Concept abstraction in the aging dog: development of a protocol using successive discrimination and size concept tasks

被引:22
作者
Tapp, PD
Siwak, CT
Head, E
Cotman, CW
Murphey, H
Muggenburg, BA
Ikeda-Douglas, C
Milgram, NW
机构
[1] Univ Toronto, Dept Life Sci, Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
[2] Lovelace Resp Res Inst, Albuquerque, NM USA
[3] Univ Calif Irvine, Inst Brain Aging & Dementia, Irvine, CA 92697 USA
[4] Univ Toronto, Inst Med Sci, Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
[5] Univ Toronto, Dept Psychol, Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
关键词
concept learning; size discrimination; aging; dog;
D O I
10.1016/j.bbr.2003.12.003
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
The present study examined the effects of age on concept learning in beagle dogs. In experiment one, subjects were tested on a series of 2-choice size discrimination (2CSD) tasks, in which the correct response was to always approach the larger or smaller of the two blocks. Compared to old and senior dogs, young and middle-aged dogs solved the initial training subtest faster and were more successful at transferring this learning to subsequent tests. The second experiment extended the task by using three rather than two objects and introducing novel objects to test concept acquisition. Young and middle-aged dogs made fewer errors than old or senior dogs on a 3-choice size discrimination (3CSD) task. Transfer performance was above chance for all four groups on the 3CSD and first 3-choice size concept (CSC) task and for the young dogs on the second 3CSC but did not differ from the original learning criterion in any group. Age impairments in concept learning may account for differences in transfer performance on both 3CSC tests. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:199 / 210
页数:12
相关论文
共 91 条
[1]   Use of a delayed non-matching to position task to model age-dependent cognitive decline in the dog [J].
Adams, B ;
Chan, A ;
Callahan, H ;
Siwak, C ;
Tapp, D ;
Ikeda-Douglas, C ;
Atkinson, P ;
Head, E ;
Cotman, CW ;
Milgram, NW .
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH, 2000, 108 (01) :47-56
[2]  
ALBERT M, 1987, CAN J PSYCHOL, V41, P141
[3]  
ALBERT MS, 1988, GERIATRIC NEUROPSYCH, P33
[4]   TRANSPOSITION IN CHILDREN AS A FUNCTION OF AGE [J].
ALBERTS, E ;
EHRENFREUND, D .
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1951, 41 (01) :30-38
[5]   WISCONSIN CARD SORTING TEST-PERFORMANCE AS A MEASURE OF FRONTAL-LOBE DAMAGE [J].
ANDERSON, SW ;
DAMASIO, H ;
JONES, RD ;
TRANEL, D .
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, 1991, 13 (06) :909-922
[6]  
Axelrod B. N., 1992, CLIN NEUROPSYCHOL, V6, P16, DOI DOI 10.1080/13854049208404113
[7]   Both random and perseverative errors underlie WCST deficits in prefrontal patients [J].
Barceló, F ;
Knight, RT .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 2002, 40 (03) :349-356
[8]  
Beatty W W, 1990, J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol, V3, P163, DOI 10.1177/089198879000300308
[9]   AGE-DIFFERENCES ON THE CALIFORNIA CARD SORTING TEST - IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM-SOLVING BY THE ELDERLY [J].
BEATTY, WW .
BULLETIN OF THE PSYCHONOMIC SOCIETY, 1993, 31 (06) :511-514
[10]   A SIMPLE OBJECTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING FLEXIBILITY IN THINKING [J].
Berg, Esta A. .
JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1948, 39 (01) :15-22