 female subjects (N = 24 control, N = 27 BPD) were recruited. Participants completed a learning task in three phases: a first acquisition phase to learn cue-outcome associations, a second pairing phase to set up blocked cues, and a third testing phase to measure the extent of blocking and to test reversal learning. Participants indicated choice and certainty at each trial, and received feedback immediately after each trial. In phase one, mean correctness but not learning rate was less in BPD than control. Participants with BPD were also less certain about their responses, which correlated positively with correctness – this correlation was not found for control subjects. Kamin blocking, maintenance of previous learning, and reversal learning did not differ between groups. These results cohere with the idea that learning deficits in BPD are in specific domains, including the novel finding that Kamin blocking is preserved in BPD. The significant correlation between certainty and correctness in BPD may hint at mechanisms underlying the maintenance of low mood.

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