Temperament, social rank and cognition: the nature & nurture of social cognitive ecology

长期以来，科学家们一直对先天和后天如何相互作用影响人类或动物的行为和思维方式感兴趣。一个人的气质，即他或她在生理上（如荷尔蒙）和行为上对环境做出反应的典型方式，被认为主要是遗传的。在对鸟类、啮齿动物和灵长类动物的研究中，性情已被证明既影响个体在环境中获取、储存和使用信息的方式（即认知），也影响其在群体中的社会地位。例如，被描述为“慢”或对新环境探索能力低的山雀在其社会群体中占主导地位，与“快”、探索能力高的下属相比，它们表现出更强的空间记忆能力。幼年生物的早期经历，如缺乏母性照料，也会通过直接引起大脑和激素应激反应系统（称为HPA轴）的神经生物学变化，显著影响随后的认知和行为。这些变化被认为是表观遗传的。我感兴趣的是研究气质和早期经验如何相互作用影响三个物种的社会等级：尤卡坦迷你猪（Sus scrofa），家犬（Canis familiaris）和欧洲椋鸟（Sturnus vulgaris）。我还将研究气质、早期经验和社会等级如何影响动物在空间和非空间记忆测试中的认知表现。这项研究将进一步让我们了解动物个性、社会支配地位以及自然和后天对个体在其世界中的行为和反应的相关作用。

Scientists have long been interested in how nature and nurture interact to influence the way a person or animal acts and thinks. An individual's temperament, the characteristic way that he or she reacts physiologically (e.g., hormonally) and behaviourally to situations, is thought to be mainly genetic. In studies of birds, rodents and primates, temperament has been shown to influence both the way an individual acquires, stores, and uses information in the environment (i.e., cognition), as well as its social rank within the group. For example, mountain chickadees that are described as "slow", or low explorers of a new environment are dominant in their social group and show superior spatial memory ability compared to "fast", high-exploring subordinates. The early experiences of young organisms, such as low maternal care, also dramatically influence subsequent cognition and behaviour, by directly causing neurobiological changes in the brain and hormonal stress response system, known as the HPA axis. These changes are considered epigenetic. I am interested in studying how temperament and early experience interact to influence social hierarchies in three species: the Yucatan miniature pig (Sus scrofa), the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), and the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). I will also examine how temperament, early experience, and social rank influence animal's cognitive performance on spatial and non-spatial memory tests. This research will further inform us about the interesting areas of animal personality, social dominance, and the relative roles of nature and nurture on how individuals act and respond in their world.