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Schwarz S, Wystrach A, Cheng K, Kelly DM. Landmarks, beacons, or panoramic views: What do pigeons attend to for guidance in familiar environments? Learn Behav 2024; 52:69-84. [PMID: 38379118 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00610-3] [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] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Birds and social insects represent excellent systems for understanding visually guided navigation. Both animal groups use surrounding visual cues for homing and foraging. Ants extract sufficient spatial information from panoramic views, which naturally embed all near and far spatial information, for successful homing. Although egocentric panoramic views allow for parsimonious explanations of navigational behaviors, this potential source of spatial information has been mostly neglected during studies of vertebrates. Here we investigate how distinct landmarks, a beacon, and panoramic views influence the reorientation behavior in pigeons (Columba livia). Pigeons were trained to search for a location characterized by a beacon and several distinct landmarks. Transformation tests manipulated aspects of the landmark configuration, allowing for a dissociation among navigational strategies. Quantitative image and path analyses provided support that the panoramic view was used by the pigeons. Although the results from some individuals support the use of beaconing, overall the pigeons relied predominantly on the panoramic view when spatial cues provided conflicting information regarding the goal location. Reorientation based on vector and bearing information derived from distinct landmarks as well as environmental geometry failed to account fully for the results. Thus, the results of our study support that pigeons can use panoramic views for reorientation in familiar environments. Given that the current model for landmark use by pigeons posits the use of different vectors from an object, a global panorama-matching strategy suggests a fundamental change in the theory of how pigeons use surrounding visual cues for localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schwarz
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Road, 190 Duff Roblin Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse Cedex, 09, France
- Institute of Biology, Karl-Franzen University, Graz, Universtitätsplatz 2, 8010, Austria
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse Cedex, 09, France
| | - Ken Cheng
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Debbie M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Road, 190 Duff Roblin Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada.
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 212 Biological Sciences Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada.
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2
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From representations to servomechanisms to oscillators: my journey in the study of cognition. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:73-85. [PMID: 36029388 PMCID: PMC9877067 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01677-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The study of comparative cognition bloomed in the 1970s and 1980s with a focus on representations in the heads of animals that undergird what animals can achieve. Even in action-packed domains such as navigation and spatial cognition, a focus on representations prevailed. In the 1990s, I suggested a conception of navigation in terms of navigational servomechanisms. A servomechanism can be said to aim for a goal, with deviations from the goal-directed path registering as an error. The error drives action to reduce the error in a negative-feedback loop. This loop, with the action reducing the very signal that drove action in the first place, is key to defining a servomechanism. Even though actions are crucial components of servomechanisms, my focus was on the representational component that encodes signals and evaluates errors. Recently, I modified and amplified this view in claiming that, in navigation, servomechanisms operate by modulating the performance of oscillators, endogenous units that produce periodic action. The pattern is found from bacteria travelling micrometres to sea turtles travelling thousands of kilometres. This pattern of servomechanisms working with oscillators is found in other realms of cognition and of life. I think that oscillators provide an effective way to organise an organism's own activities while servomechanisms provide an effective means to adjust to the organism's environment, including that of its own body.
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3
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Maaß E, Hanke FD. How harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) encode goals relative to landmarks. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274185. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Visual landmarks are defined as object with prominent shape or size that distinguish themselves from the background. With the help of landmarks, animals can orient themselves in their natural environment. Yet, the way in which landmarks are perceived and encoded has previously only been described in insects, fish, birds, reptilians and terrestrial mammals. The present study aimed to provide insight into how a marine mammal, the harbour seal, is encoding goals relative to landmarks. In our expansion test, three harbour seals were trained to find a goal inside an array of landmarks. After diagonal, horizontal or vertical expansion of the landmark array, the search behaviour displayed by the animals was documented and analyzed regarding the underlying encoding strategy. The harbour seals mainly encoded directional vector information from landmarks and did neither search arbitrarily around a landmark nor used a rule-based approach. Depending on the number of landmarks available within the array, the search behaviour of some harbor seals changed, indicating flexibility in landmark-based search. Our results present first insight in how a semi-aquatic predator could encode landmark information when swimming along the coastline in search for a goal-location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Maaß
- University of Rostock, Institute for Biosciences, Neuroethology, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany
| | - Frederike D. Hanke
- University of Rostock, Institute for Biosciences, Neuroethology, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany
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Ben-Yishay E, Krivoruchko K, Ron S, Ulanovsky N, Derdikman D, Gutfreund Y. Directional tuning in the hippocampal formation of birds. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2592-2602.e4. [PMID: 33974847 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Birds strongly rely on spatial memory and navigation. Therefore, it is of utmost interest to reveal how space is represented in the avian brain. Here we used tetrodes to record neurons from the hippocampal formation of Japanese quails-a ground-dwelling species-while the quails roamed in an open-field arena. Whereas spatially modulated cells (place cells, grid cells, border cells) were generally not encountered, the firing rate of about 12% of the neurons was unimodally and significantly modulated by the head azimuth-i.e., these were head-direction cells (HD cells). Typically, HD cells were maximally active at one preferred direction and minimally at the opposite null direction, with preferred directions spanning all 360° across the population. The preferred direction was independent of the animal's position and speed and was stable during the recording session. The HD tuning was broader compared to that of HD cells in rodents, and most cells had non-zero baseline firing in all directions. However, similar to findings in rodents, the HD tuning usually rotated with the rotation of a salient visual cue in the arena. Thus, these findings support the existence of an allocentric HD representation in the quail hippocampal formation and provide the first demonstration of HD cells in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elhanan Ben-Yishay
- Department of Neurobiology, Rappaport Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron Street, Haifa 3525422, Israel
| | - Ksenia Krivoruchko
- Department of Neurobiology, Rappaport Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron Street, Haifa 3525422, Israel
| | - Shaked Ron
- Department of Neurobiology, Rappaport Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron Street, Haifa 3525422, Israel
| | - Nachum Ulanovsky
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Dori Derdikman
- Department of Neurobiology, Rappaport Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron Street, Haifa 3525422, Israel
| | - Yoram Gutfreund
- Department of Neurobiology, Rappaport Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron Street, Haifa 3525422, Israel.
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Towards describing scenes by animals: Pigeons' ordinal discrimination of objects varying in depth. Learn Behav 2020; 49:85-98. [PMID: 32968857 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-020-00444-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The perception of a complex scene requires visual mechanisms that include identifying objects and their relative placement in depth. To examine apparent depth perception in birds, we tested four pigeons with a novel multiple-sequential-choice procedure. We created 3D-rendered scene stimuli containing three objects located at different apparent depths based on a variety of pictorial cues and placed small circular target response areas on them. The pigeons were trained to sequentially choose among the multiple response areas to report the object closest in apparent depth (ordinal position; front then middle object). After the pigeons learned this sequential depth discrimination, their use of three different monocular depth cues (occlusion, relative size, height in field) was tested, and their flexibility evaluated using three novel objects. In addition to the contribution to understanding apparent depth perception in birds, the use of more flexible open-ended choice discriminations, as employed here, has considerable promise for creating informative production-like tasks in nonverbal animals.
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6
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The use of spatial and local cues for orientation in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). Anim Cogn 2020; 23:367-387. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01342-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Impact of social rearing-environment on performance in a complex maze in females of a cichlid fish. Behav Processes 2019; 167:103915. [PMID: 31349022 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Spatial orientation is an important skill as it improves, for example, foraging, localisation of recourses, predator avoidance or navigation. Habitat complexity positively affects spatial abilities in various fish species with a more complex environment promoting learning ability. However, to what extent a complex social environment affects cognitive abilities in fishes has received less attention. Here, we investigated differences in maze performance of adult females of the West African cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus, which had been reared and maintained either in a group or in isolation from an early age on. Fish had to master the route through a maze in order to gain a food reward. Our results indicate marked differences in performance contingent upon social rearing-environment: isolation fish ran successful trials (i.e. locating the food reward) significantly more often than group fish and were faster during trials, also in a reversed maze. However, the number of mistakes did not differ between isolation and group fish and the time needed to relocate the food reward did not diminish with elapsed training days. In a second experiment, the activity of group and isolation fish was analysed in an open field test. Here, isolation fish were less active than group fish. We discuss different possibilities for performance differences of group and isolation fish including enhanced cognitive abilities of isolation fish, motivational/emotional differences and hyperactivity.
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8
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Legge ELG. Comparative spatial memory and cue use: The contributions of Marcia L. Spetch to the study of small-scale spatial cognition. Behav Processes 2019; 159:65-79. [PMID: 30611849 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Dr. Marcia Spetch is a Canadian experimental psychologist who specializes in the study of comparative cognition. Her research over the past four decades has covered many diverse topics, but focused primarily on the comparative study of small-scale spatial cognition, navigation, decision making, and risky choice. Over the course of her career Dr. Spetch has had a profound influence on the study of these topics, and for her work she was named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2012, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2017. In this review, I provide a biographical sketch of Dr. Spetch's academic career, and revisit her contributions to the study of small-scale spatial cognition in two broad areas: the use of environmental geometric cues, and how animals cope with cue conflict. The goal of this review is to highlight the contributions of Dr. Spetch, her students, and her collaborators to the field of comparative cognition and the study of small-scale spatial cognition. As such, this review stands to serve as a tribute and testament to Dr. Spetch's scientific legacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric L G Legge
- Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, 10700 - 104 Avenue, City Centre Campus, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4S2, Canada.
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9
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Pritchard DJ, Hurly TA, Healy SD. Wild hummingbirds require a consistent view of landmarks to pinpoint a goal location. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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10
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Abstract
Navigation is an essential skill for many animals, and understanding how animal use environmental information, particularly visual information, to navigate has a long history in both ethology and psychology. In birds, the dominant approach for investigating navigation at small-scales comes from comparative psychology, which emphasizes the cognitive representations underpinning spatial memory. The majority of this work is based in the laboratory and it is unclear whether this context itself affects the information that birds learn and use when they search for a location. Data from hummingbirds suggests that birds in the wild might use visual information in quite a different manner. To reconcile these differences, here we propose a new approach to avian navigation, inspired by the sensory-driven study of navigation in insects. Using methods devised for studying the navigation of insects, it is possible to quantify the visual information available to navigating birds, and then to determine how this information influences those birds' navigation decisions. Focusing on four areas that we consider characteristic of the insect navigation perspective, we discuss how this approach has shone light on the information insects use to navigate, and assess the prospects of taking a similar approach with birds. Although birds and insects differ in many ways, there is nothing in the insect-inspired approach of the kind we describe that means these methods need be restricted to insects. On the contrary, adopting such an approach could provide a fresh perspective on the well-studied question of how birds navigate through a variety of environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, UK
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11
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The orientation of homing pigeons (Columba livia f.d.) with and without navigational experience in a two-dimensional environment. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188483. [PMID: 29176875 PMCID: PMC5703563 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Homing pigeons are known for their excellent homing ability, and their brains seem to be functionally adapted to homing. It is known that pigeons with navigational experience show a larger hippocampus and also a more lateralised brain than pigeons without navigational experience. So we hypothesized that experience may have an influence also on orientation ability. We examined two groups of pigeons (11 with navigational experience and 17 without) in a standard operant chamber with a touch screen monitor showing a 2-D schematic of a rectangular environment (as “geometric” information) and one uniquely shaped and colored feature in each corner (as “landmark” information). Pigeons were trained first for pecking on one of these features and then we examined their ability to encode geometric and landmark information in four tests by modifying the rectangular environment. All tests were done under binocular and monocular viewing to test hemispheric dominance. The number of pecks was counted for analysis. Results show that generally both groups orientate on the basis of landmarks and the geometry of environment, but landmark information was preferred. Pigeons with navigational experience did not perform better on the tests but showed a better conjunction of the different kinds of information. Significant differences between monocular and binocular viewing were detected particularly in pigeons without navigational experience on two tests with reduced information. Our data suggest that the conjunction of geometric and landmark information might be integrated after processing separately in each hemisphere and that this process is influenced by experience.
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12
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Jetzschke S, Ernst MO, Froehlich J, Boeddeker N. Finding Home: Landmark Ambiguity in Human Navigation. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:132. [PMID: 28769773 PMCID: PMC5513971 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Memories of places often include landmark cues, i.e., information provided by the spatial arrangement of distinct objects with respect to the target location. To study how humans combine landmark information for navigation, we conducted two experiments: To this end, participants were either provided with auditory landmarks while walking in a large sports hall or with visual landmarks while walking on a virtual-reality treadmill setup. We found that participants cannot reliably locate their home position due to ambiguities in the spatial arrangement when only one or two uniform landmarks provide cues with respect to the target. With three visual landmarks that look alike, the task is solved without ambiguity, while audio landmarks need to play three unique sounds for a similar performance. This reduction in ambiguity through integration of landmark information from 1, 2, and 3 landmarks is well modeled using a probabilistic approach based on maximum likelihood estimation. Unlike any deterministic model of human navigation (based e.g., on distance or angle information), this probabilistic model predicted both the precision and accuracy of the human homing performance. To further examine how landmark cues are integrated we introduced systematic conflicts in the visual landmark configuration between training of the home position and tests of the homing performance. The participants integrated the spatial information from each landmark near-optimally to reduce spatial variability. When the conflict becomes big, this integration breaks down and precision is sacrificed for accuracy. That is, participants return again closer to the home position, because they start ignoring the deviant third landmark. Relying on two instead of three landmarks, however, goes along with responses that are scattered over a larger area, thus leading to higher variability. To model the breakdown of integration with increasing conflict, the probabilistic model based on a simple Gaussian distribution used for Experiment 1 needed a slide extension in from of a mixture of Gaussians. All parameters for the Mixture Model were fixed based on the homing performance in the baseline condition which contained a single landmark. from the 1-Landmark Condition. This way we found that the Mixture Model could predict the integration performance and its breakdown with no additional free parameters. Overall these data suggest that humans use similar optimal probabilistic strategies in visual and auditory navigation, integrating landmark information to improve homing precision and balance homing precision with homing accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Jetzschke
- Department of Biology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
- Cognitive Interaction Technology–Cluster of Excellence, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
| | - Marc O. Ernst
- Cognitive Interaction Technology–Cluster of Excellence, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
- Appl. Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm UniversityUlm, Germany
| | - Julia Froehlich
- Department of Biology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
| | - Norbert Boeddeker
- Department of Biology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
- Cognitive Interaction Technology–Cluster of Excellence, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
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13
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Derenne A, Breitstein RM, Cicha RJ. Shifts in Postdiscrimination Gradients Within a Stimulus Dimension Based on Female Waist-to-Hip Ratios. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/bf03395602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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14
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Animal timing: a synthetic approach. Anim Cogn 2016; 19:707-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-0977-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Revised: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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15
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Pritchard DJ, Hurly TA, Tello-Ramos MC, Healy SD. Why study cognition in the wild (and how to test it)? J Exp Anal Behav 2016; 105:41-55. [DOI: 10.1002/jeab.195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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16
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Pritchard DJ, Scott RD, Healy SD, Hurly AT. Wild rufous hummingbirds use local landmarks to return to rewarded locations. Behav Processes 2015; 122:59-66. [PMID: 26551275 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 10/31/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Animals may remember an important location with reference to one or more visual landmarks. In the laboratory, birds and mammals often preferentially use landmarks near a goal ("local landmarks") to return to that location at a later date. Although we know very little about how animals in the wild use landmarks to remember locations, mammals in the wild appear to prefer to use distant landmarks to return to rewarded locations. To examine what cues wild birds use when returning to a goal, we trained free-living hummingbirds to search for a reward at a location that was specified by three nearby visual landmarks. Following training we expanded the landmark array to test the extent that the birds relied on the local landmarks to return to the reward. During the test the hummingbirds' search was best explained by the birds having used the experimental landmarks to remember the reward location. How the birds used the landmarks was not clear and seemed to change over the course of each test. These wild hummingbirds, then, can learn locations in reference to nearby visual landmarks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Renee D Scott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Andrew T Hurly
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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17
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Pritchard DJ, Hurly TA, Healy SD. Effects of landmark distance and stability on accuracy of reward relocation. Anim Cogn 2015. [PMID: 26198691 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0896-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although small-scale navigation is well studied in a wide range of species, much of what is known about landmark use by vertebrates is based on laboratory experiments. To investigate how vertebrates in the wild use landmarks, we trained wild male rufous hummingbirds to feed from a flower that was placed in a constant spatial relationship with two artificial landmarks. In the first experiment, the landmarks and flower were 0.25, 0.5 or 1 m apart and we always moved them 3-4 m after each visit by the bird. In the second experiment, the landmarks and flower were always 0.25 m apart and we moved them either 1 or 0.25 m between trials. In tests, in which we removed the flower, the hummingbirds stopped closer to the predicted flower location when the landmarks had been closer to the flower during training. However, while the distance that the birds stopped from the landmarks and predicted flower location was unaffected by the distance that the landmarks moved between trials, the birds directed their search nearer to the predicted direction of the flower, relative to the landmarks, when the landmarks and flower were more stable in the environment. In the field, then, landmarks alone were sufficient for the birds to determine the distance of a reward but not its direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Pritchard
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - T Andrew Hurly
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
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18
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Path integration, views, search, and matched filters: the contributions of Rüdiger Wehner to the study of orientation and navigation. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2015; 201:517-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-015-0984-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2014] [Revised: 01/11/2015] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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19
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Derenne A, Loshek EA, Bohrer B. Postdiscrimination Gradients With Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-014-0091-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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20
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Touchscreen performance and knowledge transfer in the red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria). Behav Processes 2014; 106:187-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Revised: 04/29/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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21
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Gibson B, McGowan F. Rats average entire vectors when navigating toward a hidden goal: A test of the vector sum model in rodents. Behav Processes 2014; 102:18-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Revised: 12/11/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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22
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Tommasi L, Laeng B. Psychology of spatial cognition. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2012; 3:565-580. [PMID: 26305266 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
In this overview, focusing on memory and higher cognitive processes, we cover some of the most relevant results that emerged from research on spatial cognition in animals and in humans in the last 3 decades. In particular, we discuss how representations of distance and direction are used to localize oneself with respect to the external world, to determine the position of objects with respect to each other, and to compute the position of invisible goals. The role of landmarks and environmental geometry as cues for extracting spatial information in such abilities is compared, and the reliance upon self-centered and external frames of reference is discussed. Moreover, the contribution of working memory and processing strategies in forming representations of spatial relations in humans is presented. Finally, implications for some neighboring fields of the cognitive sciences will be outlined. WIREs Cogn Sci 2012. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1198 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Tommasi
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy
| | - Bruno Laeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Lubyk DM, Spetch ML. Finding the best angle: pigeons (Columba livia) weight angular information more heavily than relative wall length in an open-field geometry task. Anim Cogn 2011; 15:305-12. [PMID: 21918871 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-011-0454-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2011] [Revised: 07/06/2011] [Accepted: 08/31/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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25
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Pecchia T, Gagliardo A, Vallortigara G. Stable panoramic views facilitate snap-shot like memories for spatial reorientation in homing pigeons. PLoS One 2011; 6:e22657. [PMID: 21818360 PMCID: PMC3144919 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2011] [Accepted: 06/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Following spatial disorientation, animals can reorient themselves by relying on geometric cues (metric and sense) specified both by the macroscopic surface layout of an enclosed space and prominent visual landmarks in arrays. Whether spatial reorientation in arrays of landmarks is based on explicit representation of the geometric cues is a matter of debate. Here we trained homing pigeons (Columba livia) to locate a food-reward in a rectangular array of four identical or differently coloured pipes provided with four openings, only one of which allowed the birds to have access to the reward. Pigeons were trained either with a stable or a variable position of the opening on pipes, so that they could view the array either from the same or a variable perspective. Explicit mapping of configural geometry would predict successful reorientation irrespective of access condition. In contrast, we found that a stable view of the array facilitated spatial learning in homing pigeons, likely through the formation of snapshot-like memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Pecchia
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
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26
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Derenne A. Shifts in postdiscrimination gradients within a stimulus dimension based on bilateral facial symmetry. J Exp Anal Behav 2011; 93:485-94. [PMID: 21119858 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2010.93-485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2009] [Accepted: 02/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A shift in generalization gradients away from S+ and towards stimuli on the opposite end of the stimulus dimension from S- is a well established phenomenon in the laboratory, occurring with humans and nonhumans and with a wide range of stimuli. The phenomenon of gradient shifts has also been observed to have an analogous relationship to a variety of apparent biases in preference observed in the natural environment. One way to examine the validity of such analogies is by examining whether gradient shifts can be observed with complex and naturalistic stimuli. In the present experiment, undergraduates were trained to discriminate between faces that varied in terms of relative bilateral facial symmetry (a stimulus dimension correlated with health and attractiveness). Comparisons were made within subjects, using two sets of images. For both sets, the faces varied from naturally asymmetrical to symmetrical, and S+ was a face equidistant to the two extremes. With one set, S- was the naturally asymmetrical face, and with the other, S- was the symmetrical face. A peak shift was obtained in both conditions, although the effect was clearer in the aggregate than on the level of the individual. Overall, the results are consistent with the view that the processes responsible for gradient shifts in the lab are relevant to judgments made in the natural environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Derenne
- Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, PO Box 8380, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8380, USA.
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27
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Marsh HL, Spetch ML, MacDonald SE. Strategies in landmark use by orangutans and human children. Anim Cogn 2011; 14:487-502. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-011-0382-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2010] [Revised: 11/26/2010] [Accepted: 01/26/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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28
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Pecchia T, Vallortigara G. View-based strategy for reorientation by geometry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 213:2987-96. [PMID: 20709927 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.043315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Human and non-human animals can use geometric information (metric information and left-right discrimination sense) to reorient themselves in an environment. The hypothesis that in so doing they rely on allocentric (map-like) representations has received wide consensus. However, theoretical models suggest that egocentric representations may represent efficient strategies for visuo-spatial navigation. Here, we provide, for the first time, evidence that a view-based strategy is effectively used by animals to reorient themselves in an array of landmarks. Domestic chicks were trained to locate a food-reward in a rectangular array of either four indistinguishable or distinctive pipes. In the key experimental series, the pipes had four openings, only one of which allowed the chicks to access the reward. The direction of the open access relative to the array was either maintained stable or it was changed throughout training. The relative position of the pipes in the array was maintained stable in both training conditions. Chicks reoriented according to configural geometry as long as the open access pointed in the same direction during training but failed when the positions of the openings was changed throughout training. When the correct pipe was characterized by a distinctive featural cue, chicks learnt to locate the reward irrespective of the stability of the direction to openings, indicating that place-navigation was dissociated from non-spatial learning. These findings provide evidence that view-based strategies to reorient by geometry could be used by animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Pecchia
- Center for Mind and Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini, 31 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
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29
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Durán E, Ocaña FM, Broglio C, Rodríguez F, Salas C. Lateral but not medial telencephalic pallium ablation impairs the use of goldfish spatial allocentric strategies in a "hole-board" task. Behav Brain Res 2010; 214:480-7. [PMID: 20600353 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2010] [Revised: 05/28/2010] [Accepted: 06/14/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Strong evidence suggests that the ventral region of the lateral telencephalic pallium of teleost fish, a structure involved in allocentric spatial cognition, is homologous to the hippocampus of tetrapods. This homology was first proposed on basis of anatomical data, and subsequently confirmed by developmental, functional and behavioural studies. Nonetheless, Saito and Watanabe [30,32] claim that not the lateral but, rather, the medial pallium participates in goldfish spatial navigation and should be considered the homologue of the hippocampus. Here, we further investigate the effects of selective pallial lesions on the spatial cognition abilities of goldfish, trained in a "hole-board" analogue task, to find the baited feeder within a 5 x 5 feeder matrix surrounded by visual cues. The task in the present experiment is similar to that used by Saito and Watanabe, but including thorough probe tests that enabled to define clearly the spatial strategies employed by the animals, and, therefore, the spatial deficits caused by the pallial lesions. The results showed that the lateral, but not the medial pallium lesions, produced a dramatic impairment in the implementation of allocentric spatial strategies. Thus, only lateral pallium lesioned goldfish, like hippocampus lesioned tetrapods, failed to reach the goal when the cues in its proximity were excluded, indicating that they used a guidance strategy. These results do not replicate Saito and Watanabe's, but are consistent to previous data indicating a close functional similarity between the lateral pallium of teleost fish and the hippocampus of amniotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Durán
- Laboratory of Psychobiology, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
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30
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Gould KL, Kelly DM, Kamil AC. What scatter-hoarding animals have taught us about small-scale navigation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365:901-14. [PMID: 20156815 PMCID: PMC2830246 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals use cues for small-scale navigation, including beacons, landmarks, compasses and geometric properties. Scatter-hoarding animals are a unique system to study small-scale navigation. They have to remember and relocate many individual spatial locations, be fairly accurate in their searching and have to remember these locations for long stretches of time. In this article, we review what is known about cue use in both scatter-hoarding birds and rodents. We discuss the importance of local versus global cues, the encoding of bearings and geometric rules, the use of external compasses such as the Sun and the influence of the shape of experimental enclosures in relocating caches or hidden food. Scatter-hoarding animals are highly flexible in how and what they encode. There also appear to be differences in what scatter-hoarding birds and rodents encode, as well as what scatter-hoarding animals in general encode compared with other animals. Areas for future research with scatter-hoarding animals are discussed in light of what is currently known.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy L Gould
- Department of Psychology, Luther College, 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101, USA.
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31
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Do penguins dare to walk at night? Visual cues influence king penguin colony arrivals and departures. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0930-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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32
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Kelly DM. Features enhance the encoding of geometry. Anim Cogn 2009; 13:453-62. [PMID: 20012120 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-009-0296-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Revised: 11/06/2009] [Accepted: 11/17/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Successful navigation within an environment requires that the traveler establish the correct heading--a process referred to as orienting. Many studies have now shown that humans and non-human animals can use the geometric properties of an enclosure to orient. In the present study, two groups of Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) were trained, in a reference memory task, to find food hidden in one of four containers arranged to form a rectangular array. One group had unique objects placed next to each of the containers, whereas the second group had identical objects placed next to each of the containers. Here, I show for the first time that for the Clark's nutcracker, the distinctive properties of these objects enhanced the encoding of the array's geometry compared to the learning of geometric properties from an array of identical objects, which remained at chance after substantial amounts of training. Subsequent transformation tests showed that an object not associated with reward, but sharing the same geometric properties as the correct object, may have had inhibitory qualities. Furthermore, by systematically removing objects from the array, I show that although nutcrackers encoded the geometry of the array, they did not encode a complete featural representation of the objects within the array.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debbie M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada.
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33
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Fiset S. Evidence for averaging of distance from landmarks in the domestic dog. Behav Processes 2009; 81:429-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2008] [Revised: 03/26/2009] [Accepted: 03/30/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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34
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Cheng K, Narendra A, Sommer S, Wehner R. Traveling in clutter: Navigation in the Central Australian desert ant Melophorus bagoti. Behav Processes 2009; 80:261-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2008.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2008] [Revised: 10/13/2008] [Accepted: 10/26/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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35
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Wilzeck C, Prior H, Kelly DM. Geometry and landmark representation by pigeons: evidence for species-differences in the hemispheric organization of spatial information processing? Eur J Neurosci 2009; 29:813-22. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2009.06626.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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36
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Legge ELG, Spetch ML, Batty ER. Pigeons' (Columba livia) hierarchical organization of local and global cues in touch screen tasks. Behav Processes 2008; 80:128-39. [PMID: 19022355 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2008.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2008] [Revised: 10/14/2008] [Accepted: 10/17/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Redundant encoding of local and global spatial cues is a common occurrence in many species. However, preferential use of the each type of cue seems to vary across species and tasks. In the current study, pigeons (Columba livia) were trained in three experiments on a touch screen task which included redundant local positional cues and global spatial cues. Specifically, pigeons were required to choose the middle out of three choice squares, such that the position within the array provided local information and the location on the screen provided global information. In Experiment 1, pigeons were trained and tested on vertically aligned arrays. In Experiment 2, pigeons were trained and tested on horizontally aligned arrays, and in Experiment 3, pigeons were trained and tested with vertical, horizontal and diagonally aligned arrays. The results indicate that preference for cue type depends upon the type of spatial information being encoded. Specifically, on vertical and diagonally aligned arrays, pigeons preferred global cues, whereas on horizontally aligned arrays, pigeons preferred local cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric L G Legge
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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37
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Gibson B, Wilks T. The use of self-motion cues and landmarks by Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) during a small-scale search task. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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38
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Evidence against integration of spatial maps in humans: generality across real and virtual environments. Anim Cogn 2008; 12:237-47. [PMID: 18766392 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0182-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2008] [Revised: 08/02/2008] [Accepted: 08/04/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
A real-world open-field search task was implemented with humans as an analogue of Blaisdell and Cook's (Anim Cogn 8:7-16, 2005) pigeon foraging task and Sturz, Bodily, and Katz's (Anim Cogn 9:207-217, 2006) human virtual foraging task to 1) determine whether humans were capable of integrating independently learned spatial maps and 2) make explicit comparisons of mechanisms used by humans to navigate real and virtual environments. Participants searched for a hidden goal located in one of 16 bins arranged in a 4 x 4 grid. In Phase 1, the goal was hidden between two landmarks (blue T and red L). In Phase 2, the goal was hidden to the left and in front of a single landmark (blue T). Following training, goal-absent trials were conducted in which the red L from Phase 1 was presented alone. Bin choices during goal-absent trials assessed participants' strategies: association (from Phase 1), generalization (from Phase 2), or integration (combination of Phase 1 and 2). Results were inconsistent with those obtained with pigeons but were consistent with those obtained with humans in a virtual environment. Specifically, during testing, participants did not integrate independently learned spatial maps but used a generalization strategy followed by a shift in search behavior away from the test landmark. These results were confirmed by a control condition in which a novel landmark was presented during testing. Results are consistent with the bulk of recent findings suggesting the use of alternative navigational strategies to cognitive mapping. Results also add to a growing body of literature suggesting that virtual environment approaches to the study of spatial learning and memory have external validity and that spatial mechanisms used by human participants in navigating virtual environments are similar to those used in navigating real-world environments.
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39
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Cheng K. Whither geometry? Troubles of the geometric module. Trends Cogn Sci 2008; 12:355-61. [PMID: 18684662 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2008] [Revised: 06/04/2008] [Accepted: 06/06/2008] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In rectangular arenas, rats often confuse diagonally opposite corners, even when distinctive cues differentiate them. This led to the postulation that rats rely preferentially on the geometry of space, encoded in a dedicated geometric module. Recent research casts doubt on this idea. Distinctive featural cues such as entire walls of a distinct color can hinder or aid the learning of geometry. In one situation in which using geometry would help greatly, rats had trouble learning the task. An associative model has been developed to capture these different learning processes, and view-based matching has been proposed as an alternative to the explicit coding of geometric cues. Considerations about how cues interact in learning are crucial in a recent theory of human spatial cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken Cheng
- Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behaviour, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
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40
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Nardi D, Bingman VP. Asymmetrical participation of the left and right hippocampus for representing environmental geometry in homing pigeons. Behav Brain Res 2007; 178:160-71. [PMID: 17215051 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2006.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2006] [Revised: 12/08/2006] [Accepted: 12/12/2006] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Control, right and left HF lesioned homing pigeons (Columba livia) were trained to locate a goal in one corner of a rectangular enclosure with a distinctive feature cue. Probe tests revealed that all groups were able to encode in parallel geometric (enclosure shape) and feature information, and in the absence of one of them, they could us the other to locate the goal. However, left HF lesioned pigeons learned the task at a faster rate, and when the geometric and feature information were set in conflict, they relied more on the feature cue compared to control and right HF lesioned pigeons. It was also found that pigeons, independent of group, trained to a goal adjacent to the feature cue learned the task in fewer sessions and relied more on feature information compared to pigeons trained to a goal opposite the feature cue. The latter group relied more on geometric information. The results support the hypothesis that the left HF plays a more important role in the representation of a goal location with respect to environmental shape/geometry. We further propose that the observed functional asymmetry can be explained by the lateralized properties of the pigeon tectofugal visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Nardi
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA.
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41
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Sturz BR, Bodily KD, Katz JS. Evidence against integration of spatial maps in humans. Anim Cogn 2006; 9:207-17. [PMID: 16767470 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-006-0022-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2006] [Revised: 03/13/2006] [Accepted: 03/22/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A dynamic 3-D virtual environment was constructed for humans as an open-field analogue of Blaisdell and Cook's (2005) pigeon foraging task to determine if humans, like pigeons, were capable of integrating separate spatial maps. Participants used keyboard keys and a mouse to search for a hidden goal in a 4x4 grid of raised cups. During Phase 1 training, a goal was consistently located between two landmarks (Map 1: blue T and red L). During Phase 2 training, a goal was consistently located down and left of a single landmark (Map 2: blue T). Transfer trials were then conducted in which participants were required to make choices in the presence of the red L alone. Cup choices during transfer assessed participants' strategies: association (from Map 1), generalization (from Map 2), or integration (combining Map 1 and 2). During transfer, cup choices increased to a location which suggested an integration strategy and was consistent with results obtained with pigeons. However, additional analyses of the human data suggested participants initially used a generalization strategy followed by a progressive shift in search behavior away from the red L. This shift in search behavior during transfer was responsible for the changes in cup choices across transfer trials and was confirmed by a control condition. These new analyses offer an alternative explanation to the spatial integration account proposed for pigeons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley R Sturz
- Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
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