Adaptive spatial working memory assessments for aging pet dogs
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Adaptive spatial working memory assessments for aging pet dogs Joshua Van Bourg1 · Rachel Gilchrist1 · Clive D. L. Wynne1 Received: 4 August 2020 / Revised: 27 October 2020 / Accepted: 30 October 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Assessments for spatial working memory (SWM) in pet dogs that can detect age-related cognitive deficits in a single session may aid in diagnosing canine dementia and may facilitate translational research on Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Adaptive testing procedures are widely used in single-session assessments for humans with diverse cognitive abilities. In this study, we designed and deployed two up-down staircase assessments for SWM in which 26 pet dogs were required to recall the location of a treat hidden behind one of two identical boxes following delays of variable length. In the first experiment, performance tended to decline with age but few dogs completed the test (n = 10). However, all of the dogs that participated in the second experiment (n = 24) completed the assessment and provided reliable evidence of learning and retaining the task. Delay length and age significantly predicted performance supporting the validity of this assessment. The relationships between age and performance were described by inverted U-shaped functions as both old and young dogs displayed deficits in weighted cumulative-scores and trial-by-trial performance. Thus, SWM in pet dogs may develop until midlife and decline thereafter. Exploratory analyses of non-mnemonic fixation strategies, sustained engagement, inhibitory control, and potential improvements for future SWM assessments which adopt this paradigm are also discussed. Keywords Dog · Cognitive decline · Aging · Development · Spatial working memory · Staircase methods
Introduction As in humans, the cognitive abilities of dogs may decline with age. For some, these impairments are minor and only present late in life (Chapagain et al. 2018; Head 2001). For others, cognitive decline begins early in life and progresses more rapidly, ultimately leading to severe impairments (Adams et al. 2000a; Head 2001). As with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in humans (Kensinger et al. 2003; Simone and Baylis 1997), age-related cognitive deficits (ARCD) in dogs are characterized by the deterioration of recent memory and other executive functions including selective attention, behavioral inhibition, and concept learning (Adams et al. 2000a; Head 2013). Although the pathogenesis of ARCD is unclear, both ARCD and AD are correlated with the Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01447-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Joshua Van Bourg [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
development of neuritic beta-amyloid plaques (Head 1998; Vite and Head 2014). In clinical settings, the development of behavioral impairments in elderly pet dogs is often referred
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