Biology subjects

Willcox, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Willcox, K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Early-life social instability affects aggression, but not response inhibition, in chickens

Living in complex social environments presents behavioural and cognitive challenges. A key challenge is the regulation of aggression, which may be facilitated by response inhibition, the ability to suppress inappropriate actions. In more complex social environments, greater variability in interactions may increase demands for aggression regulation, promoting the development of response inhibition. However, social instability, a form of complexity characterised by frequent changes in group composition, can elevate aggression and may instead impair inhibition. To test these competing predictions we raised 144 chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in either stable or unstable social groups for five weeks. We observed the aggression within their enclosures following the final manipulation, and assessed their response inhibition using a thwarting task and a cylinder task. Unstable groups initially showed more aggression than stable groups following regrouping, but this declined rapidly to the same lower level of aggression as the stable groups. Contrary to our predictions, there were no differences between birds raised in stable and unstable groups for any measure of response inhibition, and individual variation in aggression did not correlate with inhibitory performance. These findings suggest that social instability influences aggression but does not affect the development of response inhibition in chickens, highlighting the potential context- and species-specific nature of social effects on cognition.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

To Peck or Not To Peck: The influence of early-life social environment on response inhibition and impulsive aggression in Japanese quails

Deficits in response inhibition (i.e., the ability to suppress inappropriate responses) may contribute to increased impulsive aggression (i.e., unplanned behaviors that harm others). Since early-life environment might influence the development of response inhibition, it could also indirectly affect impulsive aggression. However, this relationship has rarely been directly examined. Here, we investigated whether response inhibition is associated with impulsive aggression and whether this relationship explains the effects of early-life social environments on impulsive aggression in juvenile Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). Quails (n = 120) were raised in two social conditions: Small groups of five birds or Large groups of 15 birds. Response inhibition was assessed using the Barrier and Cylinder tasks, while impulsive aggression was measured in two contexts - within a group of five familiar individuals and in a dyad with an unfamiliar individual. We found that some aspects of response inhibition were related to impulsive aggression. Furthermore, quails reared in small groups showed significantly poorer response inhibition than those reared in large groups. Yet, impulsive aggression did not significantly differ between the two conditions. These findings suggest that, while impulsive aggression is partly related to response inhibition, other factors mitigate the effects of early social environments on its expression.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Early-Life Group Size Does Not Influence Japanese Quails' Learning in a Response Inhibition Task

In complex social environments, animals benefit from suppressing inappropriate responses (known as Response Inhibition - RI) to avoid conflicts and maintain group cohesion. Recent research suggests that an individuals early-life social environment can shape their RI. However, these findings have mostly been correlational, and results vary across species. Furthermore, the role of learning is often overlooked when measuring RI, despite its potential importance to understanding group differences. We investigated the effect of early-life group size, a key determinant of social complexity, on RI in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica), whilst taking the role of learning into account. Quails (n = 120) were raised in either small groups of five or large groups of 15 individuals. RI was assessed using the cylinder task. Up to 10 trials were administered to assess whether the birds responses changed with increasing experience of the task. Among the quails that completed 10 trials, we found that those raised in large groups consistently spent less time pecking the cylinder than those raised in small groups. The quails responses were also influenced by their body condition, food motivation, and sex. Importantly, the quails learned to inhibit their responses - successful trials increased, and time spent pecking the cylinder decreased, across 10 trials. However, learning rates did not differ between the treatment groups. These findings suggest that early-life social group size promotes the development of RI in quails, but not their learning during the cylinder task.

animal behavior and cognition↗