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Nasrini J, Hampton RR. Six adult male rhesus monkeys did not learn from the choices of a conspecific shown in videos. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:379-392. [PMID: 35982328 PMCID: PMC10406175 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01669-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
There is substantial evidence of group-specific behaviors in wild animals that are thought to be socially transmitted. Yet experimental studies with monkeys have reported conflicting evidence on the extent to which monkeys learn by observing their conspecifics. In this study, we tested the feasibility of using pre-recorded video demonstrations to investigate social learning from conspecifics in rhesus monkeys. With training, monkeys gradually learned to respond correctly following videos of a demonstrator, however, follow-up experiments revealed that this was not due to learning from the demonstrator monkey. In generalization tests with videos that were horizontally reversed, monkeys continued responding to the location they had associated with each video, rather than matching the new choice location shown in the mirrored video. When the task was changed to make location irrelevant, such that monkeys could choose correctly only by selecting the same image selected by the demonstrator in the video, observer monkeys did not exceed chance in 12,000 training trials. Because monkeys readily learn to follow nonsocial visual cues presented on a monitor to guide image choice, their inability to learn from a demonstrator here indicates substantial limitations in the capacity for social learning from videos. Furthermore, these findings encourage deeper consideration of what monkeys perceive when presented with video stimuli on computer screens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jad Nasrini
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Robert R Hampton
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Jacob G, Katti H, Cherian T, Das J, Zhivago KA, Arun SP. A naturalistic environment to study visual cognition in unrestrained monkeys. eLife 2021; 10:63816. [PMID: 34821553 PMCID: PMC8676323 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Macaque monkeys are widely used to study vision. In the traditional approach, monkeys are brought into a lab to perform visual tasks while they are restrained to obtain stable eye tracking and neural recordings. Here, we describe a novel environment to study visual cognition in a more natural setting as well as other natural and social behaviors. We designed a naturalistic environment with an integrated touchscreen workstation that enables high-quality eye tracking in unrestrained monkeys. We used this environment to train monkeys on a challenging same-different task. We also show that this environment can reveal interesting novel social behaviors. As proof of concept, we show that two naive monkeys were able to learn this complex task through a combination of socially observing trained monkeys and solo trial-and-error. We propose that such naturalistic environments can be used to rigorously study visual cognition as well as other natural and social behaviors in freely moving monkeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgin Jacob
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India.,Department of Electrical Communication Engineering Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Harish Katti
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India
| | - Thomas Cherian
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India
| | - Jhilik Das
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India
| | - K A Zhivago
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India
| | - S P Arun
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India
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3
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Ferrucci L, Nougaret S, Falcone R, Cirillo R, Ceccarelli F, Genovesio A. Dedicated Representation of Others in the Macaque Frontal Cortex: From Action Monitoring and Prediction to Outcome Evaluation. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:891-907. [PMID: 34428277 PMCID: PMC8841564 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Social neurophysiology has increasingly addressed how several aspects of self and other are distinctly represented in the brain. In social interactions, the self–other distinction is fundamental for discriminating one’s own actions, intentions, and outcomes from those that originate in the external world. In this paper, we review neurophysiological experiments using nonhuman primates that shed light on the importance of the self–other distinction, focusing mainly on the frontal cortex. We start by examining how the findings are impacted by the experimental paradigms that are used, such as the type of social partner or whether a passive or active interaction is required. Next, we describe the 2 sociocognitive systems: mirror and mentalizing. Finally, we discuss how the self–other distinction can occur in different domains to process different aspects of social information: the observation and prediction of others’ actions and the monitoring of others’ rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Simon Nougaret
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rossella Falcone
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rossella Cirillo
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Département de Neuroscience Cognitive, CNRS, UMR 5229, 69500 Bron Cedex, France
| | - Francesco Ceccarelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.,PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Genovesio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Nougaret S, Ferrucci L, Genovesio A. Role of the social actor during social interaction and learning in human-monkey paradigms. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:242-250. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Revised: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Macaque monkeys learn by observation in the ghost display condition in the object-in-place task with differential reward to the observer. Sci Rep 2019; 9:401. [PMID: 30674953 PMCID: PMC6344553 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36803-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Observational learning has been investigated in monkeys mainly using conspecifics or humans as models to observe. Some studies attempted to clarify the social agent’s role and to test whether non-human primates could learn from observation of a non-social agent, usually mentioned as a ‘ghost display’ condition, but they reported conflicting results. To address this question, we trained three rhesus monkeys in an object-in-place task consisting of the presentation of five subsequent problems composed of two objects, one rewarded and one unrewarded, for six times, or runs. Three types of learning conditions were tested. In the individual learning condition, the monkeys performed the first run, learned from it and improved their performance in the following runs. In the social and non-social learning conditions, they observed respectively a human model and a computer performing the first run and learned by the observation of their successes or errors. In all three conditions, the monkeys themselves received the reward after correct choices only. One-trial learning occurred in all three conditions. The monkeys performed over chance in the second run in all conditions, providing evidence of non-social observational learning with differential reward in macaque monkeys using a “ghost display” condition in a cognitive task.
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Carcea I, Froemke RC. Biological mechanisms for observational learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2018; 54:178-185. [PMID: 30529989 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Revised: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Observational learning occurs when an animal capitalizes on the experience of another to change its own behavior in a given context. This form of learning is an efficient strategy for adapting to changes in environmental conditions, but little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. There is an abundance of literature supporting observational learning in humans and other primates, and more recent studies have begun documenting observational learning in other species such as birds and rodents. The neural mechanisms for observational learning depend on the species' brain organization and on the specific behavior being acquired. However, as a general rule, it appears that social information impinges on neural circuits for direct learning, mimicking or enhancing neuronal activity patterns that function during pavlovian, spatial or instrumental learning. Understanding the biological mechanisms for social learning could boost translational studies into behavioral interventions for a wide range of learning disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana Carcea
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103 USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103 USA; Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Neuroscience Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Neuroscience Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA.
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Bem T, Jura B, Bontempi B, Meyrand P. Observational learning of a spatial discrimination task by rats: learning from the mistakes of others? Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Monfardini E, Reynaud AJ, Prado J, Meunier M. Social modulation of cognition: Lessons from rhesus macaques relevant to education. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:45-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Aly-Mahmoud M, Carlier P, Salam SA, Houari Selmani M, Moftah MZ, Esclapez M, Boussaoud D. Role of Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Instrumental Learning: Blockade of Dopamine D1 Receptors Suppresses Overt but Not Covert Learning. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:82. [PMID: 28555096 PMCID: PMC5430040 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
HIGHLIGHTSBlockade of dopamine D1 receptors in ACC suppressed instrumental learning when overt responding was required. Covert learning through observation was not impaired. After treatment with a dopamine antagonist, instrumental learning recovered but not the rat's pretreatment level of effort tolerance. ACC dopamine is not necessary for acquisition of task-relevant cues during learning, but regulates energy expenditure and effort based decision.
Dopamine activity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is essential for various aspects of instrumental behavior, including learning and effort based decision making. To dissociate learning from physical effort, we studied both observational (covert) learning, and trial-and-error (overt) learning. If ACC dopamine activity is required for task acquisition, its blockade should impair both overt and covert learning. If dopamine is not required for task acquisition, but solely for regulating the willingness to expend effort for reward, i.e., effort tolerance, blockade should impair overt learning but spare covert learning. Rats learned to push a lever for food rewards either with or without prior observation of an expert conspecific performing the same task. Before daily testing sessions, the rats received bilateral ACC microinfusions of SCH23390, a dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, or saline-control infusions. We found that dopamine blockade suppressed overt responding selectively, leaving covert task acquisition through observational learning intact. In subsequent testing sessions without dopamine blockade, rats recovered their overt-learning capacity but not their pre-treatment level of effort tolerance. These results suggest that ACC dopamine is not required for the acquisition of conditioned behaviors and that apparent learning impairments could instead reflect a reduced level of willingness to expend effort due to cortical dopamine blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pascal Carlier
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci SystMarseille, France
| | - Sherine A Salam
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt
| | - Mariam Houari Selmani
- Clinical Neurosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University Sidi Mohamed Ben AbdellahFez, Morocco
| | - Marie Z Moftah
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria UniversityAlexandria, Egypt
| | - Monique Esclapez
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci SystMarseille, France
| | - Driss Boussaoud
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci SystMarseille, France
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Ruge H, Wolfensteller U. Towards an understanding of the neural dynamics of intentional learning: Considering the timescale. Neuroimage 2016; 142:668-673. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 05/07/2016] [Accepted: 06/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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