Filial responses as predisposed and learned preferences: Early attachment in chicks and babies

Giorgio, Elisa Di; Loveland, Jasmine Lopez; Mayer, Uwe; Rosa‐Salva, Orsola; Versace, Elisabetta; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2016.09.018

Cited by 114 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 250 publications

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“…Human neonates and chicks of the domestic fowl share biases to prefer face-like stimuli212 and other cues associated with animate objects (reviewed in11314), such as biological motion5641, changes of speed8 and self-propulsion910. Individual variability in these predispositions has been observed in both species2121842, and in human neonates may be linked to high risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorders42.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding the genetic basis of predispositions for animacy cues and its individual variability, might have a crucial importance for translational studies on developmental pathologies, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders42. The use of chicks as system model is particularly suitable not only for the ease of handling and controlling precocial special species until the moment of test and for the established parallels between human newborns and chicks1, but also for the mounting evidence on the neurobiological basis of spontaneous predispositions7184344 and the availability of genomic tools45464748 and controlled populations with segregating variation1647.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In social species, mechanisms that help individuals orienting towards animate objects soon after birth have been identified in young chicks, human and non-human primates (reviewed in ref. 1). Spontaneous preferences for cues associated with potential social partners include biases for attending to face-like configurations234, biological vs. rigid motion567, changes of speed8 and self-propelled objects910.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It is not known, though, to which extent early predispositions have a genetic basis. The chick of the domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus ) is a convenient subject to address this issue, due to the well-known presence of predispositions for orienting towards animate objects11314, the ease of control-rear chicks until the testing time, and the presence of breeds that have been maintained genetically separated during domestication1516. Observing differences in early predispositions between chicken breeds would indicate the presence of natural genetic variability for this trait between breeds.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

Versace

Fracasso

Baldan³

et al. 2017

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Predispositions of newborn vertebrates to preferentially attend to living beings and learn about them are pervasive. Their disturbance (e.g. in neonates at risk for autism), may compromise the proper development of a social brain. The genetic bases of such predispositions are unknown. We use the well-known visual preferences of newly-hatched chicks (Gallus gallus) for the head/neck region of the hen to investigate the presence of segregating variation in the predispositions to approach a stuffed hen vs. a scrambled version of it. We compared the spontaneous preferences of three breeds maintained genetically isolated for at least eighteen years while identically raised. Visually-naïve chicks of all breeds (Padovana, Polverara and Robusta maculata) showed the same initial preference for the predisposed stimulus, suggesting that the direction of the initial preference might be genetically fixed. A few minutes later though, striking differences emerged between breeds, which could indicate different strategies of dealing with affiliative objects: while the Polverara breed maintained a constant preference across the entire test, the Padovana and Robusta breeds progressively explored the alternative stimulus more. We hence documented the presence of inherited genetic variability in the expression of early social predispositions in interaction with environmental stimuli.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

Versace

Fracasso

Baldan³

et al. 2017

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“…Moreover, between the biological movement of a hen or a cat and the rigid motion of a hen rotated on its vertical axis, chicks prefer to approach the biologically moving object [11,21]; and between a self-propelled object and an object propelled by another one, naïve chicks prefer the self-propelled object [12]. Overall, chicks prefer to approach objects which are endowed with more animate features [2,3,22,23]. Early predispositions, though, might also depend on non-social factors, such as finding a shelter or avoiding predators independently of the presence of the mother hen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naïve Chicks Prefer Hollow Objects

et al. 2016

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Biological predispositions influence approach and avoid responses from the time of birth or hatching. Neonates of species that require parental care (e.g. human babies and chicks of the domestic fowl) are attracted by stimuli associated with animate social partners, such as face-like configurations, biological motion and self-propulsion. The property of being filled is used as a cue of animacy by 8-month-old human infants but it is not known whether this reflects the effect of previous experience. We used chicks of the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) to investigate whether the property of being filled vs. hollow elicits spontaneous or learned preferences. To this aim we tested preferences of naïve and imprinted chicks for hollow and closed cylinders. Contrary to our expectations, we documented an unlearned attraction for hollow stimuli. The preference for hollow stimuli decreased when chicks were imprinted on filled stimuli but did not increase when chicks were imprinted on hollow stimuli, suggesting that hollowness is not crucial to determine affiliative responses for imprinting objects. When chicks were imprinted on occluded stimuli that could be either filled or hollow, the preference for hollow stimuli emerged again, showing that imprinting does not disrupt the spontaneous preference for hollow objects. Further experiments revealed that hollow objects were mainly attractive by means of depth cues such as darker innards, more than as places to hide or as objects with high contrast. Our findings point to predisposed preferences for hollow objects, and suggest that early predispositions might be driven by factors different from animacy cues.

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Chicken Behavior

Calder¹,

Albright²

2021

Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery

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Filial responses as predisposed and learned preferences: Early attachment in chicks and babies

Cited by 114 publications

References 250 publications

Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

Naïve Chicks Prefer Hollow Objects

Chicken Behavior

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