1
|
Rugani R, Platt ML, Zhang Y, Brannon EM. Magnitude shifts spatial attention from left to right in rhesus monkeys as in the human mental number line. iScience 2024; 27:108866. [PMID: 38318369 PMCID: PMC10838727 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans typically represent numbers and quantities along a left-to-right continuum. Early perspectives attributed number-space association to culture; however, recent evidence in newborns and animals challenges this hypothesis. We investigate whether the length of an array of dots influences spatial bias in rhesus macaques. We designed a touch-screen task that required monkeys to remember the location of a target. At test, monkeys maintained high performance with arrays of 2, 4, 6, or 10 dots, regardless of changes in the array's location, spacing, and length. Monkeys remembered better left targets with 2-dot arrays and right targets with 6- or 10-dot arrays. Replacing the 10-dot array with a long bar, yielded more accurate performance with rightward locations, consistent with an underlying left-to-right oriented magnitude code. Our study supports the hypothesis of a spatially oriented mental magnitude line common to humans and animals, countering the idea that this code arises from uniquely human cultural learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yujia Zhang
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Elizabeth M. Brannon
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gazes RP, Templer VL, Lazareva OF. Thinking about order: a review of common processing of magnitude and learned orders in animals. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:299-317. [PMID: 36369418 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01713-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Rich behavioral and neurobiological evidence suggests cognitive and neural overlap in how quantitatively comparable dimensions such as quantity, time, and space are processed in humans and animals. While magnitude domains such as physical magnitude, time, and space represent information that can be quantitatively compared (4 "is half of" 8), they also represent information that can be organized ordinally (1→2→3→4). Recent evidence suggests that the common representations seen across physical magnitude, time, and space domains in humans may be due to their common ordinal features rather than their common quantitative features, as these common representations appear to extend beyond magnitude domains to include learned orders. In this review, we bring together separate lines of research on multiple ordinal domains including magnitude-based and learned orders in animals to explore the extent to which there is support for a common cognitive process underlying ordinal processing. Animals show similarities in performance patterns across natural quantitatively comparable ordered domains (physical magnitude, time, space, dominance) and learned orders (acquired through transitive inference or simultaneous chaining). Additionally, they show transfer and interference across tasks within and between ordinal domains that support the theory of a common ordinal representation across domains. This review provides some support for the development of a unified theory of ordinality and suggests areas for future research to better characterize the extent to which there are commonalities in cognitive processing of ordinal information generally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Regina Paxton Gazes
- Department of Psychology and Program in Animal Behavior, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA.
| | | | - Olga F Lazareva
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Drake University, Des Moines, IA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Triki Z, Bshary R. Sex differences in the cognitive abilities of a sex-changing fish species Labroides dimidiatus. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210239. [PMID: 34295522 PMCID: PMC8278049 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Males and females of the same species are known to differ at least in some cognitive domains, but such differences are not systematic across species. As a consequence, it remains unclear whether reported differences generally reflect adaptive adjustments to diverging selective pressures, or whether differences are mere side products of physiological differences necessary for reproduction. Here, we show that sex differences in cognition occur even in a sex-changing species, a protogynous hermaphroditic species where all males have previously been females. We tested male and female cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus in four cognitive tasks to evaluate their learning and inhibitory control abilities first in an abstract presentation of the tasks, then in more ecologically relevant contexts. The results showed that males were better learners than females in the two learning tasks (i.e. reversal learning as an abstract task and a food quantity assessment task as an ecologically relevant task). Conversely, females showed enhanced abilities compared with males in the abstract inhibitory control task (i.e. detour task); but both sexes performed equally in the ecologically relevant inhibitory control task (i.e. 'audience effect' task). Hence, sex-changing species may offer unique opportunities to study proximate and/or ultimate causes underlying sex differences in cognitive abilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zegni Triki
- Institute of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
|
5
|
Rugani R, Vallortigara G, Priftis K, Regolin L. Numerical magnitude, rather than individual bias, explains spatial numerical association in newborn chicks. eLife 2020; 9:e54662. [PMID: 32584257 PMCID: PMC7316507 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We associate small numbers with the left and large numbers with the right side of space. Recent evidence from human newborns and non-human animals has challenged the primary role assigned to culture, in determining this spatial numerical association (SNA). Nevertheless, the effect of individual spatial biases has not been considered in previous research. Here, we tested the effect of numerical magnitude in SNA and we controlled for itablendividual biases. We trained 3-day-old chicks (Gallus gallus) on a given numerical magnitude (5). Then chicks could choose between two identical, left or right, stimuli both representing either 2, 8, or 5 elements. We computed the percentage of Left-sided Choice (LC). Numerical magnitude, but not individual lateral bias, explained LC: LC2 vs. 2>LC5 vs. 5>LC8 vs. 8. These findings suggest that SNA originates from pre-linguistic precursors, and pave the way to the investigation of the neural correlates of the number space association.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of PadovaPadovaItaly
- Department of Psychology, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaUnited States
| | | | | | - Lucia Regolin
- Department of General Psychology, University of PadovaPadovaItaly
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Rugani R, Regolin L. Hemispheric specialization in spatial versus ordinal processing in the day-old domestic chick (Gallus gallus). Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1477:34-43. [PMID: 32266985 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Different species show an intriguing similarity in representing numerosity in space, starting from left to right. This bias has been attributed to a right hemisphere dominance in processing spatial information. Here, to disentangle the role of each hemisphere in dealing with spatial versus ordinal-numerical information, we tested domestic chicks during monocular versus binocular vision. In the avian brain, the contralateral hemisphere mainly processes the visual input from each eye. Four-day-old chicks learned to peck at the fourth element in a sagittal series of 10 identical elements. At testing, chicks faced a left-to-right-oriented series where the interelement distance was manipulated so that the third element was where the fourth had been at training; this compelled chicks to use either spatial or ordinal cues. Chicks tested binocularly selected both the fourth left and (to a lesser extent) right elements. Chicks tested monocularly chose the third and fourth elements on the seeing side equally. Interhemispheric cooperation resulted in the use of ordinal-numerical information, while each single hemisphere could rely on spatial or ordinal-numerical cue. Both hemispheres can process spatial and ordinal-numerical information, but their interaction results in the supremacy of processing the ordinal-numerical cue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Lucia Regolin
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Triki Z, Bshary R. Long‐term memory retention in a wild fish species
Labroides dimidiatus
eleven months after an aversive event. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Zegni Triki
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory Faculty of Science University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory Faculty of Science University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Beran MJ, French K, Smith TR, Parrish AE. Limited evidence of number-space mapping in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). J Comp Psychol 2019; 133:281-293. [PMID: 30896233 PMCID: PMC6684444 DOI: 10.1037/com0000177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humans exhibit evidence of a mental number line that suggests a left-to-right, or sometimes right-to-left, representation of smaller to larger numbers. The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is one example of this mental number line and has been investigated extensively in humans. Less research has been done with animals, and results have been inconclusive. Rugani, Vallortigara, Priftis, and Regolin (2015) found that young chicks showed a bias to respond to small quantities presented to their left and large quantities presented to their right when forced to move toward those stimuli to gain food reward. We replicated this design with rhesus macaques and capuchin monkeys using a computerized task, but we did not find this outcome. We also trained monkeys to choose between 2 arrays of dots, and then assessed biases in terms of choice location and response latency on trials with a numerical difference and on trials with equal numbers of items in both sets. There was no evidence of SNARC-like effects in equal trials, although when arrays differed in number, 12 of 19 monkeys showed differential performance depending on whether the smaller array was at the left or at the right onscreen. These results indicate that SNARC-like effects may not emerge in all contexts and may not be phylogenetically widespread. More effort is needed to broaden the number of species assessed and match other methods that are used with human participants so that we can better define the presence and extent of such effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
9
|
Di Giorgio E, Lunghi M, Rugani R, Regolin L, Dalla Barba B, Vallortigara G, Simion F. A mental number line in human newborns. Dev Sci 2019; 22:e12801. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Di Giorgio
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy
| | - Marco Lunghi
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy
| | - Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy
- Department of Psychology University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA
| | - Lucia Regolin
- Department of General Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy
| | | | | | - Francesca Simion
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy
| |
Collapse
|