The pigeon as a machine: Complex category structures can be acquired by a simple associative model

Turner, Brandon M.; Wasserman, Edward A.

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107998

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 41 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…To experimentally explore this possibility, we developed a second computational model that simply credited pigeons with the ability to associate individual Gabor stimuli with 2 distinctive categorization responses. 10 As illustrated in Figure 2 , a 3-layer model was created. Each correct categorization response strengthened pigeons’ tendency to repeat that response (the darkened red region signifying excitation of the Category A response) and weakened their tendency to make the alternative, incorrect response (the brightened white region signifying inhibition of the Category B response) to that same stimulus.…”

Section: Categorizing Artificial Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pigeon as a Model of Complex Visual Processing and Category Learning

Wasserman,

Turner,

Güntürkün

2024

J Exp Neurosci

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Over the past 30 years, behavioral, computational, and neuroscientific investigations have yielded fresh insights into how pigeons adapt to the diverse complexities of their visual world. A prime area of interest has been how pigeons categorize the innumerable individual stimuli they encounter. Most studies involve either photorealistic representations of actual objects thus affording the virtue of being naturalistic, or highly artificial stimuli thus affording the virtue of being experimentally manipulable. Together those studies have revealed the pigeon to be a prodigious classifier of both naturalistic and artificial visual stimuli. In each case, new computational models suggest that elementary associative learning lies at the root of the pigeon’s category learning and generalization. In addition, ongoing computational and neuroscientific investigations suggest how naturalistic and artificial stimuli may be processed along the pigeon’s visual pathway. Given the pigeon’s availability and affordability, there are compelling reasons for this animal model to gain increasing prominence in contemporary neuroscientific research.

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Section: Categorizing Artificial Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%