A transient time window for early predispositions in newborn chicks

Abstract

Neonates of different species are born with a set of predispositions that influence their early orienting responses toward the first stimuli encountered in their life. Human neonates and domestic chicks exhibit several similarities in the predisposition for attending to objects that move with speed changes, face-like stimuli and biological motion. Although early predispositions are connected to physiological development, little is known on the temporal course of early predispositions (whether they are stable or change in time) and on the associated genetic variability. To address these issues, we tested the preference for objects that change in speed vs. linear motion in three chicken breeds (Padovana, Polverara and Robusta maculata) within one day after hatching and three days after hatching. We found that the predisposition to preferentially attend to changes in speed is shared by different breeds on the first day of life and that it disappears by day three. These results indicate the existence of a short and transient time window of early predispositions that does not depend on visual experience.

Resurgence of a perinatal attraction for animate objects via thyroid hormone T3

“…Visually naïve chicks show a spontaneous preference for the head (face-like) region of a stuffed hen during the first two days post-hatching, which then fades away on day three (Johnson et al, 1989). Similarly, the spontaneous preference for objects moving with visible speed changes (Rosa-Salva et al, 2016) shows a window of sensitivity in three genetically selected and isolated breeds of chicks for only the first day of life, then disappearing on day three (Versace et al, 2019). Similarly, the biological motion preference occurs only within a few days post-hatch (Miura & Matsushima, 2012).…”

“…We devised three different experimental conditions. The first was aimed to confirm that the same window of sensitivity for the spontaneous animacy preference conveyed by visible speed changes shown in genetically-selected strains (Versace et al, 2019) also exists in the strain of broiler chicks we were using. We confirmed that the preference is there on post-hatching day 1, but fades away on day 3.…”

Young chicks quickly lose their spontaneous preference to aggregate with females

“…Predispositions that support social life orienting the behaviour to social partners have been widely documented in precocial animals, namely species that have a mature sensory system and move autonomously soon after hatching or birth (Versace et al 2017a). For instance, in the first hours after hatching, domestic chicks preferentially approach biological motion (Vallortigara et al 2005; Vallortigara and Regolin 2006) and motion dynamics associated with animate objects such as changes in speed (Rosa-Salva et al 2016; Versace et al 2019), quails are attracted by engaging social partners (ten Cate 1986) and, similarly to chicks and ducklings, preferentially approach their own species maternal call (Gottlieb 1965, 1974; Park and Balaban 1991). Chicks are attracted to face-like stimuli and cues present in the head region (Johnson and Horn, 1988; Rosa-Salva et al 2010, 2019; Versace et al 2017a) or specific colour portions of the spectrum, such as the red and the blue regions (Hess and Gogel 1954; Hess 1956; Miura et al 2020).…”

Stability and individual variability of social attachment in imprinting

“…It has been suggested that predispositions direct the attention of the chick toward the kind of stimuli from which the animal would benefit the most (Johnson et al, 1985;Miura & Matsushima, 2016;Miura et al, 2020). In line with this interpretation, chicks have predisposed/not learned preferences for specific patterns of motion (Rosa-Salva, Hernik, Broseghini, & Vallortigara, 2018;Vallortigara, 2012) and arrangments of features (Johnson & Horn, 1988;Rosa-Salva, Mayer, & Vallortigara, 2019;Rosa-Salva, Regolin, & Vallortigara, 2009) that are similar to those found in living animals, such as biological motion (Miura & Matsushima, 2012;Vallortigara, Regolin, & Marconato, 2005), self-propulsion (Rosa-Salva, Grassi, Lorenzi, Regolin, & Vallortigara, 2016;Versace, Ragusa, & Vallortigara, 2019) or even specific colours such as red (which is the colour of the comb, a specific zone of the head that is known to convey important physiological information, Guhl & Ortman, 1953).…”