Interspecific Communication: the Object Choice Task as a Model for the Study of Cognitive Flexibility in Domestic Dogs.

• ELGIER, A.; JAKOVCEVIC, A. & BENTOSELA, M.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; International Neuropsychological Society 2008 Mid-Year Meeting.; 2008

A.M. ELGIER, A. JAKOVCEVIC & M. BENTOSELA. Interspecific Communication: the Object Choice Task as a Model for the Study of Cognitive Flexibility in Domestic Dogs.. Interspecific Communication: the Object Choice Task as a Model for the Study of Cognitive Flexibility in Domestic Dogs. Objective: During domestication process, domestic dogs were submitted to social challenges related to the environment shared environment with human beings. Thereby, development of interspecific communicative abilities were developed. Dogs are capable of following human cues, like gazing or pointing, in order to solve problems. The aim of this work is to present an animal model for the study of cognitive flexibility in a reversal task with social cues, specifically, to evaluate the following of a human cue to find hidden food in an object choice task.During domestication process, domestic dogs were submitted to social challenges related to the environment shared environment with human beings. Thereby, development of interspecific communicative abilities were developed. Dogs are capable of following human cues, like gazing or pointing, in order to solve problems. The aim of this work is to present an animal model for the study of cognitive flexibility in a reversal task with social cues, specifically, to evaluate the following of a human cue to find hidden food in an object choice task. Participants and Methods: Subjects: 11 adult dogs of different sexes and ages. Procedure: an experimenter baited one of two bowls (outside of the dog’s view) and gave the dog the pointing cue to find the hidden food. The dogs first learned to go to the pointed place and obtaining the food, and then they were trained in a reversal learning task, reverting the previously learned discrimination.Subjects: 11 adult dogs of different sexes and ages. Procedure: an experimenter baited one of two bowls (outside of the dog’s view) and gave the dog the pointing cue to find the hidden food. The dogs first learned to go to the pointed place and obtaining the food, and then they were trained in a reversal learning task, reverting the previously learned discrimination. Results: Friedman’s ANOVA was used to compare the number of necessary trials in both conditions to reach the learning criteria. The subjects were capable of learning both tasks, though the reversal learning needed further training trials.Friedman’s ANOVA was used to compare the number of necessary trials in both conditions to reach the learning criteria. The subjects were capable of learning both tasks, though the reversal learning needed further training trials. Conclusions: Dogs went to the not pointed place to access the food, inhibiting the previous response. The behavioural adjustment due to environmental changes should accounts for the degree of cognitive flexibility involved in the use of human cues. The ecological validity of this model and possible applications for aging and alterations of the prefrontal cortex are reviewed.Dogs went to the not pointed place to access the food, inhibiting the previous response. The behavioural adjustment due to environmental changes should accounts for the degree of cognitive flexibility involved in the use of human cues. The ecological validity of this model and possible applications for aging and alterations of the prefrontal cortex are reviewed.