Using robots to understand animal cognition.

In recent years, robotic animals and humans have been used to answer a variety of questions related to behavior. In the case of animal behavior, these efforts have largely been in the field of behavioral ecology. They have proved to be a useful tool for this enterprise as they allow the presentation of naturalistic social stimuli whilst providing the experimenter with full control of the stimulus. In interactive experiments, the behavior of robots can be controlled in a manner that is impossible with real animals, making them ideal instruments for the study of social stimuli in animals. This paper provides an overview of the current state of the field and considers the impact that the use of robots could have on fundamental questions related to comparative psychology: namely, perception, spatial cognition, social cognition, and early cognitive development. We make the case that the use of robots to investigate these key areas could have an important impact on the field of animal cognition.

A large outdoor radial maze for comparative studies in birds and mammals.

For a comparative neurobiological analysis of spatial learning and memory, a large outdoor eight-arm radial maze was constructed which permits behavioral assessment of many avian and mammalian species both from the laboratory or the wild, using the same metric space and session schedules. It consists of a central part of 250cm diameter, and has arms of 650cm length, 170cm height and 80cm width. In order to determine appropriate training schedules for comparison of different species, we tested four mammalian and two avian species during 9-15 sessions: 18 albino rats (Rattus norvegicus), nine outdoors and nine in a conventional small indoor maze; six guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus); six rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus); five hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus); seven hooded crows (Corvus corone cornix) and six chickens (Gallus domesticus). Rats learned fast in both mazes yet significantly better in the large one. Good-to-excellent learning was also observed in juvenile rabbits and wild-caught crows, although the latter tended to avoid arms in the vicinity of the observer. Hedgehogs and chickens did not show significant learning as a group, but some individuals appeared to learn the task. Guinea pigs remained continuously passive and could not be trained. Thus, in spite of species-specific demands for reward, adaptation and pre-training, this type of radial maze permits to directly compare a wide variety of species. Such comparability is essential for an analysis of underlying neurobiological mechanisms.

Apparatus as milestones in the history of comparative psychology.

Significant apparatus developments from the history of comparative psychology are reviewed, including the contemporary trend toward computer use in research with nonhuman animals. It is argued that milestone apparatus served not only to open new lines of inquiry but also to shape or delimit the nature of the answers that were obtained.