A note on social dominance and learning ability in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)

Croney, Candace; Prince-Kelly, Nova; Meller, Camie L.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.001

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Although these studies reach different conclusions, it seems that individuals of different dominance status are sensitive to different types of information (see [9] for a brief discussion): dominant individuals appear to be more receptive to information about their physical environment and to be better at spatial learning and food-reward associative learning [26-29], while subordinate individuals tend to be more sensitive to information associated with social learning and predation risks [30,31]. For instance, dominant chickadees ( Poecile gambeli ) showed better spatial memory than subordinates in tasks relating to recovery of hidden food [26], while subordinate crabs ( Chasmagnathus granulatus ) showed higher memory retention than dominants in tests involving visual danger stimuli [30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winner and loser effects are modulated by hormonal states

Earley

Lee

et al. 2013

Front Zool

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IntroductionMany animals use information acquired from recent experiences to modify their responses to new situations. Animals’ decisions in contests also depend on their previous experience: after recent victories individuals tend to behave more aggressively and after defeats more submissively. Although these winner and/or loser effects have been reported for animals of different taxa, they have only recently been shown to be flexible traits, which can be influenced by extrinsic factors. In a mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus), for instance, individuals which lost an earlier contest were more likely than others to alter contest decisions after a recent win/loss. This result suggests that individuals perceiving themselves to have worse fighting abilities are more inclined to adjust contest strategy based on new information. If this is the case, an individual’s propensity to modify behaviour after a win/loss might also be modulated by intrinsic mechanisms related to its ability to fight. Stress and sex steroid hormones are often associated with an individual’s contest behaviour and performance, so, in this study, we tested the hypothesis that an individual’s propensity to change behaviour after wins or losses also depends on its hormonal state.ResultsOur results show that an individual’s propensity to adjust contest decisions after wins and losses does depend on its hormonal state: individuals with lower levels of cortisol (F), testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone (KT) are more receptive than others to the influence of recent contest experiences, especially losing experiences, and the influences last longer. Furthermore, although winning and losing experiences resulted in significant changes in behaviour, they did not bring about a significant change in the levels of F, T, KT or oestradiol (E2).ConclusionsThis study shows that an individual’s receptivity to the influence of recent wins and losses is modulated by its internal state, as well as by extrinsic factors. Individuals with hormonal profiles corresponding to lower aggressiveness and a reduced likelihood of winning were more likely to alter contest decisions after a recent win/loss. The results also suggest that F, T, KT and E2 are not the primary physiological mechanisms mediating winner-loser effects in this fish.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winner and loser effects are modulated by hormonal states

Earley

Lee

et al. 2013

Front Zool

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“…Specifically, hens learn better from a dominant demonstrator (Nicol & Pope, 1999), while an individual's ability to learn may be related to its social rank (in Queiroz & Cromberg, 2006, but see Croney, Prince-Kelly & Meller, 2007 for learning ability not related to rank).…”

Section: Light Exposure Leads To Increased Transitive Inference Perfomentioning

confidence: 98%

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Daisley

Vallortígara

Regolin

2010

Social Neuroscience

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The ability of animals to perform transitive inference is associated with social group formation and dominance hierarchies. Brain lateralization is also linked to the selective pressures associated with social life. We investigated whether transitive inference is better performed by lateralized than non-lateralized brains. In the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) exposure of eggs to light before hatching leads to the development of lateralization of some visual functions. Thus, it is possible to obtain chicks with strong (light-incubated, Li-chicks) or weak (dark-incubated, Di-chicks) lateralization. Di- and Li-chicks were trained to discriminate stimulus pairs, in order to build a hierarchy (A > B > C > D > E). Chicks were subsequently tested on stimulus pairs never seen together before (AE and BD). Li-chicks performed the discrimination BD better than did Di-chicks, suggesting that exposure to light in the egg leads to an increased ability to carry out representational learning. Moreover, lateralized chicks using their left eye only (right hemisphere) during test showed a better performance than did right eye only (left hemisphere) chicks on the BD task. Females also tended to perform better than males. Results demonstrate that chicks with lateralized brain hemispheres show greater inference, and this is under right hemisphere control: the brain hemisphere that is dominant in social interactions.

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“…With regard to a discrimination task, acquisition, reversal, extinction, and relearning are well-established test procedures for measuring redirected behaviors. Birds are particularly suited for simple visual discrimination tasks because they are able to discriminate colors on the basis of luminance (Croney et al, 2007). Rodenburg et al (2005) tested the effect of shortterm frustration (i.e., the omission of expected reward) on feather pecking using an automated Skinner box but failed to find a correlation between feather pecking and short-term frustration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redirected behavior in learning tasks: The commercial laying hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) as model

2011

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Redirected behaviors occur when some course of action is thwarted or inhibited (frustration). They also occur as adjunctive behaviors in operant conditioning tasks, where they might reflect frustration about unrewarded responses. Because frustration is associated with stress, which could interfere with learning and memory, we studied whether the occurrence of redirected behavior is correlated with learning success in a series of visual-cue discrimination tasks. Eleven hens, aged 34 wk, were tested on acquisition, reversal, extinction, and relearning of a simple visual discrimination task. The experimenters randomly assigned red and blue cardboard discs as discriminative stimuli. A correct response was recorded when a hen pecked at the correct disc. The learning criterion was 90% correct responses in 20 trials in 2 consecutive task sessions. The following data were documented: number of pecks needed to achieve the learning criterion, latency in choosing, pecks at the experimenter, and pecks at the surroundings. The behavioral responses were analyzed using linear mixed model ANOVA. Redirected pecking at the surroundings was a significant indicator of learning failure in that the more the hens performed this behavior, the more trials they needed to complete the discrimination tasks (P = 0.012). The number of pecks at the experimenter during the tasks significantly influenced learning success (P = 0.020), with hens directing more pecks at the experimenter during reversal, reaching the learning criterion in fewer trials (P = 0.027). The more the hens pecked at the experimenter during acquisition and extinction, however, the more trials they needed to meet the learning criteria (acquisition: P = 0.048; extinction: P = 0.003). Thus, laying hens are susceptible to the effects of frustration as measured in terms of redirected pecking elicited by operant procedures in visual discrimination tasks. In general, any situation in which a desirable goal is obstructed or an expected reward is omitted may lead to frustration-related activities, such as redirected behavior, which could in turn lead to abnormal behavior and welfare issues for the animals.

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A note on social dominance and learning ability in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Winner and loser effects are modulated by hormonal states

Winner and loser effects are modulated by hormonal states

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Redirected behavior in learning tasks: The commercial laying hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) as model

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