Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses

Abstract The mechanisms underlying individual variation in learning are key to understanding the development of cognitive abilities. In humans and primates, curiosity has been suggested as an important intrinsic factor that enhances learning, whereas in domesticated species research has primarily id...

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Autores principales:	Janne Winther Christensen, Line Peerstrup Ahrendt, Jens Malmkvist, Christine Nicol
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ba53f2fea65a4b4980dc6f81b59746fe
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ba53f2fea65a4b4980dc6f81b59746fe2021-12-02T14:12:09ZExploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses10.1038/s41598-020-80833-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/ba53f2fea65a4b4980dc6f81b59746fe2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80833-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The mechanisms underlying individual variation in learning are key to understanding the development of cognitive abilities. In humans and primates, curiosity has been suggested as an important intrinsic factor that enhances learning, whereas in domesticated species research has primarily identified factors with a negative effect on cognitive abilities, such as stress and fearfulness. This study presents the first evidence of a link between object-directed curiosity and learning performance in young horses in two very different learning tasks (visual discrimination and pressure-release). We exposed young horses (n = 44) to standardised novel object tests at 5 months and 1 year of age and found consistency in responses. Standard indicators of fearfulness (e.g. heart rate and alertness) were unrelated to learning performance, whereas exploratory behaviour towards the novel objects correlated to performance in both learning tasks. Exploratory behaviour was unreinforced in the novel object tests and likely reflects the animal’s intrinsic motivation (i.e. curiosity), suggesting that this trait is favourable for learning performance. In addition to the insights that these results provide into cognition in a domesticated species, they also raise questions in relation to fostering of curiosity in animals and the impact that such manipulation may have on cognitive abilities.Janne Winther ChristensenLine Peerstrup AhrendtJens MalmkvistChristine NicolNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Janne Winther Christensen Line Peerstrup Ahrendt Jens Malmkvist Christine Nicol Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
description	Abstract The mechanisms underlying individual variation in learning are key to understanding the development of cognitive abilities. In humans and primates, curiosity has been suggested as an important intrinsic factor that enhances learning, whereas in domesticated species research has primarily identified factors with a negative effect on cognitive abilities, such as stress and fearfulness. This study presents the first evidence of a link between object-directed curiosity and learning performance in young horses in two very different learning tasks (visual discrimination and pressure-release). We exposed young horses (n = 44) to standardised novel object tests at 5 months and 1 year of age and found consistency in responses. Standard indicators of fearfulness (e.g. heart rate and alertness) were unrelated to learning performance, whereas exploratory behaviour towards the novel objects correlated to performance in both learning tasks. Exploratory behaviour was unreinforced in the novel object tests and likely reflects the animal’s intrinsic motivation (i.e. curiosity), suggesting that this trait is favourable for learning performance. In addition to the insights that these results provide into cognition in a domesticated species, they also raise questions in relation to fostering of curiosity in animals and the impact that such manipulation may have on cognitive abilities.
format	article
author	Janne Winther Christensen Line Peerstrup Ahrendt Jens Malmkvist Christine Nicol
author_facet	Janne Winther Christensen Line Peerstrup Ahrendt Jens Malmkvist Christine Nicol
author_sort	Janne Winther Christensen
title	Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
title_short	Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
title_full	Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
title_fullStr	Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
title_full_unstemmed	Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
title_sort	exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ba53f2fea65a4b4980dc6f81b59746fe
work_keys_str_mv	AT jannewintherchristensen exploratorybehaviourtowardsnovelobjectsisassociatedwithenhancedlearninginyounghorses AT linepeerstrupahrendt exploratorybehaviourtowardsnovelobjectsisassociatedwithenhancedlearninginyounghorses AT jensmalmkvist exploratorybehaviourtowardsnovelobjectsisassociatedwithenhancedlearninginyounghorses AT christinenicol exploratorybehaviourtowardsnovelobjectsisassociatedwithenhancedlearninginyounghorses
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Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses

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