Evaluation of Avian Cognitive Abilities

佩珀堡9603803 PI的目标是检查灰鹦鹉的认知和沟通能力。 这些研究的结果将为智力的进化，输入如何影响学习以及比较神经生物学和解剖学提供见解。 (1)与其他“语言”训练的动物相比（例如，关于表征能力和解决问题的技能如何很好地转移到新的环境）将展示智力进化的程度（独立）在哺乳动物和鸟类：目前还不知道，例如，如果标签获得灰鹦鹉表示板或窄（特定）概念：例如，鹦鹉将特定的声音模式标记为“3”，是否理解这种“三性”的概念延伸到物理实体？ PI将检查在没有培训的情况下进行这种转移的情况。 此外，一只鸟是否可以扩展在一个上下文中学习的概念，例如更大/更小（例如，mass）来回答另一个上下文中的问题（例如，数的序数）。 这些实验将提供鹦鹉对这些概念的理解信息和跨物种比较的数据。 (2)关于输入的各个方面如何影响学习的数据以及鹦鹉的沟通能力的程度可能使我们能够改进其他物种间沟通项目的程序，并可能为功能失调的人类：被教导基于人类的代码的鹦鹉可以进行实验操作，以确定学习代码的最佳条件;这些条件可能会扩展到其他物种。 实验的重点是在何种程度上收购的影响（a）物种身份的教练和（B）的参考，功能和社会互动的培训输入。 (3)鹦鹉的大脑和声道与人类非常不同，但鹦鹉如何习得有意义的英语语音，这一发现为认知的神经解剖学相关性以及不同的解剖结构如何产生相似的发音提供了比较数据。鹦鹉和人类的神经和听觉机制存在差异，但语音模式是相互理解的;我的数据应该提供对语音感知和信息处理的见解。 鹦鹉和人类在肺、支气管、气管、鼻腔、喉和舌头方面存在差异，鹦鹉独特地使用气囊和管，而人类独特地使用嘴唇和牙齿;因此，我正在研究产生人类语言的替代机制。 (4)最后，阐明灰人的智力可能会鼓励所有鹦鹉的保护工作。

Pepperberg 9603803 The PI's goals are to examine the cognitive and communicative capacities of Grey parrots. Results from these studies will provide insights into the evolution of intelligence, how input affects learning, and comparative neurobiology and anatomy. (1) Comparisons with other "language"-trained animals (e.g., on representational abilities and how well problem-solving skills are transferred to new contexts) will demonstrate the extent to which intelligence has evolved (independently) in mammals and birds: It is not yet known, for example, if labels acquired by Grey parrots represent board or narrow (specific) concepts: Do parrots that, for example, label a particular sound pattern as "3" understand that this concept of "threeness" extends to physical entities? The PI will examine how well such transfer occurs without training. In addition, can a bird extend concepts, such as bigger/smaller, that are learned in one context (e.g., mass) to respond to questions in another context (e.g., ordinality of number)? The experiments will provide information about parrots' comprehension of such concepts and data for cross- species comparisons. (2) Data on how various aspects of input affect learning and the extent of parrots' communicative abilities may enable us to improve programs for other interspecies communication projects and possibly for dysfunctional humans: Parrots that are taught a human- based code can undergo experimental manipulations to determine optimal conditions for learning the code; these conditions may be extended to other species. The experiments focus on the extent to which acquisition is affected by (a) species identity of the trainer and (b) the amount of reference, functionality, and social interaction in the training input. (3) Showing how parrots, with brains and vocal tracts so unlike those humans, acquire meaningful English speech provides comparative data on neuroanatomical correlates of cognition and on how differen t anatomical structures produce similar sounding utterances. Differences exist in psittacine and human neural and auditory mechanisms, yet speech patterns are mutually comprehensible; my data should provide insights into speech perception and information processing. Parrots and humans differ with respect to lungs, bronchi, trachea, nasal cavity, larynx, and tongue, and parrots uniquely use air-sacs and a syrinx whereas humans uniquely use lips and teeth; I am therefore studying alternative mechanisms for producing human speech. (4) Finally, elucidating the intelligence of Greys may encourage conservation efforts for all psittacids.