| Both sides previous revision
Previous revision
Next revision
|
Previous revision
Next revision
Both sides next revision
|
uncategorized:bugs_cognitive_capabilities [2023/02/07 05:47]
aysjajohnson [Binary Mazes] |
uncategorized:bugs_cognitive_capabilities [2023/07/23 21:07]
katjagrace |
| | ====== Cognitive capabilities of insects ====== |
| | |
| | |
| This is a list of animals with small brains and their performance on relatively advanced cognitive tasks. | This is a list of animals with small brains and their performance on relatively advanced cognitive tasks. |
| |
| ==== Linear Homing Mazes ==== | ==== Linear Homing Mazes ==== |
| |
| Macquart et al.((Macquart, D., Latil, G., & Beugnon, G., "Sensorimotor sequence learning in the ant Gigantiops destructor." //Animal Behaviour//, October 2007. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.023 )) use what is called a linear homing maze (shown below) to test whether ants can learn sequences such as LRLRLR or LLRRLL (L = left, R = right). Their homing maze consists of 8 chambers, each with two doors. One of the doors has a transparent plastic covering such that the ants are not able to move through it. Training consists of running individual ants through this maze until they perform the correct pattern at least 75% of the time, i.e., do not mistakenly choose the transparent door option. No rewards or punishments are administered during training. | Macquart et al.((Macquart, D., Latil, G., & Beugnon, G., "Sensorimotor sequence learning in the ant Gigantiops destructor." //Animal Behaviour//, October 2007. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.023 )) use what is called a linear homing maze to test whether ants can learn sequences such as LRLRLR or LLRRLL (L = left, R = right). Their homing maze consists of 8 chambers, each with two doors, which the ants pass through sequentially. In each chamber, one of the doors has a transparent plastic covering such that the ants are not able to move through it. Training consists of running individual ants through this maze until they perform the correct pattern at least 75% of the time, i.e., do not mistakenly choose the transparent door option. No rewards or punishments are administered during training. |
| |
| Once the ants have learned this, the maze is extended to include two additional chambers in order to test whether ants appear to generalize the pattern. For simple mazes with no alternations, (e.g., LLLLLL) ants make correct choices 95% of the time in the additional chambers. For slightly more complex mazes with one alternation (e.g., LRLRLR) ants make correct choices 72% of the time. For double alternation mazes (e.g., LLRRLL), ants complete the correct pattern only 43% of the time. In all cases, performance in the first additional chamber is significantly higher than performance in the second chamber. | Once the ants have learned this, the maze is extended to include two additional chambers in order to test whether ants appear to generalize the pattern. For simple mazes with no alternations, (e.g., LLLLLL) ants make correct choices 95% of the time in the additional chambers. For slightly more complex mazes with one alternation (e.g., LRLRLR) ants make correct choices 72% of the time. For double alternation mazes (e.g., LLRRLL), ants complete the correct pattern only 43% of the time. In all cases, performance in the first additional chamber is significantly higher than performance in the second chamber. |
| (Note: some of the results in the following paragraphs seem potentially dubious. Refer to this footnote((These results indicate an incredibly high level of cognitive sophistication. This has led to some speculation about the veracity of the claims. For instance, in Advanced Cognition in Ants, Czaczkes notes that “The cognitive abilities reported in this body of work are so far advanced from other cognitive abilities reported for other insects or even great apes, corvids, or cetaceans that there is not yet consensus as to whether these results can be accepted at face value.” And similarly, “To my knowledge, the only published independent attempt to replicate simple contact-based directional communication [...] failed.”)) for a brief review of skepticism about the veracity of these studies.) | (Note: some of the results in the following paragraphs seem potentially dubious. Refer to this footnote((These results indicate an incredibly high level of cognitive sophistication. This has led to some speculation about the veracity of the claims. For instance, in Advanced Cognition in Ants, Czaczkes notes that “The cognitive abilities reported in this body of work are so far advanced from other cognitive abilities reported for other insects or even great apes, corvids, or cetaceans that there is not yet consensus as to whether these results can be accepted at face value.” And similarly, “To my knowledge, the only published independent attempt to replicate simple contact-based directional communication [...] failed.”)) for a brief review of skepticism about the veracity of these studies.) |
| |
| | {{ binary_maze.png?350 }} |
| |
| There is another set of studies (reviewed by Reznikova here((Reznikova, “Experimental paradigms for studying cognition and communication in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).” //Myrmecological News//, August 2008. ))) which aims to quantify how much sequential information scout ants are capable of transmitting to forager ants. They test this using Y mazes of varying sizes (also called binary mazes). The image below shows a binary maze of size two (i.e., there are two decision points).((Contrary to the image, in the experiments all troughs are filled with water so that ants must use the maze routes.)) | There is another set of studies (reviewed by Reznikova here((Reznikova, “Experimental paradigms for studying cognition and communication in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).” //Myrmecological News//, August 2008. ))) which aims to quantify how much sequential information scout ants are capable of transmitting to forager ants. They test this using Y mazes of varying sizes (also called binary mazes). The image below shows a binary maze of size two (i.e., there are two decision points).((Contrary to the image, in the experiments all troughs are filled with water so that ants must use the maze routes.)) |
| |
| Furthermore, the amount of time it took for scouts to communicate the information((This was measured as the length (in seconds) between when the scout first touched the first forager ant and when the first two foragers left the nest for the maze.)) increased with increasing complexity of the sequence. For instance, random sequences such as LRLLRL took almost twice as long to communicate as repetitive sequences of the same length, e.g., LLLLLL. This suggests that ants were capable of compressing some of the regularities present in the sequential information. The table below shows some of these results. Each sequence was tested in around ten different runs of the experiment. | Furthermore, the amount of time it took for scouts to communicate the information((This was measured as the length (in seconds) between when the scout first touched the first forager ant and when the first two foragers left the nest for the maze.)) increased with increasing complexity of the sequence. For instance, random sequences such as LRLLRL took almost twice as long to communicate as repetitive sequences of the same length, e.g., LLLLLL. This suggests that ants were capable of compressing some of the regularities present in the sequential information. The table below shows some of these results. Each sequence was tested in around ten different runs of the experiment. |
| | |
| | {{ binary_maze_results.png?250 }} |
| | |
| Based on these studies, the researchers calculated that ants are capable of transmitting around 1 bit per minute.((In this study it was slightly less than 1 bit per minute, but in other studies it was slightly more.)) For reference, human languages have been estimated to transmit ~2400 bits per minute.((See "languages to gravitate around an information rate (IR) of about 39 bits/s." in Coupé et al., “Different languages, similar encoding efficient: Comparable information rates across the human communicative niche.” //Science Advances//, September 2019. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw2594)) | Based on these studies, the researchers calculated that ants are capable of transmitting around 1 bit per minute.((In this study it was slightly less than 1 bit per minute, but in other studies it was slightly more.)) For reference, human languages have been estimated to transmit ~2400 bits per minute.((See "languages to gravitate around an information rate (IR) of about 39 bits/s." in Coupé et al., “Different languages, similar encoding efficient: Comparable information rates across the human communicative niche.” //Science Advances//, September 2019. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw2594)) |
| ==== Big versus Small ==== | ==== Big versus Small ==== |
| |
| Using a linear homing maze (as shown in the sequence learning section), Beugnon and Macquart((Beugnon, G., & Macquart, D., “Sequential learning of relative size by the Neotropical ant Gigantiops destructor.” //Journal of Comparative Physiology//, February 2016, doi:10.1007/s00359-016-1075-2.)) trained ants to go left when presented with a wide bar and right when presented with a narrow bar. This setup is pictured below (each ant traverses through six of these decision chambers sequentially). In this picture, the first chamber (number 1) includes an image of a wide bar and a transparent door covers the right hand exit (disabling the ants from taking it). Ants thus learn to associate a wide bar with the left exit through trial and error (there is no reward involved). Likewise, the second chamber has a narrow bar and a transparent door covering the left exit, so ants learn to associate narrow bars with the right hand door. | Using a linear homing maze (as described in the sequence learning section), Beugnon and Macquart((Beugnon, G., & Macquart, D., “Sequential learning of relative size by the Neotropical ant Gigantiops destructor.” //Journal of Comparative Physiology//, February 2016, doi:10.1007/s00359-016-1075-2.)) trained ants to go left when presented with a wide bar and right when presented with a narrow bar. They did this by placing a transparent covering on the right hand exit when a wide bar was presented in the chamber, leaving the ants no choice but to go left. Ants thus learn to associate a wide bar with the left exit through trial and error (there is no reward involved). Likewise, the second chamber has a narrow bar and a transparent door covering the left exit, so ants learn to associate narrow bars with the right hand door. |
| |
| Once ants had learned to associate a wide bar with left and a narrow bar with right, the experimenters introduced six additional chambers. In the first three, either three wide bars were presented, or three narrow ones were. In the last three, a bar of intermediate size was presented. The authors reasoned that if the ants had learned the relational concept of size, then ants that had just seen three wide bars would presumably treat the intermediate bar as narrow and go right. Conversely, ants who had just seen three narrow bars should choose to go left. | Once ants had learned to associate a wide bar with left and a narrow bar with right, the experimenters introduced six additional chambers. In the first three, either three wide bars were presented, or three narrow ones were. In the last three, a bar of intermediate size was presented. The authors reasoned that if the ants had learned the relational concept of size, then ants that had just seen three wide bars would presumably treat the intermediate bar as narrow and go right. Conversely, ants who had just seen three narrow bars should choose to go left. |
