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Mom’s shadow: structure-from-motion in newly hatched chicks as revealed by an imprinting procedure

Animal Cognition volume 12, Article number: 389 (2009) Cite this article

Abstract

The ability to recognize three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional (2-D) displays was investigated in domestic chicks, focusing on the role of the object’s motion. In Experiment 1 newly hatched chicks, imprinted on a three-dimensional (3-D) object, were allowed to choose between the shadows of the familiar object and of an object never seen before. In Experiments 2 and 3 random-dot displays were used to produce the perception of a solid shape only when set in motion. Overall, the results showed that domestic chicks were able to recognize familiar shapes from 2-D motion stimuli. It is likely that similar general mechanisms underlying the perception of structure-from-motion and the extraction of 3-D information are shared by humans and animals. The present data shows that they occur similarly in birds as known for mammals, two separate vertebrate classes; this possibly indicates a common phylogenetic origin of these processes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Diego Varotto for technical advice and support, Piero Cazzavillan for creating the random-dot-stimuli and Stefania Tognin for the help provided with animal care and testing. This study was supported by a grant P.R.I·N. 2005 – Zanforlin (to E.M.); and by grants MIUR Cofin 2004, 2004070353_002 “Intellat” and MIPAF “Benolat” (to G V.).

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Affiliations

  1. Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy

    Elena Mascalzoni & Lucia Regolin

  2. Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy

    Giorgio Vallortigara

Authors
  1. Elena Mascalzoni
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  2. Lucia Regolin
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  3. Giorgio Vallortigara
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Correspondence to Elena Mascalzoni.

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Mascalzoni, E., Regolin, L. & Vallortigara, G. Mom’s shadow: structure-from-motion in newly hatched chicks as revealed by an imprinting procedure. Anim Cogn 12, 389 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0198-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0198-4

Keywords

  • Structure-from-motion
  • Imprinting
  • Motion perception
  • Visual system
  • Domestic chicks