Search results for "reversal learning"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Need for speed : short lifespan selects for increased learning ability
2019
AbstractIt is generally assumed that an investment into cognitive abilities and their associated cost is particularly beneficial for long-lived species, as a prolonged lifespan allows to recoup the initial investment. However, ephemeral organisms possess astonishing cognitive abilities too. Invertebrates, for example, are capable of simple associative learning, reversal learning, and planning. How can this discrepancy between theory and evidence be explained? Using a simulation, we show that short lives can actually select for an increase in learning abilities. The rationale behind this is that when learning is needed to exploit otherwise inaccessible resources, one needs to learn fast in o…
Exploratory behaviour is not related to associative learning ability in the carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis.
2020
Abstract Recently, it has been hypothesised that as learning performance and animal personality vary along a common axis of fast and slow types, natural selection may act on both in parallel leading to a correlation between learning and personality traits. We examined the relationship between risk-taking, exploratory behaviour and associative learning ability in carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis females by quantifying the number of trials individuals required to reach criterion during an associative learning task (‘learning performance’). The associative learning task required the females to associate odour and direction with refugia from light and heat in a T-maze. Further, we assessed lea…
Quantifying coordination and coordination variability in backward versus forward running: Implications for control of motion
2015
The aims of this study were to compare coordination and coordination variability in backward and forward running and to investigate the effects of speed on coordination variability in both backward and forward running. Fifteen healthy male participants took part in this study to run forwards and backwards on a treadmill at 80%, 100% and 120% of their preferred running speeds. The coordinate data of passive reflective markers attached to body segments were recorded using motion capture systems. Coordination of shank-foot and thigh-shank couplings in sagittal plane was quantified using the continuous relative phase method. Coordination variability was calculated as the standard deviation of a…
A field test of behavioural flexibility in Zenaida doves (Zenaida aurita).
2010
7 pages; International audience; Animals' ability to adjust their behaviour when environmental conditions change can increase their likelihood of survival. Although such behavioural flexibility is regularly observed in the field, it has proven difficult to systematically quantify and predict inter-individual differences in free-living animals. We presented 24 Zenaida doves (Zenaida aurita) on 12 territories with two learning tests in their natural habitat in Barbados. The dove pairs showed high site fidelity and territoriality, allowing us to test individuals repeatedly while accounting for the effects of territorial chases and pair bonds on our learning measures. We used a foraging apparat…
Evaluation of chronic alcohol self-administration by a 3-bottle choice paradigm in adult male rats. Effects on behavioural reactivity, spatial learni…
2011
Chronic ethanol consumption is able to modify emotional behaviour and cognition in humans. In particular, the effects exerted by alcohol may depend on doses, time and modalities of administration. In this study we investigated, in adult male rats, ethanol self-administration and preference patterns using a 3-bottle choice paradigm with water, 10% ethanol solution, and white wine (10%, v/v), along a four-week period. The influence of alcohol free-access on novelty-induced explorative behaviour in the open field, and on spatial learning and reference memory in the Morris water maze was also evaluated. Our results indicate that: (i) rats show a higher preference for alcohol, in the first two w…
Transkraniaalisen tasavirtastimulaation vaikutukset erottelu- ja käänteisoppimiseen sekä reagointiherkkyyden muutoksiin
2017
Transkraniaalisella tasavirtastimulaatiolla (tDCS) tarkoitetaan menetelmää, jossa johdetaan heikkoa sähkövirtaa aivokudosten läpi elektrodilta toiselle. Tutkimusten mukaan tDCS:lla näyttäisi olevan monenlaisia kliinisiä ja kognitiivisia vaikutuksia aina masennuksen hoidosta työmuistin parantamiseen. Tulokset ovat kuitenkin monin paikoin varsin ristiriitaisia, eikä stimulaation tarkoista vaikutusmekanismeistakaan olla päästy varmuuteen. Tässä tutkimuksessa halusimme tutkia kokeellisesti tDCS:n vaikutuksia erottelu- ja käänteisoppimiseen sekä reagointiherkkyyden muutoksiin silmäniskuehdollistumisen avulla. Kokeeseen osallistui 39 iältään 18-29-vuotiasta koehenkilöä. Tutkittavat jaettiin kahte…