Chapter 7: Learning and Cognition Flashcards
Junco learning research question
does age affect efficiency?
Junco learning hypothesis
as birds age they have more experience handling food
junco learning prediction
older birds should handle food faster than younger birds
junco learning methods
mealworms cut into large or small pieces.
small pieces: easy to maneuver
recorded handling times (contact to consumption) of recently fledged and older birds
junco learning results
handling time was lowest for adults in both small and large mealworms
profitability was also highest in both for adults
as age increased, the handling decreased, and profitability increased
habituation
simplest form of learning: reduction of response to a stimulus over time
environmental stimulus
anything in the environment (abiotic or biotic) that an individual can perceive
response
reaction to a stimulus
green frog habituation is an example of
the dear enemy hypothesis
green frogs show habituation to
intruder vocalizations
green frog habituation research question
does the dear enemy hypothesis explain aggression in territorial green frogs?
green frog habituation hypothesis
the level of aggression to a conspecific will vary with familiarity due to habituation
green frog habituation prediction
there should be a decrease in their response to a new rivals vocalization after the initial aggressive response
green frog habituation methods
studied males at 4 ponds
created synthesized calls of 2 males, 350 and 450 Hz
playback calls from speakers 1-2m away
record focal male response and movement
green frog habituation results
first broadcast theres a large response (movement), which dies down.
after some time, theres a big response (movement) to the second broadcast, but not as big and dies down faster.
trends the same for both “males”
in terms of calling:
high frequency calls are baseline, but they get lower in an “aggressive” response to intruder males. Once they assess theres no imminent threat they go back to baseline.
green frog habituation results
dear enemy hypothesis supported, focal males habituated to stranger calls
neuroscience of learning
presynaptic neuron releases neural signal (some sort of neurotransmitter) that is taken by postsynaptic neuron.
synapse
movement of neurotransmitters across the synapse. electric signals transform into chemical signals that move across the synapse.
imprinting
rapid learning that occurs in young animals during a short period and has long lasting effects (konrad lorenz and the ducks)
chick learning research question
is the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic neuron associated with imprinting?
chick learning methods
control vs. experiment groups, trained on running wheel, measured movement towards stimulus.
measure amino acid neurotransmitters (GABA and glutamate) in intermediate and medial portions of IMHV.
chick learning results
trained chicks released more glutamate
chicks with higher preference for an imprinted object had more GABA
chick learning conclusion
neurotransmitters appear to play a role in imprinting
memory
retention of a learned experience
neural plasticity
structural changes in the nervous system
dendritic spines
small protuberances on a dendrite that receive synaptic inputs
mice learning research question
is dendritic spine formation associated with learning in mice?
mice learning methods
control: no training, non-accelerated rod
experimental: mice trained to run on accelerated rod
measured formation of new spines on young and adult animals
the barrel cortex
specialized region of the brain that processes tactile sensory information from the whiskers in mice. essential in object recognition, spatial navigation, learning and memory
mice learning results
trained groups with accelerated rod saw most dendritic spine formation, but the young mice grew more than old
mice learning conclusion
formation of new dendritic spines is associated with learning
cache
food storage in birds or other animals
HF
hippocampal formation, associated with spatial memory in birds.
pavlovian conditioning
classic conditioning
associative learning in which an initially neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful event. This association leads to a change in behaviour, as previously neutral stimulus now evokes a similar response to the meaningful event.
pavlovian conditioning in quail research question
how does learning affect fitness?
pavlovian conditioning in qual hypothesis
individuals can benefit by learning to associate environmental cues (place) with mating opportunities
pavlovian conditioning in quail prediction
reproductive success will be higher in the condition where individuals learn mating occurs
pavlovian conditioning in quails methods
2 different mating situations were set up, differing in size, location and appearance. adults trained to learn that mating happened in certain cage types but not the others.
males: mating occurred in a subset of the cages during training, then in both cages during testing.
females: were not allowed to mate during training.
pavlovian conditioning in quail results
% eggs fertilized was greater in CS+ cages for both sexes.
pavlovian conditioning in quail conclusion
pavlovian learning can affect fitness
learning macaques research question
how quickly can individuals learn to overcome innate preference?
learning macaques methods
6 participants offered 1-4 peanut halves
choose 1: get 4 more
choose 4: get 1
measure how quickly they learn to choose the smaller quantity
learning macaques results
fast learners and slow learners observed through the trials. all showed initial preference for 4, then learned to choose 1.
learning macaques conclusion
there is lots of variation in learning curves
social learning
using others as a source of information in learning
precocial
born in advanced stage in development
social learning in precocial birds research question
how to chicks learn the best plants to feed on?
social learning in precocial birds hypothesis
chicks can learn to identify important food plants from their mother’s food calls
social learning in precocial birds prediction
chicks should primarily eat foods associated with their mother’s food calls
social learning in precocial birds methods
record food eaten by hens and broods.
record all food calls given by hens and the associated plant
social learning in precocial birds results
food calls given for 11 plants which comprised a high % of chick diet.
plants with high protein got the most food calls.
social learning in precocial birds conclusion
chicks learn the most nutritious plants from their mother’s food
social information
using information from the behaviour of other individuals
local enhancement
individual’s focus to a particular part of the environment by the presence of another
public information
information obtained from activity or performance of others about the quality of an environmental parameter or resource
social learning in sticklebacks research question
do animals use local enhancement or public information to assess patch quality?
social learning in sticklebacks methods
local enhancement available: many individuals could indicate best patch
public information available: observation of feeding success more important than number of individuals
test fish observed demonstrator fish. 6 at food patch, 2 at no food patch. (local enhancement)
test fish observed demonstrator fish, 6 at poor patch 2 at rich patch (public information)
removed demonstrators and measure time test fish spent at patches
social learning in sicklebacks results
when demonstrators didnt feed, the focal fish spent more time in patch with most individuals
when feeding rates differed, focal fish spent more time in patch with fewer individuals and more food
animal culture in birds
birds from different areas have different calls
water displacement in crows
crows were given various puzzles: drop stones into water to raise food treat up
crows dropped stones into water instead of sand
dropped sinking objects rather than floating
solid rather than hollow
into tube with higher water level.
but failed challenges that had them assess the width of the tube and and counter intuitive cues with U-tube
