Moser Ariella Y, Bizo Lewis, Brown Wendy Y
Canine and Equine Research Group, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
School of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Sep 19;9(9):702. doi: 10.3390/ani9090702.
Generalizing to target odor variations while retaining specificity against non-targets is crucial to the success of detector dogs under working conditions. As such, the importance of generalization should be considered in the formulation of effective training strategies. Research investigating olfactory generalization from pure singular compounds to more complex odor mixtures helps to elucidate animals' olfactory generalization tendencies and inform ways to alter the generalization gradient by broadening or narrowing the range of stimuli to which dogs will respond. Olfactory generalization depends upon both intrinsic factors of the odors, such as concentration, as well as behavioral and cognitive factors related to training and previous experience. Based on the current research, some training factors may influence generalization. For example, using multiple target exemplars appears to be the most effective way to promote elemental processing and broaden the generalization gradient, whereas increasing the number of training instances with fewer exemplars can narrow the gradient, thereby increasing discrimination. Overall, this research area requires further attention and study to increase our understanding of olfactory generalization in dogs, particularly detector dogs, to improve training and detection outcomes.
在工作条件下，能够对目标气味变化进行泛化，同时保持对非目标气味的特异性，这对缉毒犬的成功至关重要。因此，在制定有效的训练策略时，应考虑泛化的重要性。研究从纯单一化合物到更复杂气味混合物的嗅觉泛化，有助于阐明动物的嗅觉泛化倾向，并为通过扩大或缩小狗对其做出反应的刺激范围来改变泛化梯度的方法提供依据。嗅觉泛化既取决于气味的内在因素，如浓度，也取决于与训练和以往经验相关的行为和认知因素。基于目前的研究，一些训练因素可能会影响泛化。例如，使用多个目标范例似乎是促进元素处理和拓宽泛化梯度的最有效方法，而增加较少范例的训练实例数量会缩小梯度，从而提高辨别能力。总体而言，这一研究领域需要进一步关注和研究，以增进我们对狗尤其是缉毒犬嗅觉泛化的理解，从而改善训练和检测结果。
