Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-06-03Epub Date: 2026-08-10DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02066-0
Sara R. Bond, Jordan Nerz, Katie Cagney, Kenneth J. Leising
{"title":"Examining non-reinforced lever pressing as intrinsically-motivated behavior","authors":"Sara R. Bond, Jordan Nerz, Katie Cagney, Kenneth J. Leising","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02066-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02066-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Athletes practice, artists craft, and academics read; often for no nominal outcome. According to the overjustification hypothesis, these intrinsically motivated behaviors can be reduced if followed by a reinforcer. Those listed above are uniquely human behaviors, but there are little data evaluating this effect in other animals. Two experiments evaluated the overjustification effect in rats. In Experiment 1, rats lever pressed for no reinforcer (initial baseline), followed by a manipulation period where lever presses resulted in an expected or unexpected reinforcer (food), or no reinforcer, and lastly, rats again lever pressed for no reinforcer (final baseline period). Increased lever pressing was observed initially for groups that received a reinforcer, but it quickly returned to baseline and no evidence for the overjustification effect was found. In Experiment 2, sensory effects of lever pressing were added to increase the rate of behavior. The baseline rate of lever pressing increased for all groups, and lever pressing after unexpected reinforcement occurred at a higher rate than after expected reinforcement, but this group did not differ from the group with no reinforcement. These findings underscore the challenge of predicting overjustification effects and point to additional factors that may be critical for identifying intrinsically motivated behavior in human and non-human animals.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453994/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148148267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-06-03Epub Date: 2026-08-10DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02075-z
Elena Buso, Maria Loconsole, Simona Normando
{"title":"Comparing behavioural sampling methods in shelter dogs: implications for enrichment studies","authors":"Elena Buso, Maria Loconsole, Simona Normando","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02075-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02075-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Animals living in human-dominated environments often face constrains on expression of natural behavioural repertoire and compromised welfare. Domestic dogs (<i>Canis lupus familiaris</i>) housed in shelters provide a valuable model for examining both welfare outcomes and methodological approaches to behavioural assessment in an artificial, and human organised, setting. Here we evaluate behavioural sampling methods within an ecologically valid experimental framework. Specifically, we compared continuous recording (CR) and instantaneous sampling (IS; 15s, 30s, and 6s intervals) following enrichment manipulation, reflecting a real-world research context for behavioural data collection. From a methodological perspective, results showed that IS systematically underestimated behavioural expression compared to CR, with increasing underestimation from IS-15 to IS-60. Regarding enrichment, using CR as the most reliable approach, we investigated the short-term behavioural effects of social interaction with conspecifics and food-based olfactory stimulation. We found that, while overall behavioural repertoires did not differ markedly between enrichment conditions, inactive lying increased following social interaction compared to olfactory enrichment. Stress-related behaviours were rare, indicating that neither enrichment type was aversive and that both social and olfactory enrichment can be safely implemented in shelters. Our findings highlight the importance of aligning sampling methods with specific research aims and behavioural outcomes and inform the implementation of different enrichment programs in shelter dogs. This integrated approach aligns with the principle of reduction by maximising information from a single dataset, allowing methodological and experimental conclusions under realistic conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453999/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148148273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-06-02Epub Date: 2026-08-10DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02072-2
Anita Szabó, Alice Exnerová
{"title":"To pull or push? Performance of four passerine species in the lever-pulling task","authors":"Anita Szabó, Alice Exnerová","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02072-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02072-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent years, avian cognition has become a subject of intensive research. Most studies have, nevertheless, only focused on a few bird taxa known for their high cognitive capacities and comparative studies of other species are scarce. Testing problem-solving abilities of birds can give us an insight into how they can adapt to changing environments through innovation. Lever-pulling is a well-known paradigm to investigate problem-solving in various species, and analysing subjects’ behaviour leading to solving the task could give us important insights into the cognitive mechanisms and motor propensities potentially affecting success. Although blue tits (<i>Cyanistes caeruleus</i>) and great tits (<i>Parus major</i>) are known for successful performance during various cognitive tasks, other small passerine species inhabiting similar environments remain understudied. In contrast to great tits and blue tits, coal tits (<i>Periparus ater</i>) and nuthatches (<i>Sitta europaea</i>) are food-storing species, thus interspecific comparisons could reveal whether different foraging strategies are linked to problem-solving performance. We tested wild-caught blue and great tit adults and hand-reared juveniles of all four species in a food-motivated lever-pulling task. Results indicate species-specific differences among juveniles, with coal tits and nuthatches demonstrating greater success. Birds from both age categories performed similarly, but juveniles were faster to solve the task than adults. Success was positively influenced by individual traits such as persistence, accuracy and motivation from prior experience, but not by the initial latency to approach the apparatus. Our results reveal how both foraging strategy and individual traits could be related to innovative problem-solving in small passerines.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13454000/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148148270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-29Epub Date: 2026-08-10DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02068-y
Hannah Salomons, Emily Guarino, Kelly Jaakkola
{"title":"Imitate that one: dolphins spontaneously interpret human pointing gesture in a novel context","authors":"Hannah Salomons, Emily Guarino, Kelly Jaakkola","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02068-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02068-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding whether non-human animals interpret human pointing as cooperative communication remains a central question in comparative cognition. Pointing is a foundational aspect of human communication, yet success in traditional object-choice tasks could theoretically reflect conditioned responses rather than comprehension of communicative intent. Recent work therefore focuses on testing flexible, spontaneous use of gestures in novel contexts. Here, we examined whether bottlenose dolphins (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>) could interpret a human point to solve a new problem in a modified “do-as-I-do” task: selecting which of two conspecific models to imitate. Subjects (<i>n</i> = 3) were already proficient in imitating a single model. In this version, they observed two models simultaneously performing different behaviors while the trainer gave the signal to imitate and pointed to one model. To succeed, dolphins had to interpret the point as indicating which model to imitate. All dolphins performed significantly above chance, both in overall imitation accuracy (chance = 1/11) and when analysis was limited to trials in which they imitated one of the two models (chance = ½). Performance did not improve across trials, indicating spontaneous rather than learned interpretation. These findings demonstrate that non-language-trained dolphins can flexibly apply the meaning of a familiar gesture in a novel context, responding to the same gesture with different behaviors by spontaneously interpreting the meaning of the gesture within the new game. This interpretation suggests an understanding of pointing as cooperative communication rather than a simple discriminative cue, paralleling results in dogs and raising the possibility that dolphins’ abilities evolved through self-domestication and/or conspecific distal referencing systems such as echolocation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13454005/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148052012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-26Epub Date: 2026-06-19DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02069-x
Tom S. Roth, Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, Juan Olvido Perea-García
{"title":"Designing research interfaces for non-human minds: a biocentric design approach for animal cognition research","authors":"Tom S. Roth, Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, Juan Olvido Perea-García","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02069-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02069-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The last few decades have indubitably advanced comparative research with non-human participants, often thanks to the implementation of digital interfaces. Nonetheless, the top-down application of anthropocentric designs - fitting animals to human-centered technology and scenarios - has gained almost unquestionable acceptance. This approach presents potential limitations regarding data quality and its impact on participants, caregivers, and researchers alike. We critically assess this situation, proposing the adoption of a bottom-up biocentric approach in which computer systems and test paradigms center around the animals’ behavior and cognition rather than vice versa. We combine this proposal with insights from iterative design to create biocentric computer apparatuses. By embracing a biocentric perspective, researchers can align study designs with animals’ natural tendencies rather than adapting the animals to fit methodologies and computer systems initially designed for humans. This approach recognizes ecological and cognitive factors unique to each species, prompting researchers to question whether current paradigms effectively capture the cognitive phenomena they intend to measure. As comparative research advances, incorporating more flexible, biocentric methodologies could yield more scientifically robust and ethically sound findings. While digital technologies remain a cornerstone of animal cognition research, we advocate for innovation beyond training animals towards human-centric paradigms. This shift invites a more nuanced and respectful understanding of animal cognition, aligning research objectives with the genuine interests and welfare of non-human participants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02069-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148025749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-25Epub Date: 2026-07-03DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02055-3
Siqi Yang-Fu, Christian Menne, Chiara Canori, Dániel Rivas-Blanco, Oli Green, Friederike Range, Tiago Monteiro
{"title":"On the (limited) use of touchscreen-based behavioural and cognitive research with dogs: potential causes and future directions","authors":"Siqi Yang-Fu, Christian Menne, Chiara Canori, Dániel Rivas-Blanco, Oli Green, Friederike Range, Tiago Monteiro","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02055-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02055-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Dogs (<i>Canis familiaris</i>) are an increasingly popular model in comparative cognition research. Traditional research paradigms often rely on heavy experimenter involvement, which can introduce biases and inconsistencies. Touchscreen-based automated systems offer a solution by enhancing standardization, reducing experimenter effects, and improving data quality, and have been widely adopted for research with diverse species. However, their adoption in dog research has remained underexplored. This systematic review quantified dog behaviour and cognition literature in relation to touchscreen-based methodologies and evaluated existing touchscreen-based approaches. Our search confirmed that while the field of dog cognition continues to grow, touchscreen-based studies are exceptionally rare, with only fourteen such publications identified for the entire indexed record. We explored the potential reasons for this limited adoption by categorizing them into three main barriers: technical, such as the need for interdisciplinary skills; practical, including high costs and lengthy training requirements and <i>Umwelt</i>, relating to the dogs’ species-specific constraints. Finally, we propose strategies to overcome these obstacles, including the use of open-source solutions, establishing multi-lab collaborations, and designing interfaces better aligned with dogs’ <i>Umwelt</i>. We conclude that despite being underutilized, touchscreen-based methods hold significant promise for advancing canine research. By addressing current challenges through collaborative, open, and dog-centred practices, the field can integrate touchscreen-based methods more widely, enhance reproducibility, accelerate discovery, and obtain objective indicators of dogs’ behavioural and cognitive capabilities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02055-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148013135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-18Epub Date: 2026-07-14DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02070-4
Patrizia Piotti, R. M. Spooner, K. Peirce, I. Shelley, Georgia Tuohy, Jérôme Micheletta, Juliane Kaminski
{"title":"Reward expectation drives dogs’ choices in a prosocial test","authors":"Patrizia Piotti, R. M. Spooner, K. Peirce, I. Shelley, Georgia Tuohy, Jérôme Micheletta, Juliane Kaminski","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02070-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02070-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recent research has tried to determine whether and under which conditions domestic dogs (<i>Canis familiaris</i>) engage in prosocial and potentially altruistic behaviour. A common paradigm used to test this is the so-called prosocial choice test. This is a task in which the animal can choose to operate an apparatus based on the outcome. For example, this could involve delivering food to themselves, to another individual, to both, or to neither. The aim of the current study was to investigate dogs’ collaborative tendencies with humans, with the use of a novel prosocial choice test paradigm. This paradigm was designed to take into account the fact that predators may have a more natural tendency to pull vertically rather than horizontally. Our paradigm is based on pulleys that are operated by the dogs, an action which dogs mastered without extensive training. All dogs (<i>N</i> = 16) participated in three experimental conditions (selfish-, prosocial- and altruistic condition) and two control conditions (no-reward- and partner-absent control). We further tested to what extent the between subjects’ familiarity with the human partner (owner vs. stranger) mattered to the dogs. The dogs were more likely to operate the apparatus when they received a reward (selfish- and prosocial condition) than when they did not (altruistic- and no-reward condition). In addition, the absence of a partner, owner or stranger only marginally affected the dogs’ tendency to pull. Based on our findings, we cannot conclude that dogs make altruistic or prosocial choices; rather, they appear motivated by selfish interests. We discuss the possibility that even small procedural changes can have large implications on the behaviour of the dogs during the tests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02070-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147961902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-11Epub Date: 2026-06-08DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02062-4
Valeria Mazza, Lorenzo Latini, Gioia Burini, Riccardo De Donno, Marianna Scalvini, Doriana Benedetti, Mirko Liuzzo, Giacomo Grignani, Giuseppe Nascetti, Stefano Malavasi, Elena Tricarico, Daniele Canestrelli, Claudio Carere
{"title":"Heads and tails of individual differences: the role of environmental complexity in cognitive development of juvenile lobsters","authors":"Valeria Mazza, Lorenzo Latini, Gioia Burini, Riccardo De Donno, Marianna Scalvini, Doriana Benedetti, Mirko Liuzzo, Giacomo Grignani, Giuseppe Nascetti, Stefano Malavasi, Elena Tricarico, Daniele Canestrelli, Claudio Carere","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02062-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02062-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Experiencing environmental complexity during early life is fundamental for vertebrate neural development, with profound and often irreversible effects on later behavioural and cognitive outcomes. However, studies on the early stages of invertebrate development are scanty. European lobsters (<i>Homarus gammarus</i>) are routinely reared in captivity for subsequent release in the context of restocking and stock-enhancement. The impoverished captive conditions they experience may exert long-term effects on their development, ultimately impairing their success after release. Here we tested the effects of environmental complexity during early life on learning (<i>N</i> = 38) and personality (<i>N</i> = 132) of juvenile lobsters. Lobsters experienced a full enrichment (with both substrate and shelter), a partial enrichment (either substrate or shelter), or bare standard conditions as a control. We assessed lobsters’ exploration and activity patterns via repeated open field tests, quantified their learning in a double T-maze, and investigated the possible presence of a speed-accuracy/flexibility trade-off in decision-making. We found that juvenile lobsters raised in enriched environments were more active compared to lobsters raised in control conditions. They were also faster in taking decisions and in correcting erroneous ones compared to controls, while decision speed did not predict the accuracy of its outcome. Finally, while all lobsters reached the learning criterion, the effects of environmental treatment on learning speed were only detectable in individuals that developed a wild-type morphological phenotype (i.e. asymmetrical claws), who showed a higher information-seeking tendency and required more trials. Overall, these results indicate a key role of early-life experience of environmental complexity in the development of behavioural and cognitive traits that can drive success in the wild.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02062-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147866360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-05-05Epub Date: 2026-06-29DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02067-z
Ming-Ray Liao, Ria Patel, Elizabeth J. Connor, Maria Ulloa Yoshikawa, Katelyn N. Steakley, Orianis A. Moore, Jessica L. Yorzinski
{"title":"Numerical competence in peafowl: small quantity discrimination","authors":"Ming-Ray Liao, Ria Patel, Elizabeth J. Connor, Maria Ulloa Yoshikawa, Katelyn N. Steakley, Orianis A. Moore, Jessica L. Yorzinski","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02067-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02067-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The ability to discriminate numbers is widespread across taxonomically diverse animals. Some animals may have evolved enhanced numerical abilities to cope with specific social or ecological challenges. Peafowl (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>) are one example in which enhanced numerical abilities could be useful because peacocks have colorful trains that exhibit many eyespot feathers and females may evaluate the number of eyespot feathers to assess their mates. We therefore tested the numerical discrimination abilities of captive peafowl using a custom touchscreen apparatus. Peafowl were presented with two squares that contained a different number of circles (one to eight) and they received a reward for pecking on the square that contained more circles. To examine whether quantity factors aside from numerosity were influencing their performance, we varied the size, density or surface area of the circles. We found that the peafowl’s performance was largely driven by numerosity rather than the other quantity factors. The peafowl generally performed at levels above chance regardless of the size, density or surface area of the circles. Their performance was also consistent with the Weber–Fechner Law, in which numerical discrimination is related to the ratio between numbers rather than the absolute difference. The results suggest that peafowl can discriminate among numbers and they could potentially use that ability during courtship or other contexts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02067-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147832766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Animal CognitionPub Date : 2026-04-18Epub Date: 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02065-1
Laura Segura-Hernández, Kenna D. S. Lehmann, John Perez, Daniel D. Wiegmann, Verner P. Bingman, Eileen A. Hebets
{"title":"Olfactory learning in two Amblypygi species Paraphrynus laevifrons and Phrynus pseudoparvulus","authors":"Laura Segura-Hernández, Kenna D. S. Lehmann, John Perez, Daniel D. Wiegmann, Verner P. Bingman, Eileen A. Hebets","doi":"10.1007/s10071-026-02065-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-026-02065-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A wide diversity of arthropod taxa have demonstrated the capacity for learning, but most of our current understanding comes from only a select subset of this highly diverse clade, with most studies focusing on various insect groups. Amblypygids (Order Amblypygi, Class Arachnida), however, are emerging as a model group for studying sensory integration and the neural substrates associated with learning and memory, especially as it relates to navigation. These nocturnal creatures possess specialized sensory appendages and one of the largest and most complex mushroom bodies - the part of the arthropod brain associated with learning and memory - of any arthropod. Prior field studies on multiple species demonstrate sophisticated homing abilities while laboratory-based behavioral assays in <i>Phrynus marginemaculatus</i> confirm olfactory-based learning associated with a refuge. In this study, we expand these laboratory-based assays to test the olfactory learning ability of two additional amblypygid species - <i>Paraphrynus laevifrons</i> and <i>Phrynus pseudoparvulus</i> - for which field data suggest complex navigation. We trained each species to associate an open refuge with a distinct chemical stimulus, using slightly different species-specific experimental details. We found evidence of olfactory learning in the training trials for both species, with an unexpected pattern of seeming avoidance learning of hexanol. Our test trials did not show significant associations with the trained stimulus, but this may have been in part due to our experimental design. Ultimately, we find some evidence of olfactory learning in additional amblypygid species, but our findings raise additional questions and highlight the need for species-specific study designs.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-026-02065-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147715537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}