Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Coding of hierarchical versus linear pattern structure in rats and humans

S B Fountain1, J D Rowan

  • 1Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Ohio 44242-0001, USA.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|July 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Rats and humans learn complex serial patterns by recognizing hierarchical structures. Both species simplify irregular patterns, demonstrating similar cognitive strategies for pattern abstraction and learning.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The in vitro hippocampal slice preparation as a screen for neurotoxicity.

Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA·2010
Same author

Extracellular Ca(2+) modulation of triethyltin neurotoxicity in area CA1 of the rat hippocampal slice.

Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA·2010
Same author

A multiple species approach to sequential learning: are you a man or a mouse?

Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc·2001
Same author

Suppression of hippocampal slice excitability by 2-, 3-, and 4-methylpyridine.

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety·2001
Same author

Effects of sequential exposure to multiple concentrations of methylmercury in the rat hippocampal slice.

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety·2000
Same author

Sensitivity to violations of "run" and "trill" structures in rat serial-pattern learning.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes·1995

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Animal behavior
  • Comparative cognition

Background:

  • Serial pattern learning is a fundamental cognitive process.
  • Understanding hierarchical structures is key to complex learning.
  • Previous research suggests differences in cognitive abilities between species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if rats can learn and represent multilevel hierarchical structures in serial patterns.
  • To compare the pattern learning strategies of rats and humans.
  • To determine if pattern structure influences learning difficulty and error types in both species.

Main Methods:

  • Rats and humans learned serial patterns with varying lengths (24-36 items).
  • Patterns featured perfect hierarchical structures or modified structures violating hierarchy (linear).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Learning difficulty and error patterns were analyzed for both species.

    • Main Results:

    • Pattern structure significantly predicted learning difficulty for both rats and humans.
    • Both species made errors consistent with regularizing irregular patterns.
    • Hierarchical structure facilitated learning, while violations led to specific error types.

    Conclusions:

    • Rats demonstrate the capacity to abstract and encode multilevel hierarchical structures in serial patterns.
    • The cognitive mechanisms for processing hierarchical information in serial patterns are similar in rats and humans.
    • This suggests a shared evolutionary basis for complex cognitive abilities related to pattern recognition.