Adaptive spatial working memory assessments for aging pet dogs

Assessments for spatial working memory (SWM) in pet dogs that can detect age-related cognitive deficits in a single session may aid in diagnosing canine dementia and may facilitate translational research on Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Adaptive testing procedures are widely used in single-session assessments for humans with diverse cognitive abilities. In this study, we designed and deployed two up-down staircase assessments for SWM in which 26 pet dogs were required to recall the location of a treat hidden behind one of two identical boxes following delays of variable length. In the first experiment, performance tended to decline with age but few dogs completed the test (n?=?10). However, all of the dogs that participated in the second experiment (n?=?24) completed the assessment and provided reliable evidence of learning and retaining the task. Delay length and age significantly predicted performance supporting the validity of this assessment. The relationships between age and performance were described by inverted U-shaped functions as both old and young dogs displayed deficits in weighted cumulative-scores and trial-by-trial performance. Thus, SWM in pet dogs may develop until midlife and decline thereafter. Exploratory analyses of non-mnemonic fixation strategies, sustained engagement, inhibitory control, and potential improvements for future SWM assessments which adopt this paradigm are also discussed.

     

Pigeons are attracted to a perceived gain without an actual gain

Reference dependence refers to the reduced value of a reward that is less than expected, or the added value of a reward that is greater than expected. There is evidence that when pigeons are offered an alternative that has 1 pellet versus an alternative that has 2 pellets, but one of the two pellets offered will be removed, the pigeons prefer the originally presented 1 pellet (loss aversion). In the present research, we tested for the opposite effect (gain attraction). In Experiments 1 and 2, pigeons could choose between 2 pellets, each one on a distinctive background. If they chose the optimal alternative, they received a second pellet. In Experiment 2, the second pellet obtained was the one not initially chosen (a task sometimes referred to as the ephemeral reward task). Pigeons learned to choose optimally in both experiments. In Experiment 3, we tested the pigeons for reference dependence. Pigeons were given an alternative that offered them one pellet or two pellets, if they chose the one-pellet alternative, they received an additional pellet, and if they chose the two-pellet alternative, they received the two pellets. In keeping with the reference dependence hypothesis, the pigeons preferred the 1-pellet alternative that gave them an extra pellet. These effects are related to similar findings with humans, including the endowment effect.

     

Correction to: Autism,autistic traits and creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cognitive Processing - In the original publication of the article, the first and last names of the authors are interchanged and published incorrectly. The correct author names are given below:...     

Perceptions of infant boys' behavior and mental health: Relation to infant attachment

Two studies were conducted to determine the impact of infants' attachment classifications and behaviors on naive adults' impressions of their behavior and mental health. In Study 1, three groups of 44 adults viewed a videotape of episode 8 of the Strange Situation for either an avoidant, a resistant, or a secure male infant. After viewing the videotape, they made judgments about aspects of the infant's mental health. Adults viewed the resistant baby as less socially competent and more negative in affect than the other two babies and the secure baby as the least independent of the three babies. Parents rated babies as more intelligent than did nonparents. In Study 2, 15 parents were matched on race and gender with 15 nonparents. All adults viewed a videotape of the reunions of two secure, two avoidant, and two resistant male infants. Avoidant babies were viewed as more socially competent and independent than secure babies and the C2 baby was viewed as the least intelligent, least independent, least socially competent, and most affectively negative of the infants. Results are interpreted as underscoring the need to educate parents and paraprofessionals about the importance of infant distress and physical contact with parents.     

Effects of neonatal treatment with 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-lodophenyl)-2 aminopropane HCI (DOI) and ritanserin on agonistic behavior in adult male and female rats

The role played by the neonatal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) system in the organization and sexual differentiation of adult agonistic behavior was investigated in rats. Focus was on the 5HT2 receptor subtype, which has been demonstrated to be involved in agonism control in the adult. 5HT2 activity was experimentally manipulated by administration of a specific agonist [1-(2, 5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane HCl (DOI)] or antagonist (ritanserin) during the second week of life, when serotonin is known to concur to anatomical and behavioral sexual differentiation. Interactions between early 5HT2 activity, genetic sex, and neonatal circulating testosterone (T) were studied by administering the ligands to males, females, and androgenized females. At adulthood, the animals were tested for both aspects of agonism, i. e., aggression and defense, in a 20-min confrontation with an unfamiliar conspecific of the same sex, age, body weight, and social experience. Neonatal administration of the 5HT2 antagonist ritanserin increased aggression independently of sex; it also increased defense, but this effect was confined to males. The agonist DOI had no effect on aggression, but enhanced defense in males and androgenized females, with an effect which depended therefore more on neonatal T than genetic sex. Females appeared in general less sensitive to neonatal 5HT2 manipulation than both androgenized females and males; this suggests that neonatal T is crucial for experimental modifications of neonatal 5HT2 activity to have any consistent effect on adult agonistic behavior. On the other hand, effects observed in males and androgenized females were dependent on the behavior considered and the drug administered. This was especially evident for defense, enhanced by ritanserin in males only, and in both males and androgenized females by DOI. Neonatal 5HT2 activity seems therefore to play a role in the modulation of adult agonistic behaviors, which depends on the behavior considered and is under multiple control of genetic sex and hormonal neonatal substrate. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Readers and service commissioners require clear financial disclosures: Comment on innovation,research integrity,and change: A conflict of interest management framework for program developers (Sanders et al., 2019)

Sanders et al.'s proposal for a management framework for conflicting interests among program developers is very welcome. The underlying principles of such a framework must nevertheless prioritise the need for researchers and commissioners of services to make objective assessments of the impact of interventions reported in journal articles. This is particularly important in the field of randomised trials which may influence public sector expenditure. Using a strict definition derived from known financial conflict of interest, we have demonstrated that child-based effect sizes are much lower for independent studies than for studies with developer involvement. On this basis, we propose that journals publishing evaluations of psychosocial interventions should agree a standardised format for declarations of conflicts of interest based on that recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.