Hiromitsu Miyata

How do keas (Nestor notabilis) solve artificial-fruit problems with multiple locks?

Keas, a species of parrots from New Zealand, are an interesting species for comparative studies of problem solving and cognition because they are known not only for efficient capacities for object manipulation but also for explorative and playful behaviors. To what extent are they efficient or explorative, and what cognitive abilities do they use? We examined how keas would solve several versions of artificial-fruit box problems having multiple locks. After training keas to remove a metal rod from over a Plexiglas lid that had to be opened, we exposed the birds to a variety of tasks having two or more locks. We also introduced a preview phase during which the keas had extended opportunity to look at the tasks before the experimenter allowed the birds to solve them, to examine whether the preview phase would facilitate the birds’ performance on the tasks. In a large number of tests, the keas showed a strong trend to solve the tasks with no positive effect of previewing the tasks. When the tasks became complex, however, the keas corrected inappropriate responses more quickly when they had had chance to preview the problems than when they had not. The results suggest that the keas primarily used explorative strategies in solving the lock problems but might have obtained some information about the tasks before starting to solve them. This may reflect a good compromise of keas’ trial-and-error tendency and their good cognitive ability that result from a selection pressure they have faced in their natural habitat.

Pigeons (Columba livia) plan future moves on computerized maze tasks.

Planning, the internal process of formulating an organized method about one’s future behavior, should be advantageous for non-human animals as well as for humans. However, little is known about this process in avian species. We examined planning processes in pigeons (Columba livia) using a computerized maze task. In Experiment 1, we found that the pigeons plan their next one step, and in some cases even correctly adjust their actions after change of goal locations, while performing on a plus-shaped maze. We also showed that the pigeons might even plan two steps on familiar, well-practiced mazes. In Experiment 2, we discovered that the subjects plan the direction they would go first before starting to solve a four-arm shuriken (a Japanese traditional throwing knife)-shaped maze. The birds also corrected their previously planned actions after change of goal locations. Our results from these experiments suggest that planning ahead is within the cognitive capacity of a “bird brain”, and that it may be more widespread in the animal kingdom than has been presumed.

Performance of pigeons (Columba livia) on maze problems presented on the LCD screen : In search for preplanning ability in an avian species

The authors examined how pigeons (Columba livia) perform on 2-dimensional maze tasks on the LCD monitor and whether the pigeons preplan the solution before starting to solve the maze. After training 4 pigeons to move a red square (the target) to a blue square (the goal) by pecking, the authors exposed them to a variety of detour tasks having lines as a barrier. A preview phase was introduced, during which the pigeons were not allowed to peck at the monitor. Results of a set of experiments suggest that our pigeons successfully learned to solve these tasks, that they came to take an efficient strategy as the barriers became complex, and that they possibly preplan its solution, at least on familiar, well-practiced tasks.

Planning in human children (Homo sapiens) assessed by maze problems on the touch screen.

The authors examined how human children perform on maze tasks on the touch screen and whether the children plan the solution of the mazes. In Experiment 1, the authors exposed children around 3 years of age to a maze having an L-shaped line as a barrier that can be solved by moving an illustration of a dog (the target) to that of a bone (the goal) with their fingers. The participants successfully solved the maze by taking efficient routes more frequently than chance, although the authors found no evidence that a preview of the maze before starting to solve the task facilitated their performance. In Experiment 2, using a plus-shaped maze, the authors found that 3- and 4-year-old children plan and adjust their moves while solving the maze, with 4-year-olds showing more advanced and higher-level planning than 3-year-olds. Similarity of these results to what the authors previously found in pigeons tested in the same tasks may suggest an analogy for planning capacity in the behavioral level across taxa and developmental stages.

Reading of novels by a Japanese speed-reading expert: Relationships between reading speed, comprehension, and eye movement

P3-p14 Elucidation of the recursive computation in the language areas: Embedding depth as a computational principle Shinri Ohta 1,2 , Naoki Fukui 2,3, Kuniyoshi L. Sakai 1,2,4 1 Dept. of Life Sci., Grad. Sch. of Arts and Sci., Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan 2 CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Japan 3 Dept. of Ling., Sophia Univ., Tokyo, Japan 4 Dept. of Basic Sci., Grad. Sch. of Arts and Sci., Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan