Research on avian cognitive neuroscience over the past two decades has revealed the avian brain to be a better model for understanding human cognition than previously thought, despite differences in ...the neuroarchitecture of avian and mammalian brains. The brain, behavior, and cognition of songbirds have provided an excellent model of human cognition in one domain, namely learning human language and the production of speech. There are other important behavioral candidates of avian cognition, however, notably the capacity of corvids to remember the past and plan for the future, as well as their ability to think about another’s perspective, and physical reasoning. We review this work and assess the evidence that the corvid brain can support such a cognitive architecture. We propose potential applications of these behavioral paradigms for cognitive neuroscience, including recent work on single-cell recordings and neuroimaging in corvids. Finally, we discuss their impact on understanding human developmental cognition.
The avian brain is an excellent model for human cognition, despite differences in neuroarchitecture. Known for their superior memory, problem solving, and social skills, we assess the evidence that corvid brains are capable of supporting such a cognitive architecture.
Dimensions of Animal Consciousness Birch, Jonathan; Schnell, Alexandra K.; Clayton, Nicola S.
Trends in cognitive sciences,
10/2020, Letnik:
24, Številka:
10
Journal Article
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How does consciousness vary across the animal kingdom? Are some animals ‘more conscious’ than others? This article presents a multidimensional framework for understanding interspecies variation in ...states of consciousness. The framework distinguishes five key dimensions of variation: perceptual richness, evaluative richness, integration at a time, integration across time, and self-consciousness. For each dimension, existing experiments that bear on it are reviewed and future experiments are suggested. By assessing a given species against each dimension, we can construct a consciousness profile for that species. On this framework, there is no single scale along which species can be ranked as more or less conscious. Rather, each species has its own distinctive consciousness profile.
In recent years, debates about animal consciousness have moved on from the question of whether any non-human animals are conscious to the questions of which animals are conscious and what form their conscious experiences take.There is an emerging consensus that current evidence supports attributing some form of consciousness to other mammals, birds, and at least some cephalopod molluscs (octopuses, squid, cuttlefish).If we try to make sense of variation across the animal kingdom using a single sliding scale, ranking species as ‘more conscious’ or ‘less conscious’ than others, we will inevitably neglect important dimensions of variation.There is a need for a multidimensional framework that allows the conscious states of animals to vary continuously along many different dimensions, so that a species has its own distinctive consciousness profile.
ABSTRACT
The soft‐bodied cephalopods including octopus, cuttlefish, and squid are broadly considered to be the most cognitively advanced group of invertebrates. Previous research has demonstrated ...that these large‐brained molluscs possess a suite of cognitive attributes that are comparable to those found in some vertebrates, including highly developed perception, learning, and memory abilities. Cephalopods are also renowned for performing sophisticated feats of flexible behaviour, which have led to claims of complex cognition such as causal reasoning, future planning, and mental attribution. Hypotheses to explain why complex cognition might have emerged in cephalopods suggest that a combination of predation, foraging, and competitive pressures are likely to have driven cognitive complexity in this group of animals. Currently, it is difficult to gauge the extent to which cephalopod behaviours are underpinned by complex cognition because many of the recent claims are largely based on anecdotal evidence. In this review, we provide a general overview of cephalopod cognition with a particular focus on the cognitive attributes that are thought to be prerequisites for more complex cognitive abilities. We then discuss different types of behavioural flexibility exhibited by cephalopods and, using examples from other taxa, highlight that behavioural flexibility could be explained by putatively simpler mechanisms. Consequently, behavioural flexibility should not be used as evidence of complex cognition. Fortunately, the field of comparative cognition centres on designing methods to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms that drive behaviours. To illustrate the utility of the methods developed in comparative cognition research, we provide a series of experimental designs aimed at distinguishing between complex cognition and simpler alternative explanations. Finally, we discuss the advantages of using cephalopods to develop a more comprehensive reconstruction of cognitive evolution.
Birds of the crow family adapt food-caching strategies to anticipated needs at the time of cache recovery and rely on memory of the what, where and when of previous caching events to recover their ...hidden food. It is unclear if this behavior can be explained by simple associative learning or if it relies on higher cognitive processes like mental time-travel. We present a computational model and propose a neural implementation of food-caching behavior. The model has hunger variables for motivational control, reward-modulated update of retrieval and caching policies and an associative neural network for remembering caching events with a memory consolidation mechanism for flexible decoding of the age of a memory. Our methodology of formalizing experimental protocols is transferable to other domains and facilitates model evaluation and experiment design. Here, we show that memory-augmented, associative reinforcement learning without mental time-travel is sufficient to explain the results of 28 behavioral experiments with food-caching birds.
The ability to shift from current to future perspective is pivotal to future-oriented cognition. With two distinct cultural groups, UK (N = 92) and China (N = 90), we investigated 3 to 5-year-olds' ...understanding of preference changes occurring within themselves and their peers (another child). We administered a battery of representative tasks of executive function and theory of mind to examine their underlying relationships with children's ability to predict future preferences. British 3-year-olds outperformed Chinese children in predicting future preferences, while no country differences were observed between the 4- and 5-year-olds. Across the UK and China, children were more accurate when predicting for their peers than for themselves. They were also more accurate when their current preferences were identified first, i.e. before answering questions about the future. Chinese children outperformed their British counterparts on inhibition and cognitive flexibility tasks whereas there were no Eastern and Western differences in their theory of mind abilities. After controlling for age and children's knowledge of generic adult preferences, children's performance in the inhibition and cognitive flexibility tasks were significantly correlated with the prediction of their own future preferences, but they were not significantly correlated when predicting for a peer. These results are discussed in relation to the conflicts between multiple perspectives and the cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition.
•Children' future predictions were more accurate for peers than for themselves.•British 3-year-olds outperformed Chinese peers in predicting future preferences.•Inhibition and cognitive flexibility were related to predicting one's own future.•Theory of mind did not correlate with future preferences prediction.
Delay of gratification–a form of self-control–is the ability to forsake immediately available rewards in order to obtain larger-valued outcomes in future, which develops throughout the pre-school ...years. The majority of previous research in this area has been conducted with Western populations, therefore knowledge of Eastern children’s performance is scarcer. Here, utilising on a recently published dataset of British children (n = 61), we further tested delay of gratification in 3 to 5-year-old Chinese children (n = 75) using Bramlett et al.’s (2012) delay choice paradigm. The paradigm was previously used in non-human primates and it featured a mechanized rotating tray that sequentially moves rewards within reach. Additionally, we administered 3 inhibitory control tasks and 1 standardised delay choice task to Chinese pre-schoolers (British children were not tested). We aimed to investigate the influence of culture, reward type and reward visibility on pre-schoolers’ ability to delay gratification. We found significant age-related improvements in delay of gratification ability in both countries and children performed better when presented with rewards varying in quality than quantity. Consistent with previous cross-cultural literature, Chinese children showed better overall performance than their British peers when reward visibility was manipulated (though reward visibility itself had no significant effect on performance). There were significant correlations in Chinese children’s performance in Bramlett et al.’s (2012) delay choice paradigm and performance in some (though not all tested) inhibitory control tasks. We discuss these results in relation to task demands and the broader social orientation of self-control. We concluded that the intuitive comparative assessment of self-control task taps into children’s delay of gratification ability. Our results emphasize the importance of testing for socio-cultural influences on children’s cognitive development.
Animal cognition research aims to understand animal minds by using a diverse range of methods across an equally diverse range of species. Throughout its history, the field has sought to mitigate ...various biases that occur when studying animal minds, from experimenter effects to anthropomorphism. Recently, there has also been a focus on how common scientific practices might affect the reliability and validity of published research. Usually, these issues are discussed in the literature by a small group of scholars with a specific interest in the topics. This study aimed to survey a wider range of animal cognition researchers to ask about their attitudes towards classic and contemporary issues facing the field. Two-hundred and ten active animal cognition researchers completed our survey, and provided answers on questions relating to bias, replicability, statistics, publication, and belief in animal cognition. Collectively, researchers were wary of bias in the research field, but less so in their own work. Over 70% of researchers endorsed Morgan's canon as a useful principle but many caveated this in their free-text responses. Researchers self-reported that most of their studies had been published, however they often reported that studies went unpublished because they had negative or inconclusive results, or results that questioned "preferred" theories. Researchers rarely reported having performed questionable research practices themselves-however they thought that other researchers sometimes (52.7% of responses) or often (27.9% of responses) perform them. Researchers near unanimously agreed that replication studies are important but too infrequently performed in animal cognition research, 73.0% of respondents suggested areas of animal cognition research could experience a 'replication crisis' if replication studies were performed. Consistently, participants' free-text responses provided a nuanced picture of the challenges animal cognition research faces, which are available as part of an open dataset. However, many researchers appeared concerned with how to interpret negative results, publication bias, theoretical bias and reliability in areas of animal cognition research. Collectively, these data provide a candid overview of barriers to progress in animal cognition and can inform debates on how individual researchers, as well as organizations and journals, can facilitate robust scientific research in animal cognition.
Episodic memory describes the conscious reimagining of our memories and is often considered to be a uniquely human ability. As these phenomenological components are embedded within its definition, ...major issues arise when investigating the presence of episodic memory in non-human animals. Importantly, however, when we as humans recall a specific experience, we may remember details from that experience that were inconsequential to our needs, thoughts, or desires at that time. This 'incidental' information is nevertheless encoded automatically as part of the memory and is subsequently recalled within a holistic representation of the event. The incidental encoding and unexpected question paradigm represents this characteristic feature of human episodic memory and can be employed to investigate memory recall in non-human animals. However, without evidence for the associated phenomenology during recall, this type of memory is termed 'episodic-like memory'. Using this approach, we tested seven Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) on their ability to use incidental visual information (associated with observed experimenter made 'caches') to solve an unexpected memory test. The birds performed above chance levels, suggesting that Eurasian jays can encode, retain, recall, and access incidental visual information within a remembered event, which is an ability indicative of episodic memory in humans.
Introduction
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the efficacy of narrative-based interventions (NBIs) for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ...Investigating the efficacy of NBIs should yield insight on autobiographical memory (AM) phenomena implicated in PTSD onset and recovery, leading to improved intervention protocols. Furthermore, by analyzing how NBIs influence maladaptive AM distortions, we hope to shed light on the theorized narrative architecture of AM more generally.
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted according to PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and PubMed. Additional studies were then also identified from the reference lists of other relevant literature and considered for inclusion. Studies were then evaluated for adherence to the inclusion/exclusion criteria and assessed for risk of bias. Various meta-analyses were performed on included studies to understand how NBIs may or may not influence the overall effect size of treatment.
Results
The results of the meta-analysis of 35 studies, involving 2,596 participants, suggest that NBIs are a viable and effective treatment option for PTSD, yielding a statistically significant within-group effect size and decrease in PTSD symptomatology at both post-treatment
g
= 1.73, 95% CI (1.23–2.22) and 3–9 month follow-up assessments
g
= 2.33, 95% CI (1.41–3.26). Furthermore, the difference in effect sizes between NBIs compared to active and waitlist controls was statistically significant, suggesting that NBIs are superior. Sub-analyses showed that NET provided a stronger effect size than FORNET, which may be due to the nature of the traumatic event itself and not the treatment protocol. While evidence of small study and publication bias was present, a weight-function model and trim-and-fill method suggested it was not influencing the overall results.
Discussion
This meta-analysis presents strong evidence supporting the use of NBIs in the treatment of PTSD. Clear similarities can be identified between NBIs included in this analysis that make them distinct from non-NBI interventions, which are reviewed in the discussion. Controlled comparisons between NBIs and non-NBIs would help to further understand AM mechanisms of action implicated in recovery and how various interventions facilitate them. Future research should also aim to elucidate the full range of AM impairment in individuals with PTSD to gain insight on how other memory capabilities, such as the ability to mentally simulate the future, are implicated in the pathogenesis of PTSD.
Comparative cognition for conservationists Greggor, Alison L.; Clayton, Nicola S.; Phalan, Ben ...
Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam),
09/2014, Letnik:
29, Številka:
9
Journal Article
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•Animal behaviour affects conservation and is driven by underlying cognition.•Using cognitive principles can modify behaviour across taxonomic groups.•We discuss concepts previously unexplored in ...conservation contexts.•We create a novel guide for applying cognition to diverse conservation issues.
Every animal occupies a unique cognitive world based on its sensory capacities, and attentional and learning biases. Behaviour results from the interaction of this cognitive world with the environment. As humans alter environments, cognitive processes ranging from perceptual processes to learned behaviour govern animals’ reactions. By harnessing animals’ perceptual biases and applying insights from cognitive theory, we can purposefully alter cues to reduce maladaptive responses and shape behaviour. Despite the fundamental connection between cognition and behaviour, the breadth of cognitive theory is underutilised in conservation practice. Bridging these disciplines could augment existing conservation efforts targeting animal behaviour. We outline relevant principles of perception and learning, and develop a step-by-step process for applying aspects of cognition towards specific conservation issues.
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