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Vogelsang M, Vogelsang L, Gupta P, Gandhi TK, Shah P, Swami P, Gilad-Gutnick S, Ben-Ami S, Diamond S, Ganesh S, Sinha P. Impact of early visual experience on later usage of color cues. Science 2024; 384:907-912. [PMID: 38781366 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Human visual recognition is remarkably robust to chromatic changes. In this work, we provide a potential account of the roots of this resilience based on observations with 10 congenitally blind children who gained sight late in life. Several months or years following their sight-restoring surgeries, the removal of color cues markedly reduced their recognition performance, whereas age-matched normally sighted children showed no such decrement. This finding may be explained by the greater-than-neonatal maturity of the late-sighted children's color system at sight onset, inducing overly strong reliance on chromatic cues. Simulations with deep neural networks corroborate this hypothesis. These findings highlight the adaptive significance of typical developmental trajectories and provide guidelines for enhancing machine vision systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marin Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrueck, 49090 Osnabrueck, Germany
| | - Lukas Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Priti Gupta
- Amarnath and Shashi Khosla School of Information Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
- Cognitive Science Programme, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra 282005, India
| | - Tapan K Gandhi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Pragya Shah
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Piyush Swami
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Sharon Gilad-Gutnick
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shlomit Ben-Ami
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sidney Diamond
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Suma Ganesh
- Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Thüs P, Lunau K, Wester P. Associative colour learning and discrimination in the South African Cape rock sengi Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea, Afrotheria, Mammalia). MAMMALIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2022-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Beside insects, sengis also consume plant material such as leaves, fruits, seeds and floral nectar. It is known that they use olfaction for foraging, but little is known about their vision and visual learning capabilities. Colour vision has been tested in two species, showing that they are likely dichromats (green- and blue-sensitive retinal cone-photoreceptors, meaning red-green colour blind). Our aim was to examine the learning and colour discrimination abilities of another species, Elephantulus edwardii. Using training procedures and choice experiments, we tested the hypotheses that the animals can associate a reward with trained colours and that they can discriminate between different colour hues. The sengis preferred the trained colours over the others, indicating associative learning. They could discriminate between all tested colours (blue, red, green, yellow). The sengis’ colour choice behaviour indicates that the animals can use also colour features to find food plant material. Additionally, learning abilities most likely are essential for the sengis’ foraging activities, for instance by associating floral or fruit shape, colour or scent with nectar or ripe fruit, to increase the efficiency to locate food sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Thüs
- Institute of Sensory Ecology , Heinrich-Heine-University , Düsseldorf , Germany
| | - Klaus Lunau
- Institute of Sensory Ecology , Heinrich-Heine-University , Düsseldorf , Germany
| | - Petra Wester
- Institute of Sensory Ecology , Heinrich-Heine-University , Düsseldorf , Germany
- School of Life Sciences , University of KwaZulu-Natal , PB X01 , Pietermaritzburg 3209 , South Africa
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Veilleux CC, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. The sensory ecology of primate food perception, revisited. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:281-301. [PMID: 36519416 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, Dominy and colleagues published "The sensory ecology of primate food perception," an impactful review that brought new perspectives to understanding primate foraging adaptations. Their review synthesized information on primate senses and explored how senses informed feeding behavior. Research on primate sensory ecology has seen explosive growth in the last two decades. Here, we revisit this important topic, focusing on the numerous new discoveries and lines of innovative research. We begin by reviewing each of the five traditionally recognized senses involved in foraging: audition, olfaction, vision, touch, and taste. For each sense, we provide an overview of sensory function and comparative ecology, comment on the state of knowledge at the time of the original review, and highlight advancements and lingering gaps in knowledge. Next, we provide an outline for creative, multidisciplinary, and innovative future research programs that we anticipate will generate exciting new discoveries in the next two decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Cathemeral Behavior of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) Breeding along Michigan’s Lake Superior Shoreline. BIRDS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/birds3010006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Shorebirds commonly exhibit cathemeral activity and commonly forage throughout a 24 h period. Conservation of endangered shorebirds should then extend to protection at night, yet little data exists on overall time budgets of such species at night. The Great Lakes population of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) is the smallest and most endangered, making each breeding pair an essential part of recovery. Intense monitoring of breeding individuals occurs during the daytime, yet we have little understanding of the time budgets of plovers at night. To gain better insight into the cathemeral behavior of plovers we recorded behaviors of 12 plovers from along Michigan’s Lake Superior shoreline during both day and night in 2018 with the use of a night-vision-capable camera, and compared time budgets of plovers between daytime and nighttime. Overall, piping plovers spent more time and a greater proportion of their time foraging at night and more time devoted to being alert during the day. These differences were especially evident during the chick rearing phase. Limited observations suggest that copulatory activity may also be more common at night. Likely, the threat of avian predation on this population drives the increase in nighttime foraging, despite decreased efficiency. Recognizing the importance of decreasing potential for disturbance during the night should be considered in future management strategies regarding the recovery of this endangered species.
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