Cross-Modal Object Recognition in Bumble Bees
The ability to experience an object in one sensory modality and later recognize it in another is called cross-modal object recognition. It’s actually a highly complex cognitive capacity thought to be limited to vertebrates. Now, a group of researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Macquarie University in Australia show that bumble bees are capable of performing this task, raising questions of bees’ mental imagery and awareness.
Read my latest post at my Animal Minds blog: Bumble Bees Can Recognize Objects Across Senses.
Delay of Gratification in Kids and Crows
One measure of self-control is the ability to delay gratification; namely, the ability to wait in order to obtain a more valuable outcome in the future over a less valuable immediate one. In children, the capacity to delay gratification develops between the ages of three and five years old. In a new study, researchers used a rotating tray apparatus that allowed them to test both three- to five-year-old children and New Caledonian crows.
Read my post about it on my Animal Minds blog: Delay of Gratification in Kids and Crows.
Dogs Demonstrate Episodic-Like Memory
In humans, episodic memory refers to the recall of a specific autobiographical event – a memory of what happened, where it happened, and when it happened. It was initially assumed that episodic memory is unique to humans, but more recent evidence has brought that assumption into question.
Although we can’t know whether an animal travels back in time in their mind to subjectively remember specific events, like humans do, experiments have revealed memories for what-where-when in animals such as birds, rats, and nonhuman primates -- and now a new study suggests dogs should also join the club.
Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: Dogs Demonstrate Episodic-Like Memory.
Octopus Arms Have a Mind of Their Own
Octopuses and their relatives stand out from other invertebrates in terms of their cognitive complexity and the range of their behaviors. Despite their evolutionary distance from humans and other vertebrates, these animals can use tools, solve complex puzzles, recognize individual people, and explore objects through play. They do all this and more with a completely unique nervous system.
Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Octopus Arms Have a Mind of Their Own.
Elephants Smell Out Differences in Quantity
A new study finds that elephants can discriminate between two quantities of food using only their sense of smell. The study is an example of the move towards more species-specific, ecologically valid cognition tests and could have applications in conservation.
Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Elephants Smell Out Differences in Quantity.