Training delays reduce the choose-short effect with keylight duration samples in pigeons

Area of Science:

• Animal Cognition
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Pigeons (Columba livia) are widely used models for studying memory and decision-making.
• Investigating the impact of temporal delays on memory for stimulus duration is crucial for understanding cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how fixed and variable training delays affect pigeons' memory for keylight sample durations.
• To quantify the 'choose-short' effect under different delay conditions and its relationship to training parameters.

Main Methods:

• Pigeons were trained to match keylight samples of 2-s and 8-s durations.
• Three training delay conditions were used: 0s fixed, 2s fixed, and 1-3s variable (Experiment 1).
• Experiment 2 involved 0s fixed and 5s fixed/variable delays, with testing at longer delays.

Main Results:

• All groups exhibited a 'choose-short' tendency, but its magnitude decreased with increasing training delay.
• A robust 'choose-short' effect was observed only with a 0s training delay.
• Nonzero fixed or variable training delays reduced the 'choose-short' effect, with longer delays causing a greater reduction.

Conclusions:

• Memory for keylight sample duration in pigeons is susceptible to temporal interference from training delays.
• Nonzero delays, whether fixed or variable, impair the ability to discriminate between different sample durations, leading to a weaker 'choose-short' bias.