Consistent individual differences in standard exploration tasks in the black rat (Rattus rattus).

Žampachová, Barbora; Kaftanová, Barbora; Šimánková, Hana; Landová, Eva; Frynta, Daniel

doi:10.1037/com0000070

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(141 reference statements)

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“…In line with previous studies investigating exploration behavior in other species (e.g. fish 21,40 , amphibians 41 , birds 42,43 , mammals 44,45 ), we found spatial activity in a novel experimental arena to be individually repeatable. We add to these studies by now showing that also sensory activity (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

In situnovel environment assay reveals acoustic exploration as a repeatable behavioral response in migratory bats

Schabacker

Lindecke

Rizzi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Integrating information on species-specific sensory perception together with spatial activity provides a high-resolution understanding of how animals explore environments, yet frequently used exploration assays commonly ignore sensory acquisition as a measure for exploration. Echolocation is an active sensing system used by hundreds of mammal species, primarily bats. As echolocation call activity can be reliably quantified, bats present an excellent animal model to investigate intra-specific variation in environmental cue sampling. Here, we developed an in situ roost-like novel environment assay for tree-cave roosting bats. We repeatedly tested 52 individuals of the migratory bat species, Pipistrellus nathusii, across 24 hours, to examine the role of echolocation when crawling through a maze-type arena and test for consistent intra-specific variation in sensory-based exploration. We reveal a strong correlation between echolocation call activity and spatial activity. Moreover, we show that during the exploration of the maze, individuals consistently differed in spatial activity as well as echolocation call activity given their spatial activity, a behavioral response we term ‘acoustic exploration’. Acoustic exploration was correlated with other exploratory behaviors, but not with emergence latency. We here present a relevant new measure for exploration behavior and provide evidence for consistent (short-term) intra-specific variation in the level at which wild bats collect information from a novel environment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

In situnovel environment assay reveals acoustic exploration as a repeatable behavioral response in migratory bats

Schabacker

Lindecke

Rizzi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…While some apes continued to drop stones into the tube and to manipulate the apparatus, others stopped these activities after a shorter period of time. This variability may reflect consistent individual differences in exploratory tendencies that have been found in great apes and other animal species (e.g., Uher et al, 2008;Zampachova et al, 2017), although we have no evidence of its temporal stability from this study. Also individual levels of persistence may account for apes' variability in the empty condition.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…The level of intrinsic motivation to engage in exploration may vary across individuals (e.g., Uher, Asendorpf, & Call, 2008;Zampachova, Kaftanova, Simankova, Landova, & Frynta, 2017) and depend on features and novelty of the objects or the environment (e.g., Dubois, Gerard, & Pontes, 2005;Hughes, 1997;Welker, 1956) and plausibly, a relaxed emotional state.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supplemental Material for The Interplay of Prior Experience and Motivation in Great Ape Problem-Solving (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo abelii)

2018

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Many primate species have a strong disposition to approach and manipulate objects in captivity. However, few studies have investigated what primates learn during free exploration of objects in the absence of rewards, and how previous problem-solving performance influences subsequent exploration. We confronted members of each of the four non-human great ape species (N = 25) with the collapsible platform task that required subjects to drop a stone inside a tube to collapse a platform and release a reward. Subjects received four successive sessions with an empty apparatus (exploration driven by intrinsic motivation) followed by four with a baited apparatus (problem-solving driven by extrinsic motivation) or vice versa. Apes who first faced an empty apparatus solved the task more quickly in the baited condition than apes who started with this condition. Moreover, apes starting with the baited condition took longer to collapse the platform in the first trial than apes who started with the empty condition. This study suggests that apes exposed to an empty apparatus prior to the test gain information that is later used to solve the task in a more efficient manner. Thus, the apes learned about action-outcome contingencies during free exploration. Moreover, it indicates that the presence of food rewards distracts apes and delays problem-solving because apes' attention is mainly focused on the food.

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“…If rats are not given enrichment but are socially isolated, this might lead to increases in anxiety, which is seen in typical anxiety measures like behavior in the OFT and EZM (Lukkes et al, 2009; Sáenz, Villagra, & Fornaguera Trías, 2006; Westenbroek et al, 2003). Personality measures such as boldness and anxiety have indeed been shown to be moderated by home cage and natural environments (Rödel & Meyer, 2011; Žampachová, Kaftanová, Šimánková, Landová, & Frynta, 2017). These anxiety differences would presumably also manifest in NSH rats displaying less sociability than their SH counterparts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonsocially housed rats (Ratus norvegicus) seek social interactions and social novelty more than socially housed counterparts.

Templer

Wise

Dayaw

et al. 2018

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Sociability is the act or quality of social interaction and can be quantified by determining the number and duration of interactions with conspecifics. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which sustained social contact, as achieved by constant social living conditions, influenced social behavior. Beginning in juvenility, 19 male Long-Evans rats were housed in enriched environments, with half living socially in a large group and half living individually. After several months in these housing conditions, rats were tested on a sociality test and a social novelty preference test. Nonsocially housed rats exhibited more social behavior than socially housed rats. In the sociality test, nonsocially housed rats engaged with an unfamiliar rat more than socially housed rats. Similarly, in the social novelty test, nonsocially housed rats visited a novel stranger more than the now-familiar rat (from the sociality test) as compared with the socially housed rats. It is unlikely that general anxiety factors can account for between-groups social effects, as there were no group differences in behavior on the elevated zero maze and open field test. Furthermore, socially and nonsocially housed rats were matched in spontaneous object exploration and novelty preference in a novel object recognition test, eliminating the possibility that general exploratory behavior or novelty preference accounted for group differences in the sociability tasks. These results suggest that lack of social interaction in nonsocially housed rats may be more powerful for social motivation than the consistent opportunity for social contact afforded by social living conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record

show abstract

Consistent individual differences in standard exploration tasks in the black rat (Rattus rattus).

Cited by 18 publications

References 89 publications

In situnovel environment assay reveals acoustic exploration as a repeatable behavioral response in migratory bats

In situnovel environment assay reveals acoustic exploration as a repeatable behavioral response in migratory bats

Supplemental Material for The Interplay of Prior Experience and Motivation in Great Ape Problem-Solving (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo abelii)

Nonsocially housed rats (Ratus norvegicus) seek social interactions and social novelty more than socially housed counterparts.

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