Cognitive flexibility and memory in pigeons, human children, and adults

Kevin P Darby; Leyre Castro; Edward A Wasserman; Vladimir M Sloutsky

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2018.03.015

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Cognitive flexibility and memory in pigeons, human children, and adults

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Cognitive flexibility and memory in pigeons, human children, and adults

Kevin P Darby, Leyre Castro, Edward A Wasserman and Vladimir M Sloutsky

Cognition, Vol.177, pp.30-40

08/2018

DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.03.015

PMCID: PMC5975130

PMID: 29627718

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Abstract

This work examines cognitive flexibility using a comparative approach. Pigeons (Experiment 1), human children (Experiment 2a), and human adults (Experiment 2b) performed a task that required changing responses to the same stimuli twice across the experiment. The results indicate that all three groups demonstrated robust memory for learned information. In addition, pigeons showed comparable and substantial perseveration following both response shifts. In contrast, both children and adults exhibited some perseveration following a first response shift, while exhibiting no cost following the second response shift. These findings are discussed in relation to memory-based theories of cognitive flexibility, according to which perseveration occurs as a result of competition between long-term and working memory, revealing important differences in memory and cognitive flexibility between species.

Perseveration

Cognitive flexibility

Cognitive development

Memory

Animal cognition

Details

Title: Subtitle: Cognitive flexibility and memory in pigeons, human children, and adults
Creators: Kevin P Darby - Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
Leyre Castro - Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, W311 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
Edward A Wasserman - Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, W311 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
Vladimir M Sloutsky - Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Cognition, Vol.177, pp.30-40
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.03.015
PMID: 29627718
PMCID: PMC5975130
ISSN: 0010-0277
eISSN: 1873-7838
Grant note: name: NIH, award: R01HD078545, P01HD080679
Language: English
Date published: 08/2018
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984070318302771

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