Automatic imitation in budgerigars
Automatic imitation in budgerigars
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2008.0566
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发表时间：
2008-11-22
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Heyes, Cecilia
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mui, Rosetta;Haselgrove, Mark;Heyes, Cecilia
一种完全自动化的程序，包括计算机控制的刺激呈现和计算机记录的反应测量，首次被用于研究非人类动物的模仿。在对鹦鹉进行啄食和踩踏操作的初步训练后，给予鹦鹉一项辨别任务，奖励它们在观察啄食时进行啄食和在观察踏步时进行踩踏的食物(相容组)，或者奖励它们在观察啄食时进行啄食和在观察啄食时进行踩踏(不相容组)。为了食物奖励而不得不反模仿的不相容组比相容组表现出更弱的辨别能力。这表明，虎皮鹦鹉和人类一样，也会受到“自动模仿”的影响；它们无法在网上抑制模仿啄食和/或踩踏的倾向，即使模仿这些行为会干扰正在进行的任务的执行。两组之间的差异持续了10多次测试，但不相容的一组最终获得了歧视，在最后一次测试中做出了更多的反模仿反应。这些结果与联想序列学习模型是一致的，该模型表明，跨物种的模仿和镜像系统的发展依赖于感觉运动经验和古老的联想学习机制。
A fully automated procedure, involving computer-controlled stimulus presentation and computer-recorded response measurement, was used for the first time to study imitation in non-human animals. After preliminary training to peck and step on a manipulandum, budgerigars were given a discrimination task in which they were rewarded with food for pecking during observation of pecking and for stepping during observation of stepping (Compatible group), or for pecking while observing stepping and for stepping while observing pecking (Incompatible group). The Incompatible group, which had to counter-imitate for food reward, showed weaker discrimination performance than the Compatible group. This suggests that, like humans, budgerigars are subject to 'automatic imitation'; they cannot inhibit online the tendency to imitate pecking and/or stepping, even when imitation of these behaviours interferes with the performance of an ongoing task. The difference between the two groups persisted over 10 test sessions, but the Incompatible group eventually acquired the discrimination, making more counter-imitative than imitative responses in the final sessions. These results are consistent with the associative sequence learning model, which suggests that, across species, the development of imitation and the mirror system depends on sensorimotor experience and phylogenetically ancient mechanisms of associative learning.