Pigeons' performance in a tracking change-signal procedure is consistent with the independent horse-race model

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Animal Behavior
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Executive functioning, including response inhibition, is crucial in human cognition.
• Pigeon behavior in cognitive tasks is often explained by associative learning.
• The independent horse-race model is a standard framework for understanding response inhibition in humans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if pigeons exhibit response inhibition.
• To test the applicability of the independent horse-race model to pigeon behavior.
• To determine if response inhibition in pigeons relies on executive control.

Main Methods:

• Pigeons were trained on a task involving tracking a moving patch on a touchscreen.
• A "Change-Signal" occasionally required pigeons to inhibit a practiced response.
• Response latencies were analyzed to assess performance and model fit.

Main Results:

• Pigeon performance in the Change-Signal task aligned with predictions of the independent horse-race model.
• The model successfully described the latency data, indicating independent processes for "Go" and inhibitory responses.
• Pigeons demonstrated the ability to inhibit a prepotent response.

Conclusions:

• The independent horse-race model can effectively describe response inhibition in pigeons.
• Pigeon behavior in this task can be explained by associative processes, not necessarily executive control.
• This suggests that response inhibition mechanisms may be conserved across species with different cognitive architectures.