scholarly journals Do young domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) rely on object-specific cues in a simultaneous discrimination task?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Nawroth ◽  
Eberhard von Borell
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Simultaneous Discrimination ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Domestic Pigs ◽  
Food Container ◽  
Young Pigs

Finding and relocating food sources is not only crucial for individuals in changing natural environments - it is also of importance in domestic animals under husbandry conditions, for instance to reduce stress when transferring animals into new housing conditions. This study makes a first attempt by investigating young pigs´ use of conflicting spatial and feature cues in a simultaneous discrimination task. In a training phase, subjects (n = 9) first learned to approach a food container with distinct spatial and feature cues. In a subsequent test phase, spatial and feature cues were brought into conflict. Results show that young pigs significantly preferred to approach the spatial position rather than the feature cue of a food container – at least for the visual domain - while inter-individual differences in choice behaviour suggest that animals recognized the changed context. However, the actual test setup did not exclude alternatives to the use of spatial cues, e.g. instrumental learning. The results may contribute to a better understanding of learning mechanisms in domestic pigs and could be used to improve husbandry designs, reduce stress levels after transfer and may prove to be helpful in designing further test paradigms investigating discriminative learning abilities in the domestic pig.

scholarly journals Do young domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) rely on object-specific cues in a simultaneous discrimination task?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Nawroth ◽  
Eberhard von Borell
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Simultaneous Discrimination ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Domestic Pigs ◽  
Food Container ◽  
Young Pigs

Finding and relocating food sources is not only crucial for individuals in changing natural environments - it is also of importance in domestic animals under husbandry conditions, for instance to reduce stress when transferring animals into new housing conditions. This study makes a first attempt by investigating young pigs´ use of conflicting spatial and feature cues in a simultaneous discrimination task. In a training phase, subjects (n = 9) first learned to approach a food container with distinct spatial and feature cues. In a subsequent test phase, spatial and feature cues were brought into conflict. Results show that young pigs significantly preferred to approach the spatial position rather than the feature cue of a food container – at least for the visual domain - while inter-individual differences in choice behaviour suggest that animals recognized the changed context. However, the actual test setup did not exclude alternatives to the use of spatial cues, e.g. instrumental learning. The results may contribute to a better understanding of learning mechanisms in domestic pigs and could be used to improve husbandry designs, reduce stress levels after transfer and may prove to be helpful in designing further test paradigms investigating discriminative learning abilities in the domestic pig.

scholarly journals The Impact of Brain Lateralization and Anxiety-Like Behaviour in an Extensive Operant Conditioning Task in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽  
Alessandra Pecunioso ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Christian Agrillo
Keyword(s):  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Colour Discrimination ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
The Impact

Several studies in mammals, birds, and fish have documented better cognitive abilities associated with an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive functions in the two halves of the brain, also known as ‘functional brain lateralization’. However, the role of brain lateralization in learning abilities is still unclear. In addition, although recent studies suggest a link between some personality traits and accuracy in cognitive tasks, the relation between anxiety and learning skills in Skinner boxes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we tested the impact of brain lateralization and anxiety-like behaviour in the performance of an extensive operant conditioning task. Zebrafish tested in a Skinner box underwent 500 trials in a colour discrimination task (red vs. yellow and green vs. blue). To assess the degree of lateralization, fish were observed in a detour test in the presence of a dummy predator, and anxiety-like behaviour was studied by observing scototaxis response in an experimental tank divided into light and dark compartments. Although the low performance in the colour discrimination task did not permit the drawing of firm conclusions, no correlation was found between the accuracy in the colour discrimination task and the behaviour in the detour and scototaxis tests. This suggests that neither different degrees of asymmetries in brain lateralization nor anxiety may significantly impact the learning skills of zebrafish.

Beyond Language in Infant Emotion Concept Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-258
Author(s):  
Ashley L. Ruba ◽  
Betty M. Repacholi
Keyword(s):  
Unsupervised Learning ◽  
Concept Learning ◽  
Concept Development ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Dependent Learning ◽  
Emotion Labels ◽  
Emotion Concepts

The process by which emotion concepts are learned is largely unexplored. Hoemann, Devlin, and Barrett (2020) and Shablack, Stein, and Lindquist (2020) argue that emotion concepts are learned through emotion labels (e.g., “happy”), which cohere variable aspects of emotions into abstract, conceptual categories. While such labeling-dependent learning mechanisms (supervised learning) are plausible, we argue that labeling-independent learning mechanisms (unsupervised learning) are also involved. Specifically, we argue that infants are uniquely situated to learn emotion concepts given their exceptional learning abilities. We provide evidence that children learn from complex, irregular input in other domains (e.g., symbolic numbers) without supervised instruction. Thus, while labels undoubtedly influence emotion concept learning, we must also look beyond language to create a comprehensive theory of emotion concept development.

scholarly journals Instrumental Learning and Cognitive Flexibility Processes are Impaired in Children Exposed to Early Life Stress

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Harms ◽  
Katherine Shannon Bowen ◽  
Jamie Lars Hanson ◽  
Seth Pollak
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Early Life Stress ◽  
Social Adaptation ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Early Stress ◽  
Brain Circuitry

Children who experience severe early life stress show persistent deficits in many aspects of cognitive and social adaptation. Early stress might be associated with these broad changes in functioning because it impairs general learning mechanisms. To explore this possibility, we examined whether individuals who experienced abusive caregiving in childhood had difficulties with instrumental learning and/or cognitive flexibility as adolescents. Fifty‐three 14–17‐year‐old adolescents (31 exposed to high levels of childhood stress, 22 control) completed an fMRI task that required them to first learn associations in the environment and then update those pairings. Adolescents with histories of early life stress eventually learned to pair stimuli with both positive and negative outcomes, but did so more slowly than their peers. Furthermore, these stress‐exposed adolescents showed markedly impaired cognitive flexibility; they were less able than their peers to update those pairings when the contingencies changed. These learning problems were reflected in abnormal activity in learning‐ and attention‐related brain circuitry. Both altered patterns of learning and neural activation were associated with the severity of lifetime stress that the adolescents had experienced. Taken together, the results of this experiment suggest that basic learning processes are impaired in adolescents exposed to early life stress. These general learning mechanisms may help explain the emergence of social problems observed in these individuals.

The Discrimination of Human Odour by the Dog

Perception ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G Hepper
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Simultaneous Discrimination ◽  
Matching To Sample ◽  
Genes And Environment ◽  
Human Odour

In reply to a suggestion made by Galton in 1875, the ability of dogs to discriminate between the odour of human twins was investigated. In a matching-to-sample simultaneous discrimination task, dogs were tested on their ability to discriminate odours from twins differing only in genetic relatedness or only in environmental factors, particularly diet, or from twins identical in both genetic relatedness and environmental factors. Dogs could discriminate between the odours from twins who differed only in environmental factors and between the odours of twins who differed only in genetic relatedness. However, they were unable to discriminate between odours produced by infant twins identical in both genetic relatedness and environmental factors. Thus twins may be discriminated by dogs as long as they differ in genetic relatedness or environmental factors. The possible source of discriminable odours is discussed and how the effects of genes and environment are mediated considered.

Paleostriatal Lesions and Instrumental Learning in the Pigeon

1984 ◽  
Vol 36 (2b) ◽  
pp. 93-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane A. Mitchell ◽  
Geoffrey Hall
Keyword(s):  
Response Rate ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Unoperated Control ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Key Pecking ◽  
Experimental Subjects ◽  
Skinner Box ◽  
Equivalent Conditions ◽  
Rate Of Response

In three experiments, pigeons with lesions of the paleostriatum (experimental subjects) and unoperated control birds were trained on tasks designed to assess their instrumental learning abilities. In Experiment 1, using an orthodox Skinner box, training was given on a variable interval (VI) followed by a fixed interval (FI) schedule of reinforcement and only non-significant differences between the groups emerged. Experiment 2 examined the performance of the same subjects on a VI schedule in which a response-contingent signal accompanied reinforcement. For control subjects the presence of the signal resulted in a low rate of response compared with that found in equivalent conditions with the signal omitted. Experimental subjects showed the same response rate when the signal was present as when it was absent. Experiment 3 employed naive subjects, and a Skinner box modified to facilitate key-pecking in total darkness. In this apparatus, experimental subjects showed a lowered response rate on a VI schedule. These tasks were analyzed in terms of the classical (stimulus-reinforcer) and instrumental (response-reinforcer) learning they involve. The results suggest that pigeons with paleostriatal lesions show a deficit in forming response-reinforcer associations, perhaps because the lesions reduce the salience of response-produced cues.

scholarly journals Operant and classical learning principles underlying mind–body interaction in pain modulation: a pilot fMRI study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
In-Seon Lee ◽  
Won-Mo Jung ◽  
Ye-Seul Lee ◽  
Christian Wallraven ◽  
Younbyoung Chae
Keyword(s):  
Classical Conditioning ◽  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Test Session ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Passive Behavior ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Learning Principles

AbstractThe operant conditioning has been less studied than the classical conditioning as a mechanism of placebo-like effect, and two distinct learning mechanisms have never been compared to each other in terms of their neural activities. Twenty-one participants completed cue-learning based pain rating tasks while their brain responses were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. After choosing (instrumental) or viewing (classical) one of three predictive cues (low- and high-pain cues with different level of certainty), they received painful stimuli according to the selected cues. Participants completed the same task during the test session, except that they received only a high pain stimulus regardless of the selected cues to identify the effects of two learning paradigms. While receiving a high pain stimulation, low-pain cue significantly reduced pain ratings compared to high-pain cue, and the overall ratings were significantly lower under operant than under classical conditioning. Operant behavior activated the temporoparietal junction significantly more than the passive behavior did, and neural activity in the primary somatosensory cortex was significantly reduced during pain in instrumental as compared with classical conditioning trials. The results suggest that pain modulation can be induced by classical and operant conditioning, and mechanisms of attention and context change are involved in instrumental learning.

scholarly journals Sessile bacterium unlocks ability of surface motility through mutualistic interspecies interaction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miaoxiao Wang ◽  
Shuang Geng ◽  
Bing Hu ◽  
Yong Nie ◽  
Xiao-Lei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Interspecies Interaction ◽  
Interaction Mode ◽  
Mutualistic Relationship ◽  
Surface Motility ◽  
Motile Bacteria

AbstractIn addition to their common planktonic lifestyle, bacteria frequently live in surface-associated habitats. Surface motility is essential for exploring these habitats for food sources. However, many bacteria are found on surfaces, even though they lack features required for migrating along surfaces. How these canonical non-motile bacteria adapt to the environmental fluctuations on surfaces remains unknown. Recently, several cases of interspecies interaction were reported that induce surface motility of non-motile bacteria either by using ‘hitchhiking’ strategies or through ‘social spreading’ mechanisms. Here, we report a previously unknown mechanism for interaction-dependent surface motility of the canonical non-motile bacterium, Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b, which is induced by interaction with a dimorphic prosthecate bacterium, Glycocaulis alkaliphilus 6B-8T. Dietzia cells exhibits “sliding”-like motility in an area where the strain Glycocaulis cells was pre-colonized with a sufficient density. Furthermore, we show that biosurfactants play a critical role in inducing the surface motility of Dietzia cells. Our analysis also demonstrates that Dietzia degrade n-alkanes and provide Glycocaulis with the resulting metabolites for survival, which in turn enabled directional migration of Dietzia towards nutrients in the environment. Such interaction-dependent migration was also found between Dietzia and Glycocaulis strains isolated from other habitats, suggesting that this mutualistic relationship ubiquitously occurs in natural environments. In conclusion, we propose a novel model for such a ‘win-win’ strategy, whereby non-motile bacteria pay metabolites to dimorphic prosthecate bacteria in return for migrating to reach environments otherwise inaccessible. We propose that this mechanism represents a common strategy for canonically non-motile bacteria living on a surface.ImportanceCell motility provides a selective advantage for bacteria searching for nutrients. While a large body of evidence exists for how motile bacteria migrate on surface by virtue of different ways of motility, fewer studies concerned about how canonical non-motile bacteria adapted to those surface-associated habitats. Recent reports have proposed that interactions with other bacteria trigger the movement of those sessile bacteria. However, these interactions are limited to ‘hitchhiking’ or ‘social spreading’ modes. Here, we characterized a previously unknown interaction mode between Dietzia and Glycocaulis.This interaction differs from previously described modes, thus advance our limited understanding of how sessile bacteria move on surfaces. We propose that this interaction mode represents a ‘win-win’ strategy for both strains, and this mode might be widely distributed across diverse environments. These novel insights should greatly assist in understanding the mechanisms responsible for the cellular interplay between microbes in complex microbiomes.

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