Why study animal cognition?

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Why study animal cognition?

• To understand the role of nature and nurture in
  complex, cognitive behaviors
• Cognition and language do not fossilize. Use same
  technique as Darwin comparative method. Did
  particular components of cognition evolve just
  for humans and thus are unique to humans.

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The case of acquisition of bird song

• 9,000 species of birds and virtually all have up
  to a dozen distinct calls, peeps, buzzes etc/
  Songs are longer and highly patterned
• In most birds, song is innate 3 orders show
  evidence of learning
• Parrots
• Hummingbirds
• Oscine songbirds (e.g., sparrows)

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Certain parallels with human acquisition

• Different paths to acquiring birdsong
• 4,000 species of song birds most show evidence
  of learning
• Isolated birds develop abnormal songs

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• Case of isolated white-crowned sparrows, e.g.,
  Nelson
• http//blb.biosci.ohio-state.edu/nelson.html
• Click on song learning to left
• Click on the 3 spectrograms song of an isolated
  sparrow, song of a sparrow exposed to adult song
  and the adult song

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In many species, males are most sensitive to
learn songs in the first few months of life a
critical period  After critical period cannot
compensate for lack of exposure to language
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• Actual vocal production begins with subsong. 
  Subsong has been compared to babbling in human
  infants. Example from Nelson
• http//blb.biosci.ohio-state.edu/nelson.html
• Click on stages of learning and then on first
  spectrogram of subsong or babbling.
• Next spectrogram shows early learning relation
  between youngsters song and the model song.

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• Songbirds produce songs that they have been
  exposed to

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Homologue versus analogue

• Distinguish between analogous features which are
  similar in function and form between species
• AND
• homologous features which are connected by
  unbroken line in evolution

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• Do birds have language?
• Is there genetic link to humans?
• Analogue or homologue?

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• Lewontin what are comparable characteristics in
  different species? Requires analysis of
  cognition
• Are the grunts of a chimpanzee the primitive
  homologues of Hamlets soliloquy?

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Compare to the human eye

• Remarkably similar structure of human and octopus
  eye. Not homologous. Analogous because of
  constraints placed by laws of optics and need to
  focus image on receptors

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• Characteristics touted as uniquely human have
  been re-evaluated when animal cognition studies,
  e.g., categorical perception

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Why study animal cognition? To better understand
the brain.

• Look for homologous brain areas

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Hemispheric laterality

• Thought to be unique to humans, special
  adaptation for competing modes of processing
  language versus spatial processes

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• Macaque monkeys discriminate between their own
  vocalizations better than vocalizations of
  another species and better with their right ear
  ?left hemisphere specialization

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• Brocas area has a homologous area in monkeys.
• When stimulated in monkeys, movement of lips,
  tongue and face, but no vocalization.
• Function of this area has changed between monkeys
  and humans

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Why study animal cognition? To better understand
the organization of cognition

• Infants may have inherent ability to use language
  (symbols) because of certain genetic endowments
• Categories versus individuals, Pinker, Marcus

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Concept of individual central to human thought

• Not based on perceptual properties

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• Sorrentino (1998)
• 3-year olds point to first bear (Zavy)
• How do you update connectionist model?
• An instance of the kind to which Zavy belongs
  (teddy bear with bibs) that is in center is more
  strongly associated with Zavy node than instance
  not in center locations
• Problem of tracking individuals over time

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• Connectionist networks have problem
  distinguishing between individuals and kinds
  (types and tokens)

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• Infants can track individuals at 4 months (Wynn,
  1992)

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Where does this ability come from? Do animals
have?

• Tracking individuals benefits predators, e.g.
  hyenas and wildebeests
• Ability to keep track of where seeds are stashed.
  Clarks nutcracker can keep track of 33,000 seed
  caches
• Chicks a few hours old travel in direction of
  recently occluded object

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• Mechanisms that underlie use of language spread
  throughout animal world