Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, PO Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, United States.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, PO Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, United States.
Behav Processes. 2021 May;186:104375. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104375. Epub 2021 Mar 12.
Assessments for behavioral inhibition in pet dogs that can rapidly detect age-related cognitive deficits (ARCD) using inexpensive and accessible materials may aid in diagnosing canine dementia and may facilitate translational research on Alzheimer's disease in humans. In this study, we designed and deployed a spatial serial reversal learning test in which 80 pet dogs were required to learn which of two identical boxes contained a hidden food treat. Each time the dog chose the correct box in three consecutive trials the procedure was repeated using the other box. All dogs that completed shaping (n = 62) also completed the 30-minute assessment. Middle-aged dogs chose the correct box more often than younger and older dogs. This cognitive decline was detectable with a stand-alone score for perseveration that can be easily measured and interpreted by clinicians and dog owners. Age did not predict how frequently the dog learned the serially-reversing reward contingency but older and younger dogs displayed longer streaks of perseverative errors. Thus, ARCD in dogs may be better characterized by bouts of severe cognitive dysfunction rather than temporally-consistent cognitive deficits. We suggest that future ARCD assessments for pet dogs should include measurements for intra-individual variability.
评估宠物犬的行为抑制能力，使用廉价且易得的材料，可以快速检测到与年龄相关的认知缺陷（ARCD），这有助于诊断犬类痴呆症，并促进人类阿尔茨海默病的转化研究。在这项研究中，我们设计并实施了一项空间序列反转学习测试，要求 80 只宠物犬学习两个相同盒子中的哪一个藏有隐藏的食物奖励。每次狗在连续三次试验中选择正确的盒子，就会使用另一个盒子重复该程序。所有完成塑造阶段（n=62）的狗也完成了 30 分钟的评估。中年犬比年轻犬和老年犬更频繁地选择正确的盒子。这种认知能力的下降可以通过一种独立的坚持得分来检测，临床医生和狗主人可以轻松地测量和解释这个得分。年龄并不能预测狗学习连续反转奖励条件的频率，但老年犬和年轻犬表现出更长的坚持错误的连续。因此，犬类的 ARCD 可能更适合通过严重认知功能障碍的发作来描述，而不是时间一致的认知缺陷。我们建议，未来对宠物犬的 ARCD 评估应包括个体内变异性的测量。
