Modified sensory features of social stimulation alter the perceptual responsiveness of bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus).

This study examined the sensory features of postnatal social experience that bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus) require to maintain species-typical responding to maternal auditory–visual cues. Chicks were reared in 1 of 3 conditions after hatching: altered tactile, auditory, or visual experience with siblings. Findings revealed that altered tactile, auditory, or visual experience during the first 36 or the first 72 hr following hatching modified chicks' preferential responding to species-specific maternal cues. During the second 36 hr, altered tactile or auditory experience disrupted chicks' perceptual development, whereas altered visual experience did not affect species-typical responsiveness. Results indicate that (a) timing of early postnatal visual experience can affect early filial responsiveness to maternal cues and (b) normal sensory experience derived from early social interaction affects species-typical perceptual development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Species-specific auditory preference of bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus) is altered by social interaction with siblings.

The study examined whether reinstating specific aspects of the normally occurring postnatal setting (ongoing social interaction with siblings during rearing and/or testing) would influence bobwhite quail chicks' attraction to their species-typical maternal call. Results revealed that incubator-reared chicks exhibit a strong preference for the species-typical bobwhite maternal call over a group of the same-aged siblings in simultaneous choice tests at 24 hr and 48 hr after hatching, but only if the birds are kept in relative social isolation. No preference for the maternal call was found at 24 hr or at 48 hr if chicks were reared in a group of same-aged chicks from hatching and tested to the maternal call vs. siblings or the maternal call paired with a live adult bobwhite hen vs. siblings. These results raise doubts about the appropriateness of the usual methods of isolation rearing in the study of species-typical perceptual preferences and underscore the importance of considering features of the natural social context in the analysis of early perceptual and social behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intersensory experience and early perceptual development: Postnatal experience with multimodal maternal cues affects intersensory responsiveness in Bobwhite Quail Chicks.

Unlike the other sensory modalities of precocial infants, the visual modality does not normally become functional until after birth or hatching. Despite this unique developmental status, the role of emerging visual experience on postnatal perceptual organization remains unclear. In this study, bobwhite quail hatchlings were reared in conditions that manipulated postnatal experience with maternal visual cues, either alone or in conjunction with maternal auditory cues. Results revealed that bobwhite chicks require postnatal exposure to both maternal auditory and visual cues following hatching to demonstrate species-specific perceptual preferences. Chicks that received temporally disparate maternal auditory and visual cues or experience with only maternal visual or maternal auditory cues failed to show species-typical perceptual responsiveness. These results suggest that developmental mechanisms involving both visual and auditory sensory experience underlie the emergence of early intersensory integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interaction with siblings is necessary for visual imprinting of species-specific maternal preferences in ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos).

In 4 experiments, 153 24 hr old ducklings were allowed to follow a stuffed mallard hen for 30 min. This experience resulted in a visual preference for the familiar mallard hen over an unfamiliar stuffed redhead (Aythya americana) hen in simultaneous choice tests at 48 and 72 hrs only if the Ss were reared in conditions allowing unrestricted social interaction with siblings, as would normally occur in nature. No visual preference for the familiar mallard model was found at 48 or 72 hrs if Ss were (a) reared in social isolation but allowed to see another duckling, (b) reared with 1 duckling, or (c) reared in a group of ducklings but denied the opportunity for direct social interaction. Results demonstrate the importance of normal social experience in the development of the visual imprinting of filial behavior in ducklings. Imprinting studies have traditionally employed isolation rearing and ignored the precocial bird's natural social context. Thus, the present findings question the appropriateness of the usual methods of studying imprinting in the laboratory for an understanding of the process of filial imprinting in nature. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of olfactory control of feeding-site selection in rat pups.

The results of 4 experiments provide 2 lines of evidence consistent with the view that development of olfactory control of feeding-site selection in Long-Evans rats depends on experiences during ontogeny. (1) Normally reared Ss preferred to eat at a feeding site where either an anesthetized conspecific or conspecific excreta were present rather than at a clean site, whereas Ss reared without contact with conspecifics were not influenced in their choice of feeding-site by these social stimuli. Ss allowed contact with conspecifics for only the 5 days immediately prior to testing exhibited, like normally reared Ss, a strong preference for feeding sites marked with social stimuli. (2) Exposure of Ss to an arbitrarily selected odor rendered that odor subsequently capable of influencing feeding-site selection. Comparison of results with those of similar studies, in which a different measure of pup olfactory preference was used, revealed that the factors affecting development of olfactory preference vary as a function of test situation. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Auto-imprinting": Effects of prolonged isolation on domestic cocks.

Studied effects of prolonged deprivation of social experience on social and sexual behavior in 8 Rhode Island?×?Wyandotte cocks reared in visual and physical isolation from hatching until 10 mo old and in 8 others until 18 mo old. They were given choice tests with models of stuffed conspecifics of various color and structure, and also tests with live hens. The results, compared with those of a previous study on cocks reared in isolation until maturity (5 mo) and controls reared socially, suggest that an S deprived of social experience can nevertheless perceive stimuli from its own body and can use this information to establish a kind of "auto-imprinting," which leads it to choose a partner resembling itself, normally a conspecific. The main difference observed was that Ss isolated for a long time are incapable of copulating with the objects offered (models or live hens); this seems to be due to a strengthening of the "auto-imprinting" that the Ss established on themselves. The deficits in copulatory behavior, however, were partially reversible. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retroactive excitation: Posttraining social experience with siblings consolidates maternal imprinting in ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos).

Previous studies have revealed that if mallard ducklings are given social experience with broodmates after their initial exposure to a stuffed mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) hen, they later show a visual preference for the familiar mallard over an unfamiliar redhead (Aythya americana) model. Birds kept in isolation do not make this difficult discrimination. We examined when the social experience with siblings must occur in order to contribute to maternal imprinting. We allowed 24-hr-old domestic mallard ducklings to follow a stuffed mallard hen for 30 min (training). This experience resulted in a preference for the familiar mallard over the unfamiliar redhead hen in a simultaneous choice test 48 hrs after hatching only if the birds were allowed social experience with broodmates after the training trial (i.e., from 24 to 48 hrs). Thus the visual features of the mallard hen that are necessary in order to distinguish it from the redhead hen become consolidated only after more than 1 hr into the posttraining social rearing; we term this process retroactive excitation. These results provide evidence of a nonobvious experiential contribution that conspecifics make to the development of species-typical social behavior. They also suggest that some learning and memorial processes may operate rather differently in adults and immature animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social isolation and social separation in domestic chicks.

Conducted 2 experiments with 60 white Leghorn chicks, with subsamples of 24 and 36 animals tested in 2 independent replications, to assess the impact of early social isolation and social separation on the behavior of domestic chicks. In Exp I, a 3-wk longitudinal study, the day-to-day behavior of isolated chicks was compared to the behavior of birds housed in pairs. Ss in a 3rd group were reared in pairs for 2 wks, and then were permanently separated. The daily observations of all Ss recorded disturbance reactions, exploratory activities, consummatory behavior, grooming, and inactivity. In Exp II, 36 Ss from the 3 experimental conditions were tested in the 4th posthatch week for general social responsiveness in the presence of unfamiliar conspecifics. Results show that (a) both isolation and separation produced behavioral anomalies; (b) separated Ss' reactions indicated patterns analogous to post-separation patterns seen in other species; and (c) the effects of isolation and separation were not qualitatively equivalent--exposure to conspecifics revealed antisocial behavior in the isolates, relative to the responses of their socially reared and separated counterparts. Results are discussed in terms of a model for differences in the essence and consequences of early social isolation and social separation. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Follow-up study of isolation-reared and mother-reared rhesus monkeys paired with preadolescent conspecifics in late infancy: Cross-sex pairings.

8 rhesus monkeys, 4 of each sex, which had been reared either with their mothers or in social isolation during early infancy, were paired with preadolescent conspecifics during late infancy. Some isolate-reared Ss appeared to have gained from this social experience. At nearly 3 yrs of age, each S was paired (sequentially) with 2 other-sex animals (1 isolate- and 1 mother-reared) after having been housed alone for the entire 2nd (and most of the 3rd) yr of life. Little social interaction occurred between the members of any pair. Several significant effects of rearing experience indicated that social experience with preadolescents in late infancy did not permanently reverse the deleterious effects of early isolation. However, the mother-reared Ss also failed to establish social rapport with one another. Comparison of these results with those of similar research employing mother-reared animals which had received supplemental social experience during the 2nd yr of life suggests that such social experience is of some importance for optimal development of later sociosexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Timing of presentation of prenatal auditory stimulation alters auditory and visual responsiveness in bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus).

One group of bobwhite quail embryos (Colinus virginianus) was exposed to 10 min/hr of bobwhite chick contentment calls immediately followed by 10 min/hr of bobwhite chick distress calls. A 2nd group of embryos was exposed to the same auditory stimulation but in the opposite order of presentation. Postnatal testing revealed that chicks exposed prenatally to the bobwhite chick contentment call and distress call (in either order of presentation) continued to respond to maternal auditory cues into later stages of postnatal development compared with unmanipulated chicks. Chicks exposed prenatally to the contentment call followed by the distress call showed an accelerated pattern of visual responsiveness to maternal cues, whereas chicks exposed prenatally to the distress call followed by the contentment call showed deficits in the normal pattern of perceptual visual responsiveness, suggesting that the auditory stimulation precocial avian embryos encounter 1st is influential in directing early intersensory development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social stimulation of reproductive development in male deer mice housed on a short-day photoperiod.

Male deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), born of mothers housed on a long-day (LD) photoperiod (15:9 hrs light/dark), were either switched to a short-day (SD) photoperiod (6:18 hrs) at birth or continued on their prenatal LD photoperiod. From weaning until 6 wks of age, Ss were housed with an adult female or in social isolation. Ss reared on an SD photoperiod had smaller testes, seminal vesicles, and ventral sebaceous glands that did those reared on LD. Postweaning exposure of SD Ss to females stimulated reproductive organ growth as measured at 6 wks of age. Results indicate that both photic and social stimuli regulate reproductive development in male deer mice and that positive social cues can stimulate maturation even in the presence of negative photic cues. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of photoperiod and social environment on sexual maturation in female deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii).

Tested the reproductive response of young female deer mice to either a long or short photoperiod combined with the presence of adult males, adult females, or social isolation. 266 Ss were reared on either a long photoperiod (15 hrs light, 9 hrs dark) or on short days (8 hrs light, 16 hrs dark) from birth. Beginning at weaning, females were housed with an adult male, with an adult female, or in social isolation. In Exp I, vaginas opened more slowly in Ss on short days than in those on long days. Vaginal introitus was also retarded in Ss reared with an adult female in comparison with Ss reared in isolation. When examined at 37 days of age, Ss reared with an adult male had larger uteri than those reared alone; uteri were also larger in long-day than in short-day Ss. In Exp II, Ss were killed at 30 days of age; again, uterine growth was stimulated by exposure to either long days or an adult male. As was previously demonstrated for male deer mice, sexual maturation in females is regulated by photoperiod and social cues. Heterospecific social stimuli accelerate maturation in individuals that otherwise would be inhibited by having been reared on a short photoperiod. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abnormal early rearing and sexual responsiveness in male guinea pigs.

Examined in 4 experiments the role of early social experience in the discriminatory behavior of normally reared adult male guinea pigs, (N = 100), which court (circle and sway, mount, pelvic thrust) sexually unreceptive conspecifics but not usually members of other species. Ss weaned during the 1st week after birth were more likely to direct sexual responses to members of other species than were Ss weaned later. Among Ss weaned early, some social experience with a member of another species was usually necessary for individuals of that species to elicit sexual behavior, but the length of this experience and the period of development during which it must occur were flexible. It is concluded that early-weaned male guinea pigs are left with the potential to respond sexually to a wider range of stimuli than are normally reared individuals; the mechanisms by which this might occur are discussed. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interaction modifies learned aversions, sodium appetite, and both palatability and handling-time induced dietary preference in rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Four studies examined whether socially transmitted diet preference could counteract the effects of a learned aversion, a palatability-based diet preference, a polyethylene glycol 20,000-induced sodium appetite, and a handling time-induced dietary preference. Results indicate that (a) Ss poisoned after eating a novel diet ate substantial amounts of the averted diet following interaction with conspecifics that had eaten the averted diet. (b) Following interaction with conspecifics that had eaten an unpalatable diet, Ss offered a choice between palatable and unpalatable diets ate more than twice as much unpalatable diet as did controls lacking social experience. (c) Sodium-deficient Ss offered a choice between sodium-enriched and sodium-adequate diets ate less than half as much sodium-enriched diet, following interaction with conspecifics that had eaten sodium-adequate diet as did controls lacking social experience. (d) Ss offered a choice between isocaloric, roughly equipalatable foods with long and short handling times chose the food having the longer handling time after interacting with conspecifics eating that food. It is suggested that social influence is a major factor in guiding diet selection by rats. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initial preference of chicks from five rearing conditions for a hen or a rotating light.

Gave 239 NE51-strain 2-day-old domestic chicks a preference test between a nonbroody hen and a rotating light. The greatest preference for the hen was shown by Ss hatched and reared by a broody hen. Ss reared with a nonbroody hen and those reared socially in groups of 3 generally preferred the hen, but many made no choice and some preferred the light. Ss reared in isolation markedly preferred the light, and those previously exposed to the light spent virtually all of the time in its vicinity. The preference and the filial behavior exhibited by isolates support earlier work that chicks show no innate preference for the visual properties of the hen and suggest that the light is a stronger-than-normal imprinting stimulus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intersensory experience and early perceptual development: Attenuated prenatal sensory stimulation affects postnatal auditory and visual responsiveness in bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus).

Related experiments examined the effects of attenuated prenatal sensory stimulation on subsequent postnatal auditory and visual responsiveness in precocial bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus). Results revealed that denying quail embryos the prenatal vestibular and tactile stimulation provided by broodmates during incubation altered pre- and postnatal perceptual functioning. Chicks incubated in physical isolation during the late stages of prenatal development responded to maternal auditory cues into later stages of the postnatal period and failed to respond to maternal visual cues at ages communally incubated chicks typically display such visual responsiveness. In addition, embryos incubated in physical isolation failed to exhibit early auditory learning of an individual maternal call, a behavior reliably seen in communally incubated embryos. Taken together, these results and those from related studies indicate that a substantial decrease or increase in the range of sensory stimulation normally present in the prenatal period can result in a slowing of the rate of species specific perceptual development and suggest that some optimal range of prenatal sensory stimulation is necessary for species-typical perceptual capacities to emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social discrimination and aggressive pecking in domestic chicks.

Free interaction among 192 White Leghorn chicks involved inter-S pecking. During tests as early as 1 day after hatching, socially reared Ss showed reliable social discriminations by pecking more at strangers than at cage mates. Compared with socially reared birds, Ss reared in isolation exhibited certain exaggerated or atypical response patterns. Patterns included heightened rates of inter-S pecking, a pronounced tendency to peck at the head, elevated emotionality as reflected in the distress call, and the failure of pair-mates to show matched rates of environmental pecking. Inferences are drawn from these patterns, with the conclusion that infantile inter-S pecking in chicks may be based on aggressive rather than strictly exploratory tendencies. Findings are discussed in terms of the development of a basic tolerance for conspecifics and early social orderings. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Olfactory stimulation induces filial preferences for huddling in rat pups.

Rat pups of all ages huddle with conspecifics, but the sensory control of contact behavior changes ontogenetically. Thermal cues control huddling until about Day 15, at which time species' odors become the dominant stimulus. The present 2 experiments with 150 Sprague-Dawley rat pups indicate that the filial response to conspecifics is dependent on olfactory experience. A synthetic chemical scent was added to the smells of the dam from Day 1 to Day 20 postpartum. Standardized videographic tests were used to assess the development of huddling preference. Preferences for nest-typical smells emerged by Day 15 in Ss from both scented and nonscented litters. Ss from scented nests preferred to huddle with a scented stimulus rat, whereas control Ss preferred a nonadulterated rat stimulus. Additional testing indicated that the affirmative preferences were specific to rearing odor and were not based on decreased aversion to test scents or on disrupted olfactory discrimination. The ontogeny of species-typical contact behavior is discussed in terms of the induction of a perceptual preference that is based on early odor stimulation. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fighting in juvenile rats and the ontogeny of agonistic behavior.

Studied the intraspecific interactions of 160 male Long-Evans domesticated rats in 2 experiments to examine the relation between juvenile and adult fighting. Ss were observed throughout their ontogeny and after they reached sexual maturity. In Exp I, Ss were group housed with siblings and observed with siblings. Ss in Exp II were in 1 of 4 conditions that were either group or individually housed and were observed with either familiar or unfamilar conspecifics. Data suggest that the individual differences of juveniles remained reasonably stable throughout Ss' ontogeny and into adulthood. The conclusion is that the relative frequencies of these immature fights can predict the future aggressiveness of an animal as an adult. Moreover, the factors that influence adult aggressive behaviors, factors such as unfamiliarity and social deprivation, also have an impact on juvenile agonistic behaviors. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early visual experience affects postnatal auditory responsiveness in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus).

Results from 6 experiments suggest perinatal visual experience interferes with postnatal auditory responsiveness in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Light- or dark-reared control chicks responded similarly to bobwhite maternal Calls A or B following hatching. Light-reared chicks that experienced 10 min/hr of Call A or B from hatching until testing preferred the familiar call at Days 2-4, but dark-reared chicks preferred the familiar call at all ages. Increased amounts of exposure to maternal calls during postnatal Days 1-2 led to auditory responsiveness deficits in light-reared chicks. Similarly, embryos exposed to 10 min/hr of prenatal visual cues required 48 hr of postnatal Call A or B exposure to demonstrate auditory discrimination. These findings highlight the linkages between developing auditory and visual systems during infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)