Ratio abstraction over discrete magnitudes by newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus).
Ratio abstraction over discrete magnitudes by newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus).
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DOI：
10.1038/srep30114
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发表时间：
2016-07-28
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Regolin L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Rugani R;McCrink K;de Hevia MD;Vallortigara G;Regolin L
大量文献表明，非人类动物掌握各种数字任务，但涉及比例歧视的研究很少，而且主要是用成熟的动物完成的。在这里，我们训练4日龄的家鸡对比例为4：1和比例2：1的刺激做出反应。刺激由绿色和红色点阵组成；对于奖励的4：1比例，每个红点对应4个绿点(例如，比例：32：8、12：3和44：11)。当在测试中呈现新的比例(如20：5)时，这些鸟继续区分，特征是新的点数和新的空间构型(实验1)。这表明雏鸡可以提取不同比例的共同比例值，并将其应用于新的比例。在实验2中，雏鸡从较小的(4：1)或较大的(1：1)中识别出特定的比例(2：1)，显示出代表特定比例的特定值的能力，而不是相对的值。同样，在测试中，小鸡对新比例中先前增加的比例做出了选择性的反应。这些发现为非常年轻的动物提取、识别和有效利用各种不同数量的比例信息的能力提供了强有力的证据。
A large body of literature shows that non-human animals master a variety of numerical tasks, but studies involving proportional discrimination are sparse and primarily done with mature animals. Here we trained 4-day-old domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) to respond to stimuli depicting multiple examples of the proportion 4:1 when compared with the proportion 2:1. Stimuli were composed of green and red dot arrays; for the rewarded 4:1 proportion, 4 green dots for every red dot (e.g. ratios: 32:8, 12:3, and 44:11). The birds continued to discriminate when presented with new ratios at test (such as 20:5), characterized by new numbers of dots and new spatial configurations (Experiment 1). This indicates that chicks can extract the common proportional value shared by different ratios and apply it to new ones. In Experiment 2, chicks identified a specific proportion (2:1) from either a smaller (4:1) or a larger one (1:1), demonstrating an ability to represent the specific, and not relative, value of a particular proportion. Again, at test, chicks selectively responded to the previously reinforced proportion from new ratios. These findings provide strong evidence for very young animals’ ability to extract, identify, and productively use proportion information across a range of different amounts.