Comparative cognition for conservationists.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Greggor AL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4153814 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Scientific disciplines face concerns about replicability and statistical inference, and these concerns are also relevant in animal cognition research. This paper presents a first attempt to assess how researchers make and publish claims about animal physical cognition, and the statistical inferences they use to support them. We surveyed 116 published experiments from 63 papers on physical cognition, covering 43 different species. The most common tasks in our sample were trap-tube tasks (14 papers), other tool use tasks (13 papers), means-end understanding and string-pulling tasks (11 papers), object choice and object permanence tasks (9 papers) and access tasks (5 papers). This sample is not representative of the full scope of physical cognition research; however, it does provide data on the types of statistical design and publication decisions researchers have adopted. Across the 116 experiments, the median sample size was 7. Depending on the definitions we used, we estimated that between 44% and 59% of our sample of papers made positive claims about animals' physical cognitive abilities, between 24% and 46% made inconclusive claims, and between 10% and 17% made negative claims. Several failures of animals to pass physical cognition tasks were reported. Although our measures had low inter-observer reliability, these findings show that negative results can and have been published in the field. However, publication bias is still present, and consistent with this, we observed a drop in the frequency of p-values above .05. This suggests that some non-significant results have not been published. More promisingly, we found that researchers are likely making many correct statistical inferences at the individual-level. The strength of evidence of statistical effects at the group-level was weaker, and its p-value distribution was consistent with some effect sizes being overestimated. Studies such as ours can form part of a wider investigation into statistical reliability in comparative cognition. However, future work should focus on developing the validity and reliability of the measurements they use, and we offer some starting points.
| S-EPMC7115978 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The great increase in the study of dog cognition in the current century has yielded insights into canine cognition in a variety of domains. In this review, we seek to place our enhanced understanding of canine cognition into context. We argue that in order to assess dog cognition, we need to regard dogs from three different perspectives: phylogenetically, as carnivoran and specifically a canid; ecologically, as social, cursorial hunters; and anthropogenically, as a domestic animal. A principled understanding of canine cognition should therefore involve comparing dogs' cognition with that of other carnivorans, other social hunters, and other domestic animals. This paper contrasts dog cognition with what is known about cognition in species that fit into these three categories, with a particular emphasis on wolves, cats, spotted hyenas, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses, and pigeons. We cover sensory cognition, physical cognition, spatial cognition, social cognition, and self-awareness. Although the comparisons are incomplete, because of the limited range of studies of some of the other relevant species, we conclude that dog cognition is influenced by the membership of all three of these groups, and taking all three groups into account, dog cognition does not look exceptional.
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Project description:Direct replication studies follow an original experiment's methods as closely as possible. They provide information about the reliability and validity of an original study's findings. The present paper asks what comparative cognition should expect if its studies were directly replicated, and how researchers can use this information to improve the reliability of future research. Because published effect sizes are likely overestimated, comparative cognition researchers should not expect findings with p-values just below the significance level to replicate consistently. Nevertheless, there are several statistical and design features that can help researchers identify reliable research. However, researchers should not simply aim for maximum replicability when planning studies; comparative cognition faces strong replicability-validity and replicability-resource trade-offs. Next, the paper argues that it may not even be possible to perform truly direct replication studies in comparative cognition because of: 1) a lack of access to the species of interest; 2) real differences in animal behavior across sites; and 3) sample size constraints producing very uncertain statistical estimates, meaning that it will often not be possible to detect statistical differences between original and replication studies. These three reasons suggest that many claims in the comparative cognition literature are practically unfalsifiable, and this presents a challenge for cumulative science in comparative cognition. To address this challenge, comparative cognition can begin to formally assess the replicability of its findings, improve its statistical thinking and explore new infrastructures that can help to form a field that can create and combine the data necessary to understand how cognition evolves.
| S-EPMC7334049 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundComparative cognition has historically focused on a few taxa such as primates, birds or rodents. However, a broader perspective is essential to understand how different selective pressures affect cognition in different taxa, as more recently shown in several studies. Here we present the same battery of cognitive tasks to two understudied ungulate species with different socio-ecological characteristics, European bison (Bison bonasus) and forest buffalos (Syncerus caffer nanus), and we compare their performance to previous findings in giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). We presented subjects with an Object permanence task, Memory tasks with 30 and 60 s delays, two inference tasks based on acoustic cues (i.e. Acoustic inference tasks) and a control task to check for the use of olfactory cues (i.e. Olfactory task).ResultsOverall, giraffes outperformed bison and buffalos, and bison outperformed buffalos (that performed at chance level). All species performed better in the Object permanence task than in the Memory tasks and one of the Acoustic inference tasks (which they likely solved by relying on stimulus enhancement). Giraffes performed better than buffalos in the Shake full Acoustic inference task, but worse than bison and buffalos in the Shake empty Acoustic inference task.ConclusionsIn sum, our results are in line with the hypothesis that specific socio-ecological characteristics played a crucial role in the evolution of cognition, and that higher fission-fusion levels and larger dietary breadth are linked to higher cognitive skills. This study shows that ungulates may be an excellent model to test evolutionary hypotheses on the emergence of cognition.
| S-EPMC8218502 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeCognitive development during adolescence affects health long term. We investigated whether level of and change in language-based cognition during adolescence are associated with cognitive performance in midlife.MethodsParticipants were enrolled in the Child Health and Development Study and followed during midlife (47-52 years). Adolescent cognition was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at ages 9-11 years (PPVT-9) and 15-17 years (PPVT-15). We examined PPVT-9, as well as a PPVT change score (derived using the standardized regression-based method) in relation to midlife cognition measures of Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, Verbal Fluency, and Digit Symbol tests. Linear regression models were adjusted for childhood socioeconomic status, age, sex, race, and midlife marital status, education, and occupational score.ResultsIn 357 participants (52.1% female, 25.6% African American), both PPVT-9 (β [95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.26 [0.18, 0.34]) and PPVT change score (β [95% CI] = 2.03 [1.27, 2.80]) were associated with Wechsler Test of Adult Reading at midlife. PPVT-9 was associated with midlife Verbal Fluency (β [95% CI] = 0.18 [0.10, 0.25]), whereas PPVT change score was not (β [95% CI] = -0.01 [-0.68, 0.67]). Neither PPVT-9 nor PPVT change score was associated with midlife Digit Symbol.ConclusionsBoth level of and change in language-based cognition during adolescence were associated with midlife vocabulary and language function, even after controlling for midlife occupation and education.
| S-EPMC6812681 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThere is a need for outcome measures with improved responsiveness to changes in pre-dementia populations. Both cognitive and motor function play important roles in neurodegeneration; motor function decline is detectable at early stages of cognitive decline. This proof of principle study used a Pooled Index approach to evaluate improved responsiveness of the predominant outcome measure (ADAS-Cog: Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale) when assessment of motor function is added.MethodsCandidate Pooled Index variables were selected based on theoretical importance and pairwise correlation coefficients. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests assessed baseline discrimination. Standardized response means assessed responsiveness to longitudinal change.ResultsFinal selected variables for the Pooled Index include gait velocity, dual-task cost of gait velocity, and an ADAS-Cog-Proxy (statistical approximation of the ADAS-Cog using similar cognitive tests). The Pooled Index and ADAS-Cog-Proxy scores had similar ability to discriminate between pre-dementia syndromes. The Pooled Index demonstrated trends of similar or greater responsiveness to longitudinal decline than ADAS-Cog-Proxy scores.ConclusionAdding motor function assessments to the ADAS-Cog may improve responsiveness in pre-dementia populations.
| S-EPMC7485843 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Normal aging can result in a decline of memory and muscle function. Exercise may prevent or delay these changes. However, aging associated frailty may preclude physical activity. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a transcriptional regulator important for muscle physiology. In the present study we investigated effects of AMPK agonist 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR) on memory and motor function in young (2-month-old), aged (23-month-old) C57Bl/6 mice, and transgenic mice with muscle-specific mutated AMPK alpha-subunit (AMPK-DN). Mice were injected with AICAR (500 mg/kg) for 3 to 14 days and tested in the Morris water maze, rotarod and open field. Improved water maze performance and motor function was observed, albeit at longer duration of administration, in aged (14 days AICAR) than young (3 days AICAR) mice. In the AMPKDN mice, the compound did not enhance behavior, providing support for a muscle mediated mechanism. In addition, microarray analysis of muscle and hippocampal tissue derived from aged mice treated with AICAR revealed changes in gene expression in both tissues, which correlated with behavioral effects in a dose-dependent manner. Pronounced up-regulation of mitochondrial genes in muscle was observed. In the hippocampus genes relevant to neuronal development and plasticity were enriched. Altogether, endurance related factors may mediate both muscle and brain health in aging, and could play a role in new therapeutic interventions. Key words: Skeletal Muscle, Brain, Exercise, AMPK, Learning and Memory, Morris water maze 23-month old female C57BL/6J mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME) were housed under standard conditions, 3 mice per cage, with food and water ad libitum. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-a-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR, Toronto Research Chemicals Inc., Canada) dissolved in saline, 500 mg/kg/day for 3 (ACR3), 7 (ACR7) or 14 (ACR14) days or saline vehicle, for 3 (CTR) days. Thirty-three days after the final injection animals were deeply anesthetized with isofluorane and perfused transcardially with 0.9% NaCl solution. The gastrocnemius muscle and Hippocampus were quickly removed, frozen on dry ice and stored at M-bM-^HM-^R80 M-BM-0C for RNA isolation and microarray analysis.
2014-01-17 | E-GEOD-50873 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:ObjectiveBenzodiazepines (BZD) are one of the most frequently prescribed drugs worldwide. However, the cognitive effects of benzodiazepines in the elderly are highly debated. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore the following two questions in the elderly population: (i) Do BZD lead to any impairments in cognitive functions in elderly users? and (ii) Which specific cognitive domains are most affected by BZD use and abuse?MethodsFirst, we performed a literature search following the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched until May 14th, 2020. After selecting the relevant articles, we integrated the results of the selected studies with a standardized cognitive classification method. Next, we performed meta-analyses with the random-effects model on the cognitive results. Finally, we specifically examined the cognitive impairments of BZD in the abuse subgroup.ResultsOf the included studies, eight of the thirteen had meta-analyzable data. Compared to the controls, elderly BZD users had significantly lower digital symbol test scores (n=253; SMD: -0.61, 95% CI: -0.91 to 0.31, I² = 0%, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in Mini-Mental State Examination, Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and Stroop Color and Word Test scores between BZD users and controls. According to the subgroup analyses, BZD abusers performed significantly worse than controls in Mini-Mental State Examination (n=7726; SMD: -0.23, 95% CI: -0.44 to -0.03, I² = 86%, p = 0.02), while there was no significant difference between the regular BZD users and the controls (n=1536; SMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.59 to 0.48, I² = 92%, p =0.85).ConclusionIn the elderly population, the processing speed (digital symbol test scores) was significantly impaired in BZD users; global cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination scores) was significantly impaired in BZD abusers but not in BZD regular users. This study provides insight into the factors that interact with BZD cognitive effects, such as aging, testing tools, and abuse. Clinicians should be cautious when prescribing BZD for the elderly.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, identifier CRD42019124711.
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Project description:In pairwise interactions, where two individuals meet and play a social game with each other, assortativity in cognition means that pairs where both decision-makers use the same cognitive process are more likely to occur than what happens under random matching. In this paper, we show theoretically that assortativity in cognition may arise as a consequence of assortativity in other dimensions. Moreover, we analyze an applied model where we investigate the effects of assortativity in cognition on the emergence of cooperation and on the degree of prosociality of intuition and deliberation, which are the typical cognitive processes postulated by the dual process theory in psychology. In particular, with assortativity in cognition, deliberation is able to shape the intuitive heuristic toward cooperation, increasing the degree of prosociality of intuition, and ultimately promoting the overall cooperation. Our findings rely on agent-based simulations, but analytical results are also obtained in a special case. We conclude with examples involving different payoff matrices of the underlying social games, showing that assortativity in cognition can have non-trivial implications in terms of its societal desirability.
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Project description:Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has potent procognitive effects, likely hematopoiesis-independent, but underlying mechanisms and physiological role of brain-expressed EPO remained obscure. Here, we provide transcriptional hippocampal profiling of male mice treated with rhEPO. Based on ~108,000 single nuclei, we unmask multiple pyramidal lineages with their comprehensive molecular signatures. By temporal profiling and gene regulatory analysis, we build developmental trajectory of CA1 pyramidal neurons derived from multiple predecessor lineages and elucidate gene regulatory networks underlying their fate determination. With EPO as ꞌtoolꞌ, we discover populations of newly differentiating pyramidal neurons, overpopulating to ~200% upon rhEPO with upregulation of genes crucial for neurodifferentiation, dendrite growth, synaptogenesis, memory formation, and cognition. Using a Cre-based approach to visually distinguish pre-existing from newly formed pyramidal neurons for patch-clamp recordings, we learn that rhEPO treatment differentially affects excitatory and inhibitory inputs. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into how EPO modulates neuronal functions and networks.
2023-06-16 | GSE220522 | GEO