A transient time window for early predispositions in newborn chicks

Versace, Elisabetta; Ragusa, Morgana; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1101/623439

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In this species, exposure to natural or artificial objects during the first days of life triggers perceptual learning through filial imprinting. This is an early mechanism dedicated to establishing the rapid and effective processing of individuals in precocial bird species 33 . Imprinted chicks recognise familiar objects and display social attachment towards them.…”

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Individually distinctive features facilitate numerical discrimination of sets of objects in domestic chicks

Rugani

Loconsole

Simion

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Day-old domestic chicks approach the larger of two groups of identical objects, but in a 3 vs 4 comparison, their performance is random. Here we investigated whether adding individually distinctive features to each object would facilitate such discrimination. Chicks reared with 7 objects were presented with the operation 1 + 1 + 1 vs 1 + 1 + 1 + 1. When objects were all identical, chicks performed randomly, as expected (Experiment 1). In the remaining experiments, objects differed from one another due to additional features. Chicks succeeded when those features were differently oriented segments (Experiment 2) but failed when the features were arranged to depict individually different face-like displays (Experiment 3). Discrimination was restored if the face-like stimuli were presented upside-down, disrupting global processing (Experiment 4). Our results support the claim that numerical discrimination in 3 vs 4 comparison benefits from the presence of distinctive features that enhance object individuation due to individual processing. Interestingly, when the distinctive features are arranged into upright face-like displays, the process is susceptible to global over local interference due to configural processing. This study was aimed at assessing whether individual object processing affects numerical discrimination. We hypothesise that in humans similar strategies aimed at improving performance at the non-symbolic level may have positive effects on symbolic mathematical abilities.

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confidence: 99%

Individually distinctive features facilitate numerical discrimination of sets of objects in domestic chicks

Rugani

Loconsole

Simion

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…The risk of social mismatch may be even higher in large commercial flocks, since any factors affecting feather condition could turn individuals into potential victims. Further attention should be given to the impact of imprinting-like mechanisms allowing the adaptation to social life conditions encountered throughout an individual's life 26,27,43 , since these mechanisms represent a core system dedicated to the development of social behaviour models.…”

Section: Time Comparisons Through Time Offer the Clearest Evidence Of...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotype alteration causes long-term changes to the social strategies of victimised birds

Liste

Estévez

2023

Sci Rep

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Phenotype alterations can occur naturally during the life span of the domestic fowl. These alterations increase the risk to become a target of aggression and may cause a severe impact on the welfare of affected birds. We analysed the behavioural consequences of sequential phenotype alterations and their long-term effects within stable social groups of adult birds differing in group size. Phenotypically homogeneous groups, with 100% or 0% marked individuals, and heterogeneous groups, with 70%, 50% or 30% marked birds, were housed at constant density in groups of 10, 20 or 40. We applied sequential phenotype alterations to homogeneous groups (by marking or unmarking birds) and compared their behavioural response to heterogeneous groups considered controls. Results show that aggression was greatly affected by phenotype alteration but, unexpectedly, group size did not play any relevant role modulating social responses. Aggression was directed towards the first altered birds and was significantly higher than in control groups. Long term effects were detected, as victimized individuals failed to engage in aggression at any time and adapted their behaviour to minimize aggressive encounters (e.g. high perch use). Therefore, we provide evidence of long-lasting submissive strategies in stable groups of adult domestic fowl, highlighting the relevance of phenotype alteration on the social dynamics of affected birds. Phenotype alterations could help explain much of the targeted aggression observed in producing flocks which severely affects animal welfare.

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“…A possible interpretation could be that crossmodal associations serve as an initial strategy to quickly respond to novel situation where the animal is subject to multiple stimulations from different sensory modalities [21]. Hence, to serve their scope, crossmodal associations should not be rigid, but rather be subject to habituation or learning, adapting to the different situations that the animals is facing similar to other predispositions [26,27].…”

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confidence: 99%

Pitch-size crossmodal correspondence in tortoises (Testudo hermanni)

Loconsole¹,

Stancher²,

Versace³

2023

Preprint

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Humans spontaneously match information coming from different senses, what we call crossmodal associations. For instance, high pitch sounds are preferentially associated with small objects, and low pitch sounds with larger ones. While previous studies reported crossmodal associations in mammalian species, evidence for other taxa is scarce, hindering an evolutionary understanding of this phenomenon. Here we provide evidence of pitch-size correspondence in a reptile, the tortoise Testudo hermanni. Tortoises showed a spontaneous preference to associate a small disc (i.e., visual information about size) to a high pitch sound (i.e., auditory information), and a larger disc to a low pitch sound. These results suggest that crossmodal associations may be an evolutionary ancient phenomenon, potentially an organising principle of the vertebrate brain.

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A transient time window for early predispositions in newborn chicks

Cited by 4 publications

References 48 publications

Individually distinctive features facilitate numerical discrimination of sets of objects in domestic chicks

Individually distinctive features facilitate numerical discrimination of sets of objects in domestic chicks

Phenotype alteration causes long-term changes to the social strategies of victimised birds

Pitch-size crossmodal correspondence in tortoises (Testudo hermanni)

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