A review of zoo‐based cognitive research using touchscreen interfaces

Egelkamp, Crystal L.; Ross, Stephen R.

doi:10.1002/zoo.21458

Cited by 58 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Computer touchscreen interfaces can be used to provide great apes with cognitively challenging tasks such as stimulus discrimination/matching and 2D maze navigation, and to automatically dispense food rewards. These interfaces can be used to study animal cognition, provide enrichment, or indeed both (Iversen and Matsuzawa, 2001; Tarou et al, 2004; Perdue et al, 2012; Egelkamp and Ross, 2018). Computer touchscreen systems can also help to evaluate other forms of enrichment; McGuire et al (2017) recently employed a computer touchscreen system to measure the effect of browse presence on gorilla cognitive bias or “mood” (i.e., to evaluate browse as a form of enrichment).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

et al. 2019

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The field of environmental enrichment for zoo animals, particularly great apes, has been revived by technological advancements such as touchscreen interfaces and motion sensors. However, direct animal-computer interaction (ACI) is impractical or undesirable for many zoos. We developed a modular cuboid puzzle maze for the troop of six Western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) at Bristol Zoo Gardens, United Kingdom. The gorillas could use their fingers or tools to interact with interconnected modules and remove food rewards. Twelve modules could be interchanged within the frame to create novel iterations with every trial. We took a screen-free approach to enrichment: substituting ACI for tactile, physically complex device components, in addition to hidden automatic sensors, and cameras to log device use. The current study evaluated the gorillas’ behavioral responses to the device, and evaluated it as a form of “cognitive enrichment.” Five out of six gorillas used the device, during monthly trials of 1 h duration, over a 6 month period. All users were female including two infants, and there were significant individual differences in duration of device use. The successful extraction of food rewards was only performed by the three tool-using gorillas. Device use did not diminish over time, and gorillas took turns to use the device alone or as one mother-infant dyad. Our results suggest that the device was a form of cognitive enrichment for the study troop because it allowed gorillas to solve novel challenges, and device use was not associated with behavioral indicators of stress or frustration. However, device exposure had no significant effects on gorilla activity budgets. The device has the potential to be a sustainable enrichment method in the long-term, tailored to individual gorilla skill levels and motivations. Our study represents a technological advancement for gorilla enrichment, an area which had been particularly overlooked until now. We wholly encourage the continued development of this physical maze system for other great apes under human care, with or without computer logging technology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

et al. 2019

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“…There is a pressing need to better understand how interactions with familiar humans, namely animal care staff, may be perceived by animals and influence their welfare. Such interactions, including positive reinforcement training (PRT) and cognitive tasks, are thought to be stimulating for the animals and are therefore considered a type of environmental enrichment by promoting species-appropriate behaviors and reducing abnormal behaviors [7,8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory Investigation of Infrared Thermography for Measuring Gorilla Emotional Responses to Interactions with Familiar Humans

Heintz¹,

Fuller²,

Allard³

2019

Animals

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Simple SummaryInteractions between zoo professionals and animals, such as positive reinforcement training, occur regularly and are thought to be enriching for animals. However, there is little empirical information on how animals perceive these interactions or on the interactions’ effects on animals’ emotional states. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of infrared thermography for measuring the emotional responses of three western lowland gorillas at the Detroit Zoo to routine interactions (positive reinforcement training and cognitive tasks) with familiar humans. In addition to thermal images, we collected saliva samples for hormone analysis before and after human–animal interactions and a control condition, and we recorded behavioral data during all conditions. Nasal temperatures consistently decreased for two gorillas during interactions, while the third gorilla showed repeated increases. The behavior of all three gorillas suggested that they were engaged in the interactions, without exhibiting behaviors that could indicate negative welfare impacts. Oxytocin and cortisol both decreased following all conditions, including the control, and were thus equivocal for interpreting the meaning of the changes in nasal temperature. As mixed results in previous research show, infrared thermography may detect emotional arousal; however, additional indicators are necessary to determine the valence of the observed changes. The variability in responses we observed do not lend themselves to making firm conclusions about the validity of infrared thermography (IRT) for measuring emotion in this context or about how these gorillas responded to interactions. Challenges and suggestions for future studies using infrared thermography to examine interactions between humans and zoo animals are discussed.AbstractInteractions between zoo professionals and animals occur regularly and are believed to be enriching for animals. Little empirical information exists on how animals perceive these interactions, and particularly how the interactions affect the emotional states of animals. Infrared thermography (IRT) has shown some promise in the assessment of emotions in a variety of species, but further research is needed to determine if this method is useful in a zoo setting. We conducted a pilot study to determine if IRT is a valid measure of the emotional responses to routine interactions (positive reinforcement training and cognitive tasks, compared to a control condition) with familiar humans on three western lowland gorillas at the Detroit Zoo. We measured nasal temperatures associated with emotional change using IRT. To examine the validity of the IRT data, we collected saliva samples for hormone analysis before and after each condition, in addition to behavioral data during the interactions and control condition. Decreases in nasal temperatures for two gorillas and an increase in the third indicate that arousal changed consistently within individuals following the interactions but not the control condition. Pre-post cortisol le...

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“…Training bats to communicate their choice between different preferred food items via arbitrary symbols would be a promising starting point to implement bat-human communication. Touchscreens are very promising tools for animal-human communication because they can be activated via fingers, snouts, tongues, beaks, and sonar beams, thus, making them accessible to a wide range of taxa (reviewed in Egelkamp and Ross, 2019). Bats would need (1) to learn to operate a touchscreen, (2) learn the association of a certain symbol with a specific food item, and (3) to use the symbol when communicating with a human via a touchscreen (Figure 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Bats Have the Necessary Prerequisites for Symbolic Communication?

Knörnschild

Fernandez

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Training animals such as apes, gray parrots, or dolphins that communicate via arbitrary symbols with humans has revealed astonishing mental capacities that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Albeit bats have not yet been trained to communicate via symbols with humans, we are convinced that some species, especially captive Pteropodid bats (“flying foxes”), show the potential to master this cognitive task. Here, we briefly review what is known about bats’ cognitive skills that constitute relevant prerequisites for symbolic communication with humans. We focus on social learning in general, trainability by humans, associative learning from humans, imitation, vocal production learning and usage learning, and social knowledge. Moreover, we highlight potential training paradigms that could be used to elicit simple “symbolic” bat-human communication, i.e., training bats to select arbitrary symbols on a touchscreen to elicit a desired behavior of the human caregiver. Touchscreen-proficient bats could participate in cognition research, e.g., to study their numerical competence or categorical perception, to further elucidate how nonhuman animals learn and perceive the world.

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A review of zoo‐based cognitive research using touchscreen interfaces

Cited by 58 publications

References 115 publications

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

High-Tech and Tactile: Cognitive Enrichment for Zoo-Housed Gorillas

Exploratory Investigation of Infrared Thermography for Measuring Gorilla Emotional Responses to Interactions with Familiar Humans

Do Bats Have the Necessary Prerequisites for Symbolic Communication?

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