Behavioural Processes最新文献

{"title":"The Extinction Burst: Effects of Alternative Reinforcement Rate.","authors":"Timothy A Shahan, Matias Avellaneda, Joshua B Hiltz, Brian D Greer, Wayne W Fisher","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105433","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Discontinuing reinforcement for an operant response can sometimes produce a transient increase in the rate of that response (i.e., an extinction burst). Although differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) can attenuate the extinction burst, the effects of rate of alternative reinforcement on the extinction burst have never been examined. Using a within-session transition from a variable-interval (VI) 1.5-s schedule to extinction, we examined how arranging different rates of reinforcement for an alternative response during extinction affected target and alternative responding of rats. Consistent with prior findings, reinforcing an alternative behavior eliminated the extinction burst. Surprisingly, all arranged alternative reinforcement rates eliminated the extinction burst and similarly reduced target response rates, despite generating differential rates of alternative behavior. This outcome is contrary to predictions of the temporally weighted matching law, which predicts both graded suppression of target behavior and higher alternative response rates with higher alternative reinforcement rates. Early in extinction, alternative responding was elevated and initially nondifferentiated across groups, suggesting that rats required some time to discriminate the rate of alternative reinforcement. Incorporating a temporary generalization-of-value across target and alternative responses substantially improved model fits. These findings show that arranging even lean DRA schedules might prevent the extinction burst and suggest potential new avenues for studying response generalization during transitions to extinction.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105433"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148890841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations of behavioural activity and environmental conditions with milk production and composition in dairy cows.","authors":"Çağrı Melikşah Sakar, Burak Artut, Yasin Ergiden, Gökce Ünal, Adil Akın Aydin, Özkan Aslan, İbrahim Aytekin","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105432","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105432","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present study investigated the relationships between behavioural traits, environmental conditions, and milk production and composition in dairy cows using data obtained from an automated behavioural monitoring system. A total of 283 observations collected from 19 Holstein Friesian and Simmental cows were evaluated. Behavioural traits, including activity, eating, and rumination time, were recorded using the CowManager SensOor system, while environmental conditions were assessed using the temperature-humidity index (THI). Morning milk yield and milk composition traits were evaluated in relation to behavioural, environmental, and lactation-related factors using linear mixed-effects models. Milk yield decreased with advancing lactation stage, whereas milk protein and lactose concentrations increased. Increasing THI was negatively associated with morning milk yield in the initial analysis, but this association did not remain significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. In contrast, THI was positively associated with milk pH, although the magnitude of this association was small. Behavioural variables showed limited associations with milk production and major milk composition traits; however, eating time was negatively associated with milk electrical conductivity after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Overall, the findings indicate that environmental conditions and lactation stage are important sources of variation in milk production and composition, whereas automated behavioural measurements may provide complementary information on selected milk quality characteristics. These results highlight the potential of sensor-based behavioural monitoring as a complementary tool for evaluating dairy cow performance under variable environmental conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105432"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148879154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Extinction burst: An attentional assessment.","authors":"Roberto Jiménez-Castillo, Alberto Monroy-Olvera, Javier Vila","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105431","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extinction is not just a passive decay of behavior but an active process of reorganization. This study explored this reorganization by examining the extinction burst and its connection to changes in attentional stimulus control in human participants. In Experiment 1 (N = 64), participants responded on either a Fixed-Ratio 1 (FR1) or Fixed-Ratio 5 (FR5) schedule, followed by extinction. Both schedules triggered a significant extinction burst in the first seconds of extinction, with the burst being larger under FR5. In Experiment 2 (N = 32), response rates and eye-tracking data (gaze fixation dispersion) were measured at the same time under FR1 and FR5 schedules. Results confirmed the extinction burst, which was again more pronounced in the FR5 group. Importantly, attentional reorganization followed a different time course from the motor response: fixation dispersion stayed steady during the baseline and the peak of the burst (E1) but increased significantly in the post-burst interval (E2) as responses began to decline. These findings indicate that extinction starts a hierarchical adaptive process: a low-cost 'exploitation' phase (the motor burst) followed by a broader 'exploration' phase (attentional dispersion), occurring only after the initial strategy fails.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105431"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148873001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caste dimorphism in necrophoric behaviour of Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius): Implications for colony hygiene and disease management.","authors":"Patrick Tobechukwu Duru, Lukman Idowu Gambari, Okafor Ndidiamaka Patience, Kumara Thevan, Hasber Salim","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105429","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social immunity in eusocial insects involves collective behavioural mechanisms that reduce pathogen transmission within colonies. In ants, necrophoric behaviour plays an important role in colony hygiene; however, the relationship between caste-specific morphology, sensory structures, and hygienic performance remains poorly understood in Oecophylla smaragdina. This study investigated caste differences in necrophoric behaviour, morphometric traits, and antennal sensilla morphology in major and minor workers of O. smaragdina using behavioural assays, morphometric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Linear mixed-effects model analysis revealed significant caste-dependent differences in corpse detection latency, colony included as a random effect. Minor workers detected corpses significantly faster than major workers across all five colonies, exhibiting mean detection latencies of 40.20 ± 13.32 s to 50.60 ± 9.13 s, compared to 122.40 ± 14.03 s to 143.80 ± 17.78 s in major workers. Morphometric analyses showed that major workers possessed significantly larger body dimensions than minor workers across all measured traits. SEM examination revealed distinct caste-specific variation in antennal and mandibular structures. Minor workers exhibited higher total antennal sensillar counts (117) compared to major workers (94), whereas sensilla in majors appeared comparatively larger. These findings suggest that sensory and morphological specialization may contribute to caste-specific hygienic roles and division of labour in O. smaragdina.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105429"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148860376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of feeding on dogs' frustration-related behaviours during a laboratory-based scent detection task.","authors":"Jade Fountain, Journie Yee, Susan J Hazel, Todd J McWhorter, Tyler McNutt, Timothy L Edwards","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105430","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dogs often use their keen olfactory abilities in laboratory settings to support scent detection research. In cognitively demanding tasks, pre-feeding appears to influence engagement and performance, but the effects of hunger state on dogs' frustration-related behaviour during scent-detection work has not previously been examined. We analysed overall behaviour patterns observed during a laboratory-based scent detection task and evaluated whether dogs exhibited frustration-related behaviour changes as a function of having had breakfast before the task. We expected to see an increase in frustration-related behaviours when dogs were working prior to eating breakfast. Behavioural observations were extracted from video recordings of six dogs participating in the scent-detection task. During the sessions, dogs spent the greatest proportion of time with the tail held low (85%) and still (73%). Whining and engagement with the feeder and scent detection apparatus was higher when dogs had not eaten before the task, consistent with mild frustration, although behaviours varied between dogs and these differences were primarily driven by one or two dogs. Regardless of condition, lip licking and ground sniffing occurred more frequently earlier in the day, with lip licking also increasing over the course of the study. These findings suggest that working prior to a meal may have a mild effect, increasing frustration-related behaviours in some dogs, but additional research is required to clarify potential mechanisms underlying this effect. The low levels of frustration-related behaviours more generally suggest that laboratory scent-detection tasks, similar to the present task, do not reliably evoke such behaviours.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105430"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148856891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anticipatory activity to a daily palatable stimulus is accelerated in free-feeding rats housed in an enriched environment.","authors":"Olaf Rodríguez-Cruz, Esmeralda Rendón-Candanedo, Diana Angeles-Torres, Alejandro Panes-Castillo, Claudia Juárez-Portilla, Aleph A Corona-Morales","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105428","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In addition to the light-dark cycle, non-photic cues oscillating every 24 h can entrain central and peripheral circadian oscillators. When rodents receive a daily palatable food, they exhibit a pre-feeding increase in locomotor activity known as anticipatory activity (AA). The emergence of AA requires multiple conditioning cycles and persists following stimulus withdrawal, implicating learning and memory processes in its regulation. Environmental enrichment enhances neuroplasticity, learning, and memory capacities; however, its effects on non-photic circadian entrainment remain unexplored. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were reared from weaning under standard or enriched housing conditions for 60 days. Subsequently, locomotor activity was continuously recorded to assess AA to a daily chocolate piece administered during the light phase for 12 consecutive days. Anxiety-like behavior (elevated plus-maze and open field tests), chocolate consumption and motivation (chocolate binge and motivation for enclosed chocolate tests), and preference for other rewarding stimuli (sucrose preference test) were also assessed to determine whether differences in AA expression were attributed to these features. Both groups exhibited robust AA after repeated chocolate exposure; however, enriched rats developed AA approximately two days earlier than standard rats. Additionally, enriched animals displayed enhanced temporal precision of anticipatory onset and shorter post-chocolate activity. No differences were found between housing conditions in anxiety-like behavior, chocolate consumption, motivation to obtain chocolate, or sucrose preference. Our findings suggest that an enriched environment may influence specific temporal features of anticipatory activity induced by a palatable stimulus, without altering hedonic or motivational responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105428"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148856902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to \"Hunting in a complex neighborhood: Juvenile octopuses' interactions with territorial and follower fishes\" [Behav. Process. 241 (2026) 105413].","authors":"Michaella Pereira Andrade, Jennifer Mather, Charles Morphy D Santos","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105422","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":" ","pages":"105422"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148757958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elusive encounters: Activity patterns of the threatened Western polecat and niche overlap with co-occurring carnivores","authors":"Emiliano Mori ,&nbsp;Filippo Alterini ,&nbsp;Leonardo Ancillotto ,&nbsp;Valeria Avetta ,&nbsp;Matteo Bianchi ,&nbsp;Valerio Bruni ,&nbsp;Paolo Bongi ,&nbsp;Mattia Lombardini ,&nbsp;Giulia Santalmasi ,&nbsp;Giacomo Santini ,&nbsp;Andrea Viviano ,&nbsp;Marco Zaccaroni","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the temporal dynamics of carnivore assemblages is crucial for clarifying mechanisms of coexistence and co-occurrence and informing conservation planning. The Western polecat <em>Mustela putorius</em>, a medium-sized mustelid of conservation concern, remains poorly studied in terms of activity rhythms, particularly in southern Europe, where its populations are fragmented and declining. In this study, we investigated the temporal activity patterns and spatiotemporal relationships of polecats, assessing whether co-occurrence with other meso-carnivores may shape the species behaviour. Using systematic camera trapping across 35 stations in the northern Apennines in 2024–2025, we obtained 357 independent detections of medium-sized mustelids, including 41 polecats, 127 pine martens, 91 stone martens, and 98 unidentified <em>Martes</em> spp. Activity analyses confirmed significant deviations from random distributions for all species. Polecats and stone martens were predominantly nocturnal, with peak activity in the early night hours, whereas pine martens exhibited greater diurnal patterns, peaking in early morning. Overlap analyses revealed a high temporal overlap between polecats and stone martens, moderate overlap between polecats and pine martens, and intermediate overlap between the two marten species. Polecat activity was strongly influenced by lunar brightness, being concentrated in the darkest nights, whereas martens showed no significant response to moon phases. The Pianka index suggested also limited spatial overlap amongst all species pairs. These results suggest that co-occurrence among the three meso-carnivores at the landscape level may be facilitated primarily by spatial and habitat segregation, with temporal adjustments further reducing direct competition. The occurrence of polecat records mostly on camera traps located around aquatic habitats may explain their rarity in Italian camera-trap datasets and underscores their vulnerability to ongoing wetland loss. Species-level resolution (e.g., distinguishing between the beech marten and the pine marten) is essential to identify habitat segregation as the primary “coexistence” mechanism among mustelids, highlighting the need for species-specific analyses in carnivore community studies, given their markedly different ecological strategies despite phenotypic similarities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 105396"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148155165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evidence of conditioned food aversion in Japanese fire-bellied newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster)","authors":"Weisheng Zhao ,&nbsp;Ippei Maruyama ,&nbsp;Tohru Taniuchi","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105345","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105345","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Paradis and Cabanac (2004) reported that amphibians, such as toads and newts, do not exhibit a decrease in consumption of a food conditioned stimulus (CS) after being paired with an injection of LiCl. Although they described the food CS as completely novel to the animals, we hypothesized that prior experience with other foods may have generalized to the food CS, leading to stimulus generalization of latent inhibition and impairing the acquisition of a conditioned food aversion. Our aim was to examine conditioned food aversion in Japanese fire-bellied newts (<em>Cynops pyrrhogaster</em>) using a food CS that was expected to be novel in flavor to the subjects. We used <em>kamaboko</em>, a Japanese processed food made from pureed fish with added salt and other ingredients. Newts in the experimental groups received an injection of either 190 mg/kg or 285 mg/kg of 0.15 M LiCl immediately after presentation of the food CS, while the control group received an injection of the same dose of saline. Compared to the control group, both experimental groups exhibited a significant reduction in consumption of the food CS during the test. In contrast, in an additional test conducted on the day following the CS presentation test, no significant differences were found among the groups in their consumption of the familiar food pellets that they had been consuming prior to the experiment. These results suggest that Japanese fire-bellied newts can acquire a conditioned food aversion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":"237 ","pages":"Article 105345"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146177664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Age and sex differences in behavioural responses of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) towards snakes","authors":"Hidemi Torigoe,&nbsp;Shintaro Ishizuka","doi":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.beproc.2026.105344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Avoiding snake predation is essential for the survival of various animal species in the wild. Primates are occasionally predated by snakes, and their anti-predator strategies towards snakes can be better understood by field experiments that investigate behavioural responses to snakes. This study examined such behavioural responses of free-ranging Japanese macaques (<em>Macaca fuscata</em>) on Shodoshima Island. Three snake models (colored black, green, and yellow mottled) were presented to the subjects. Fleeing, alarm calls, looking, and latency of first response were recorded as behavioural responses. We analysed the effects of age and sex of the subject, as well as the effect of snake model on the frequency of each behaviour. Behavioural data were collected from 50 trials. Although the frequency of fleeing was higher in adult females than in adult males, such sex differences were not marked in juveniles. These results might be caused by sex role differences in primates, wherein males often display anti-predator behaviours for the protection of females and/or their offspring, whereas females prioritise protecting themselves and their offspring. Juveniles looked longer at the snake model than adults did, suggesting that juveniles acquire predator knowledge via observation. Age and sex differences were not observed in the frequency of alarm calls and latency of first response. None of the four behaviour measures was influenced by the snake model. This study highlights the age and sex differences in behavioural responses to snakes in non-human primates, contributing to a better understanding of anti-snake strategies in mammals and complex primate–snake relationships.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8746,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Processes","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 105344"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146099850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}