Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
J Exp Psychol Anim Learn Cogn. 2021 Jul;47(3):371-383. doi: 10.1037/xan0000302.
Adaptively and flexibly modifying one's behavior depending on the current demands of the situation is a hallmark of executive function. Here, we examined whether pigeons could flexibly shift their attention from one set of features that were relevant in one categorization task to another set of features that were relevant in a second categorization task. Critically, members of both sets of features were available on every training trial, thereby requiring that attention be adaptively deployed on a trial-by-trial basis based on contextual information. The pigeons not only learned to correctly categorize the stimuli but, as training progressed, they concentrated their pecks to the training stimuli (a proxy measure for attention) on those features that were relevant in a specific context. The pigeons selectively tracked the features that were relevant in Context 1-but were irrelevant in Context 2-and they selectively tracked the features that were relevant in Context 2-but were irrelevant in Context 1. This adept feature tracking requires disengaging attention from a previously relevant feature and shifting attention to a previously ignored feature on a trial-by-trial basis. Pigeons' adaptive and flexible performance provides strong empirical support for the involvement of focusing and shifting attention under exceptionally challenging training conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
根据当前情况的需求，适应性地和灵活地调整行为是执行功能的一个标志。在这里，我们研究了鸽子是否能够灵活地将注意力从一个与一个分类任务相关的特征集转移到另一个与第二个分类任务相关的特征集。关键的是，两组特征的成员都可以在每个训练试验中使用，因此需要根据上下文信息在逐次试验的基础上适应性地分配注意力。鸽子不仅学会了正确地对刺激进行分类，而且随着训练的进行，它们将啄击集中在特定环境中相关的训练刺激上（注意力的代理测量）。鸽子选择性地跟踪在 Context 1 中相关的特征，但在 Context 2 中不相关，它们选择性地跟踪在 Context 2 中相关的特征，但在 Context 1 中不相关。这种熟练的特征跟踪需要在逐次试验的基础上，将注意力从先前相关的特征上转移开，并将注意力转移到先前忽略的特征上。鸽子适应性和灵活的表现为在极其具有挑战性的训练条件下，注意力集中和转移的参与提供了强有力的经验支持。
