Currently, I am a Postdoc at the Senior Family Dog Project (ELTE University Budapest) working on a project under the supervision of Eniko Kubinyi.I am interested in how cognitive functions can influence dog-human interactions, and the influence of aging on personality, individual problem solving and reasoning abilities, learning, memory and trainability, physical cognition, social attentiveness, and social cognition.
Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied... more Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied extensively across species, revealing the involvement of this ability in many different aspects of life. While various different paradigms have been created in order to measure inhibitory control, only a limited number of studies have investigated whether such measurements indeed evaluate the same underlying mechanism, especially in non-human animals. In humans, inhibitory control is a complex construct composed of distinct behavioral processes rather than of a single unified measure. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the validity of inhibitory control paradigms in dogs. Sixty-seven dogs were tested in a battery consisting of frequently used inhibitory control tests. Additionally, dog owners were asked to complete an impulsivity questionnaire about their dog. No correlation of dogs' performance across tasks was found. In order to understand whether there are some underlying behavioral aspects explaining dogs' performance across tests, we performed principle component analyses. Results revealed that three components (persistency, compulsivity and decision speed) explained the variation across tasks. The questionnaire and dogs' individual characteristics (i.e., age and sex) provided only limited information for the derived components. Overall, results suggest that no unique measurement for inhibitory control exists in dogs, but tests rather measure different aspects of this ability. Considering the context-specificity of inhibitory control in dogs and most probably also in other non-human animals, extreme caution is needed when making conclusions about inhibitory control abilities based on a single test.
Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of... more Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of Mind) to themselves and others. Showing animals can respond to cues that indicate whether another has visual access to a target or not, and that they are able to use this information as a basis for whom to rely on as an informant, is an important step forward in this direction. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with human informants are an ideal model, because they show high sensitivity towards human eye contact, they have proven able to assess the attentional state of humans in food-stealing or food-begging contexts, and they follow human gaze behind a barrier when searching for food. With 16 dogs, we not only replicated the main results of Maginnity and Grace (Anim Cogn 17(6):1375–1392, 2014) who recently found that dogs preferred to follow the pointing of a human who witnessed a food hiding event over a human who did not (the Guesser–Knower task), but also extended this finding with a further, critical control for behaviour-reading: two informants showed identical looking behaviour, but due to their different position in the room, only one had the opportunity to see where the food was hidden by a third person. Preference for the Knower in this critical test provides solid evidence for geometrical gaze following and perspective taking in dogs.
Aging of attentiveness affects cognitive functions like perception and working memory, which can ... more Aging of attentiveness affects cognitive functions like perception and working memory, which can seriously impact communication between dogs and humans, potentially hindering training and cooperation. Previous studies have revealed that aged laboratory beagles and pet Border collies (BC) show a decline in selective attention. However, much less is known about the aging of attentiveness in pet dogs in general rather than in specific breeds. Using 185 pet dogs (75 BC and 110 dogs of other breeds) divided into three age groups [late adulthood (6-< 8 year), senior (8-< 10 year) and geriatric (≥10 year)], we assessed the progress of aging of attentional capture, sustained and selective attention in older dogs in order to explore if prior results in BC are generalizable and to evaluate the influence of lifelong training on measures of attention. Each dog's lifelong training score (ranging from 0 to 52) was calculated from a questionnaire filled in by the owners listing what kinds of training the dog participated in during its entire life. Dogs were tested in two tasks; the first, measuring attentional capture and sustained attention toward two stimuli (toy and human); and the second, measuring selective attention by means of clicker training for eye contact and finding food on the floor. In the first task, results revealed a significant effect of age but no effect of lifelong training on latency to orient to the stimuli. Duration of looking decreased with age and increased with lifelong training. In the second task, while lifelong training decreased the latency of dogs to form eye contact, aged dogs needed longer to find food. BC did not differ from other dogs in any measures of attention except latency to find food. In conclusion, aged dogs showed a decline in attentional capture and sustained attention demonstrating that these tests are sensitive to detect aging of attentiveness in older pet dogs. Importantly, selective attention remained unchanged with age and lifelong training seemed to delay or reduce the aging of attentiveness, further highlighting the importance of lifelong training in retaining general cognitive functions.
Following human gaze in dogs and human infants can be considered a socially facilitated orientati... more Following human gaze in dogs and human infants can be considered a socially facilitated orientation response, which in object choice tasks is modulated by human-given ostensive cues. Despite their similarities to human infants, and extensive skills in reading human cues in foraging contexts, no evidence that dogs follow gaze into distant space has been found. We re-examined this question, and additionally whether dogs' propensity to follow gaze was affected by age and/or training to pay attention to humans. We tested a cross-sectional sample of 145 border collies aged 6 months to 14 years with different amounts of training over their lives. The dogs' gaze-following response in test and control conditions before and after training for initiating eye contact with the experimenter was compared with that of a second group of 13 border collies trained to touch a ball with their paw. Our results provide the first evidence that dogs can follow human gaze into distant space. Although we found no age effect on gaze following, the youngest and oldest age groups were more distractible, which resulted in a higher number of looks in the test and control conditions. Extensive lifelong formal training as well as shortterm training for eye contact decreased dogs' tendency to follow gaze and increased their duration of gaze to the face. The reduction in gaze following after training for eye contact cannot be explained by fatigue or short-term habituation, as in the second group gaze following increased after a different training of the same length. Training for eye contact created a competing tendency to fixate the face, which prevented the dogs from following the directional cues. We conclude that following human gaze into distant space in dogs is modulated by training, which may explain why dogs perform poorly in comparison to other species in this task.
In laboratory dogs, aging leads to a decline in various cognitive domains such as learning, memor... more In laboratory dogs, aging leads to a decline in various cognitive domains such as learning, memory and behavioural flexibility. However, much less is known about aging in pet dogs, i.e. dogs that are exposed to different home environments by their caregivers. We used tasks on a touch-screen apparatus to detect differences in various cognitive functions across pet Border collies aged from five months to thirteen years. Ninety-five dogs were divided into five age groups, and tested in four tasks: 1) underwater photos vs. drawings discrimination, 2) clip art picture discrimination, 3) inferential reasoning by exclusion and 4) a memory test with a retention interval of six months. The tasks were designed to test three cognitive abilities: visual discrimination learning, logical reasoning, and memory. The total number of sessions to reach criterion and the number of correction trials needed in the two discrimination tasks were compared across age groups. The results showed that both measures increased linearly with age, with dogs aged over three years displaying slower learning and reduced flexibility in comparison to younger dogs. Inferential reasoning ability increased with age, but less than 10% of dogs showed patterns of choice consistent with inference by exclusion. No age effect was found in the long-term memory test. In conclusion, the discrimination learning tests used are suitable to detect cognitive aging in pet dogs, which can serve as a basis for comparison to help diagnose cognition-related problems and as a tool to assist with the development of treatments to delay cognitive decline.
Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied... more Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied extensively across species, revealing the involvement of this ability in many different aspects of life. While various different paradigms have been created in order to measure inhibitory control, only a limited number of studies have investigated whether such measurements indeed evaluate the same underlying mechanism, especially in non-human animals. In humans, inhibitory control is a complex construct composed of distinct behavioral processes rather than of a single unified measure. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the validity of inhibitory control paradigms in dogs. Sixty-seven dogs were tested in a battery consisting of frequently used inhibitory control tests. Additionally, dog owners were asked to complete an impulsivity questionnaire about their dog. No correlation of dogs' performance across tasks was found. In order to understand whether there are some underlying behavioral aspects explaining dogs' performance across tests, we performed principle component analyses. Results revealed that three components (persistency, compulsivity and decision speed) explained the variation across tasks. The questionnaire and dogs' individual characteristics (i.e., age and sex) provided only limited information for the derived components. Overall, results suggest that no unique measurement for inhibitory control exists in dogs, but tests rather measure different aspects of this ability. Considering the context-specificity of inhibitory control in dogs and most probably also in other non-human animals, extreme caution is needed when making conclusions about inhibitory control abilities based on a single test.
Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of... more Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of Mind) to themselves and others. Showing animals can respond to cues that indicate whether another has visual access to a target or not, and that they are able to use this information as a basis for whom to rely on as an informant, is an important step forward in this direction. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with human informants are an ideal model, because they show high sensitivity towards human eye contact, they have proven able to assess the attentional state of humans in food-stealing or food-begging contexts, and they follow human gaze behind a barrier when searching for food. With 16 dogs, we not only replicated the main results of Maginnity and Grace (Anim Cogn 17(6):1375–1392, 2014) who recently found that dogs preferred to follow the pointing of a human who witnessed a food hiding event over a human who did not (the Guesser–Knower task), but also extended this finding with a further, critical control for behaviour-reading: two informants showed identical looking behaviour, but due to their different position in the room, only one had the opportunity to see where the food was hidden by a third person. Preference for the Knower in this critical test provides solid evidence for geometrical gaze following and perspective taking in dogs.
Aging of attentiveness affects cognitive functions like perception and working memory, which can ... more Aging of attentiveness affects cognitive functions like perception and working memory, which can seriously impact communication between dogs and humans, potentially hindering training and cooperation. Previous studies have revealed that aged laboratory beagles and pet Border collies (BC) show a decline in selective attention. However, much less is known about the aging of attentiveness in pet dogs in general rather than in specific breeds. Using 185 pet dogs (75 BC and 110 dogs of other breeds) divided into three age groups [late adulthood (6-< 8 year), senior (8-< 10 year) and geriatric (≥10 year)], we assessed the progress of aging of attentional capture, sustained and selective attention in older dogs in order to explore if prior results in BC are generalizable and to evaluate the influence of lifelong training on measures of attention. Each dog's lifelong training score (ranging from 0 to 52) was calculated from a questionnaire filled in by the owners listing what kinds of training the dog participated in during its entire life. Dogs were tested in two tasks; the first, measuring attentional capture and sustained attention toward two stimuli (toy and human); and the second, measuring selective attention by means of clicker training for eye contact and finding food on the floor. In the first task, results revealed a significant effect of age but no effect of lifelong training on latency to orient to the stimuli. Duration of looking decreased with age and increased with lifelong training. In the second task, while lifelong training decreased the latency of dogs to form eye contact, aged dogs needed longer to find food. BC did not differ from other dogs in any measures of attention except latency to find food. In conclusion, aged dogs showed a decline in attentional capture and sustained attention demonstrating that these tests are sensitive to detect aging of attentiveness in older pet dogs. Importantly, selective attention remained unchanged with age and lifelong training seemed to delay or reduce the aging of attentiveness, further highlighting the importance of lifelong training in retaining general cognitive functions.
Following human gaze in dogs and human infants can be considered a socially facilitated orientati... more Following human gaze in dogs and human infants can be considered a socially facilitated orientation response, which in object choice tasks is modulated by human-given ostensive cues. Despite their similarities to human infants, and extensive skills in reading human cues in foraging contexts, no evidence that dogs follow gaze into distant space has been found. We re-examined this question, and additionally whether dogs' propensity to follow gaze was affected by age and/or training to pay attention to humans. We tested a cross-sectional sample of 145 border collies aged 6 months to 14 years with different amounts of training over their lives. The dogs' gaze-following response in test and control conditions before and after training for initiating eye contact with the experimenter was compared with that of a second group of 13 border collies trained to touch a ball with their paw. Our results provide the first evidence that dogs can follow human gaze into distant space. Although we found no age effect on gaze following, the youngest and oldest age groups were more distractible, which resulted in a higher number of looks in the test and control conditions. Extensive lifelong formal training as well as shortterm training for eye contact decreased dogs' tendency to follow gaze and increased their duration of gaze to the face. The reduction in gaze following after training for eye contact cannot be explained by fatigue or short-term habituation, as in the second group gaze following increased after a different training of the same length. Training for eye contact created a competing tendency to fixate the face, which prevented the dogs from following the directional cues. We conclude that following human gaze into distant space in dogs is modulated by training, which may explain why dogs perform poorly in comparison to other species in this task.
In laboratory dogs, aging leads to a decline in various cognitive domains such as learning, memor... more In laboratory dogs, aging leads to a decline in various cognitive domains such as learning, memory and behavioural flexibility. However, much less is known about aging in pet dogs, i.e. dogs that are exposed to different home environments by their caregivers. We used tasks on a touch-screen apparatus to detect differences in various cognitive functions across pet Border collies aged from five months to thirteen years. Ninety-five dogs were divided into five age groups, and tested in four tasks: 1) underwater photos vs. drawings discrimination, 2) clip art picture discrimination, 3) inferential reasoning by exclusion and 4) a memory test with a retention interval of six months. The tasks were designed to test three cognitive abilities: visual discrimination learning, logical reasoning, and memory. The total number of sessions to reach criterion and the number of correction trials needed in the two discrimination tasks were compared across age groups. The results showed that both measures increased linearly with age, with dogs aged over three years displaying slower learning and reduced flexibility in comparison to younger dogs. Inferential reasoning ability increased with age, but less than 10% of dogs showed patterns of choice consistent with inference by exclusion. No age effect was found in the long-term memory test. In conclusion, the discrimination learning tests used are suitable to detect cognitive aging in pet dogs, which can serve as a basis for comparison to help diagnose cognition-related problems and as a tool to assist with the development of treatments to delay cognitive decline.
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Papers by Lisa Wallis
response, which in object choice tasks is modulated by human-given ostensive cues. Despite their
similarities to human infants, and extensive skills in reading human cues in foraging contexts, no evidence
that dogs follow gaze into distant space has been found. We re-examined this question, and
additionally whether dogs' propensity to follow gaze was affected by age and/or training to pay attention
to humans. We tested a cross-sectional sample of 145 border collies aged 6 months to 14 years with
different amounts of training over their lives. The dogs' gaze-following response in test and control
conditions before and after training for initiating eye contact with the experimenter was compared with
that of a second group of 13 border collies trained to touch a ball with their paw. Our results provide the
first evidence that dogs can follow human gaze into distant space. Although we found no age effect on
gaze following, the youngest and oldest age groups were more distractible, which resulted in a higher
number of looks in the test and control conditions. Extensive lifelong formal training as well as shortterm
training for eye contact decreased dogs' tendency to follow gaze and increased their duration of
gaze to the face. The reduction in gaze following after training for eye contact cannot be explained by
fatigue or short-term habituation, as in the second group gaze following increased after a different
training of the same length. Training for eye contact created a competing tendency to fixate the face,
which prevented the dogs from following the directional cues. We conclude that following human gaze
into distant space in dogs is modulated by training, which may explain why dogs perform poorly in
comparison to other species in this task.
response, which in object choice tasks is modulated by human-given ostensive cues. Despite their
similarities to human infants, and extensive skills in reading human cues in foraging contexts, no evidence
that dogs follow gaze into distant space has been found. We re-examined this question, and
additionally whether dogs' propensity to follow gaze was affected by age and/or training to pay attention
to humans. We tested a cross-sectional sample of 145 border collies aged 6 months to 14 years with
different amounts of training over their lives. The dogs' gaze-following response in test and control
conditions before and after training for initiating eye contact with the experimenter was compared with
that of a second group of 13 border collies trained to touch a ball with their paw. Our results provide the
first evidence that dogs can follow human gaze into distant space. Although we found no age effect on
gaze following, the youngest and oldest age groups were more distractible, which resulted in a higher
number of looks in the test and control conditions. Extensive lifelong formal training as well as shortterm
training for eye contact decreased dogs' tendency to follow gaze and increased their duration of
gaze to the face. The reduction in gaze following after training for eye contact cannot be explained by
fatigue or short-term habituation, as in the second group gaze following increased after a different
training of the same length. Training for eye contact created a competing tendency to fixate the face,
which prevented the dogs from following the directional cues. We conclude that following human gaze
into distant space in dogs is modulated by training, which may explain why dogs perform poorly in
comparison to other species in this task.