McEwen Emma Suvi, Allritz Matthias, Call Josep, Koopman Sarah E, Rapport Munro Emilie, Bottero Cantuarias Cristóbal J, Menzel Charles R, Dolins Francine L, Janmaat Karline R L, Schweller Kenneth
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.
Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany.
Behav Processes. 2025 Jan;224:105126. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105126. Epub 2024 Dec 11.
Virtual environment software is increasingly being employed as a non-invasive method in primate cognition research. Familiar and novel stimuli can be presented in new ways, opening the door to studying aspects of cognition in captivity which previously may not have been feasible. Despite the increased complexity of visual input compared to more traditional computerised studies, several groups of captive primates have now been trained to navigate virtual three-dimensional environments. Here, we outline a method for training primates to use a computerised virtual foraging task presented on a touchscreen. We document how to tailor this method to groups facing different training challenges. We present data from three groups: touchscreen-experienced chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), touchscreen-naïve orang-utans (Pongo abelii), and chimpanzees tested in a group setting. Subjects from all groups mastered basic navigation challenges with relative ease (some in as little as 16 days), setting them up for systematic studies of primate cognition within virtual environments. The training method we present is flexible, yet structured, and we encourage other researchers to adapt it to implement virtual environment research with more individuals and across more species.
虚拟环境软件越来越多地被用作灵长类动物认知研究中的一种非侵入性方法。熟悉的和新颖的刺激可以以新的方式呈现，为研究圈养环境下以前可能无法进行的认知方面打开了大门。尽管与更传统的计算机化研究相比，视觉输入的复杂性增加了，但现在已经训练了几组圈养灵长类动物在虚拟三维环境中导航。在这里，我们概述了一种训练灵长类动物使用触摸屏上呈现的计算机化虚拟觅食任务的方法。我们记录了如何针对面临不同训练挑战的群体调整这种方法。我们展示了来自三组的数据：有触摸屏使用经验的黑猩猩（黑猩猩属）、没有触摸屏使用经验的红毛猩猩（婆罗洲猩猩），以及在群体环境中接受测试的黑猩猩。所有组的受试者都相对轻松地掌握了基本的导航挑战（有些只用了16天），为在虚拟环境中对灵长类动物认知进行系统研究奠定了基础。我们提出的训练方法灵活但有结构，我们鼓励其他研究人员对其进行调整，以便对更多个体和更多物种开展虚拟环境研究。
