Challenging Our Views of Cognition – New Johns Hopkins Test Reveals That Mice Think Like Babies

Scientists discovered that mice display strategic behavior in learning tasks by engaging in exploratory actions that initially appear as mistakes. Through experiments, the study showed that mice test hypotheses and adjust their strategies based on the outcomes, challenging the traditional view of animal errors as mere mistakes.

The work, which deepens our understanding of animal cognition, and could lead to identifying the neural basis for strategizing, was published inthat animals know a lot more about tasks than they demonstrate in tests. The team had two theories about what could be behind this gap. Either the mice were making mistakes because they were stressed, or they were doing something more purposeful: exploring and testing their knowledge.

Over consecutive trials, the mice would turn the wheel left for a bit, then switch to turning it right, seemingly making mistakes but actually being strategic. Credit: Johns Hopkins University“We find that when the animal is exploring, they engage in a really simple strategy, which is, ‘I’m going to go left for a while, figure things out, and then I’m going to switch and go right for a while,’” Kuchibhotla said. “Mice are more strategic than some might believe.

If the animal didn’t have an internal model of the task, there would be no expectations to violate and the mice would keep performing poorly. During the experiments Kuchibhotla said he became “a little bit of a mouse psychologist” to interpret their behavior. Like working with a nonverbal infant, he and Zhu had to infer the underlying mental processes from the behavior alone.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

As usual, views of Trump guide views of his actions, not vice versaNew polling shows that Republicans are much less likely to view the Manhattan trial as involving serious charges.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

Blended antioxidant supplement improves cognition and memory in aged miceCell damage from oxidative stress is a major underlying cause of age-related cognitive and muscle strength decline. Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and prevent age-related health decline.
Source: ScienceDaily - 🏆 452. / 53 Read more »

New Study Links Balanced Diet to Improved Brain Health, Cognition, and IntelligenceScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Source: SciTechDaily1 - 🏆 84. / 68 Read more »

Does 'Brain Training' Really Improve Cognition and Forestall Cognitive Decline?Some companies claimed that engaging in 'brain games' can improve cognition or stave off cognitive decline. What's the evidence and do crosswords and Sudoku count?
Source: Medscape - 🏆 386. / 55 Read more »

Paper: To understand cognition--and its dysfunction--neuroscientists must learn its rhythmsThought emerges and is controlled in the brain via the rhythmically and spatially coordinated activity of millions of neurons, scientists argue in a new article. Understanding cognition and its disorders requires studying it at that level.
Source: ScienceDaily - 🏆 452. / 53 Read more »

How To Train Your Mind For A Better CognitionQuora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Source: ForbesTech - 🏆 318. / 59 Read more »