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Spatial choices of animals based on abstract visual stimuli: Configuration or shape?
Nekovářová, Tereza ; Bureš, Jan (advisor) ; Syka, Josef (referee) ; Kršiak, Miloslav (referee) ; Frynta, Daniel (referee)
Spatial cognition as a model for study of learning, memory and problem solving has a long history in neurosciences. This cognitive ability is used for several reasons. Firstly, the ability to form the inner representation of a space, to orient in an environment, to perceive positions of prominent objects and of other animals is essential for all mammals and birds. Thus it is natural for animals to perform such behavior even in experimental conditions. Secondly, it is possible to compare spatial cognition of different species in similar tasks. And thirdly, there are strong indices of the possible neuroanatomical substrate and mechanism underlying spatial cognition. There are different strategies of navigation in an environment, which could be distinguished by different criterions. They differ in the frames of reference in which the observer operates, i.e. whether the co-ordinates are centered in a subject (egocentric orientation) or whether the co-ordinates encode only the relations between objects and dominants in the environment and they are not dependent on observer (geocentric orientation). The navigational strategies also differ by the type of cues that are used for navigation. In allothetic orientation the subject employs external landmarks, which may be not only visual stimuli, but also the stimuli of...
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Cannabinoids and Time Perception
Popova, Anastasia ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Honc, Ondřej (referee)
Interval timing (i.e.the perception of time in the seconds-to-minutes range) allows various animal species including humans to estimate duration of elapsed time. This process can be disrupted by cannabinoids and most often it is subjectively perceived as time deceleration. This work will describe the main models of interval timing, neuroanatomical structures involved in this process, and the main neurotransmitters. The results of studies examining the effect of cannabinoid on the interval timing, possible explanations according to the particular models, and the interaction between the cannabinoid and dopaminergic systems will be described as well. Keywords: interval timing, time perception, cannabinoids, dopamine
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Inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats
Rudolfová, Veronika ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Number of studies report that even when experimental animals are subjected to the exact same conditions, they differ in their behaviour. If these differences were stable in time and across several experimental procedures, we could talk about personality. This diploma thesis studies inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats (Long Evans strain) in a series of experiments conducted in early ontogeny and in adult age. Apart from analysing inter-individual differences in behaviour and personality of experimental animals, this thesis has two main aims. The first aim is assessing stability of inter-individual differences in behaviour throughout ontogeny. The second aim is to explore possible link between inter-individual differences in behaviour and performance in cognitive tests. We confirmed the existence of inter-individual difference in behaviour in laboratory rats. In this thesis we were, however, not able to assess personality of experimental animals. The differences in behaviour were best described by behaviour in Open field test and Elevated plus maze test. Our results also show marked differences between successive trials of these experiments. We also report that performance in Active allothetic place avoidance is not linked to performance in Morris water maze, even though both...
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Sociální vztahy a synchronizace ve stádech přežvýkavců - vliv na pastevní chování
Šárová, Radka ; Špinka, Marek (advisor) ; Červený, Jaroslav (referee) ; Nekovářová, Tereza (referee)
This thesis addresses the relationships between beef cattle (Bos taurus) group behaviour on pasture, social dominance and individual characteristics such as body weight and age. The thesis is based on three studies performed in a herd of female beef cattle. In the first two studies, GPS collars were used as the main data-collection method, while the third study relied on an extensive dataset of cow dominance relationships. The first study focused on activity synchronization. We assessed whether cows similar to each other in body weight or in reproductive status were more synchronized and whether the timing of activity switches was determined by specific leading animals. We found that the body weight difference in a dyad of animals had a negative influence on their mutual synchronization. There were no leading animal initiating switches in activity. The second study focused on the role of dominant animals in group movements of the herd. There were positive correlations between dominance status of an individual and several measures of leadership during movements, namely the position of the animal at the front of the herd, more direct and shorter trajectories and higher alignment with nearest neighbours and with the whole herd. These results show that herd movements on pasture behaviour were...
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Numerical competence in primates
Rejlová, Markéta ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Komárková, Martina (referee)
Numerical competences include the number of abilities as representation of the quantity and transformations or operations with quantity. Many species of animals can use these abilities for example during searching for food, sexual partners and also for detection of number of competitors or predators. Numerical abilities such as counting or estimating quantity can increase the chance of survival and reproduction. In this work, I summarize some previous studies of numerical competences in primates and humans and I also mention experiments in other species. I divide the competences into chapters: estimating of the numbers (relative and absolute), counting, summation, conservation of quantity, proportion, ordinality and transitivity. The aim of this study was to study the ability of macaques (Macaca mulatta) to distinguish between the quantities of two sets. In the following part of experiment I observed the preference of monkeys for size or the number of stimuli. This preference was studied also in children. The results confirm the ability of relative numerousness judgment of monkeys. The results demonstrate that with increasing difference of quantity between the two sets the ability of distinguish between the two quantities also increase. Other experiment studied preference of larger number of...
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Interval Timing and Emotional Modulation
Šafránková, Kristýna ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Telenský, Petr (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on time perception, a field of study pursued extensively by psy- chologists, neuroscientists, and cognitive linguistic researchers. More specifically, this paper will examine the issue of "interval timing" (i.e. an individual's ability to perceive time intervals in seconds or minutes). Time perception is influenced by several factors, of which emotional modulation has been postulated as the most crucial. Examining the physiological mechanisms of emotional modulation and pacemaker-accumulator, the striatal model of time perception along with its role in emotional modulation form the contributions of this thesis. Key words: interval timing, dopamine, emotions, the striatal beat-frequency model
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Effect of stress level on operant conditioning
Lukavská, Markéta ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Santariová, Milena (referee)
Stress is a normal adaptive process and a natural response of the body to those events which are somehow difficult for the individual. It also plays an important part in forming cognitive abilities of animals such as learning. For learning an adequate reaction to the individual's environment it is adaptive to take in as much information as possible, learn to put it into context and react based on it (cognitive strategy). This strategy can help in an ever changing environment as it causes the individual to broaden the range of their behavioural responses and increases the chance of survival. This makes the operant learning a highly desirable method. That is unless the animal finds itself in a situation which calls for a quick response (high level of excitement/agitation) in which case there is no time for processing of information as it is crucial to react instantly (habitual learning - habit strategy). Habitual learning is effective even at a high level of stress when there is "no time" for the operant learning. Operant learning requires the individual's involvement and therefore also the motivation to execute specific behaviour which is then strengthened (in a positive or negative way). In terms of motivation it is a choice between saving energy or safety and the possibility of achieving a...
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Cognitive screening for children: testing a new battery of computer games
Jablonská, Markéta ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Vavrečka, Michal (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the topic of cognitive development and possibilities of cognitive screening in preschool age. The aim of this study is to present a new battery of interactive games developed as a screening tool under the patronage of National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ) within the project TA ČR TL02000561. The theoretical part is concentrating on cognitive development of preschool children with focus on selected cognitive functions and methods of testing. The empirical part is presenting results of the pilot testing of this battery with preschool and younger school aged children. The primary aim was to verify functionality and comprehensibility of each game in the battery. Finding of this study will be used to optimize this battery.
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Manipulation of physical environment and cognition in primates: Ontogenetic development
Kolářová, Anna ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Hradec, Michal (referee)
Cognition is a crucial factor for primates as it allows properly perceive and respond to the surrounding environment. This thesis is devoted to cognitive phenomena, which are often associated with understanding the physical environment and object manipulation. Much attention is focused on causal reasoning, object permanence and tool using. Particular emphasis is placed on the ontogenesis of these cognitive abilities. One of the main questions is how development differs between humans and non-human primates. Despite the fact that non- human primates, just like humans, have a very complex knowledge of the laws of the physical environment, causal reasoning and object permanence develops in a very similar way for these related species, but far from the same way. A large disparity is observed mainly in the area of the pace of development. Tool use in humans and non-human primates is strongly influenced by social learning and traditions. Key words: primates, physical environment, cognitive abilities, causal reasoning, object permanence, object manipulation, tool using, ontogeny
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Music Structure and Time Perception
Becková, Adéla ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Lukavský, Jiří (referee)
The diploma thesis follows the bachelor's thesis Music and Time Perception (Becková, 2017). It focuses on time perception in music. It reviews current influential theories and models in the research of time perception, and also time perception models in relation to music, ie models based on the existence of internal time clocks and models based on attentional, memory and other dynamic processes. It also focuses on the psychological aspects of the metrum, rhythm and other musical characteristics in relation to time perception. Possible use of research findings in the field of time perception in music is also mentioned. In the experimental part I applied specific findings from the current research of time perception to short acoustic stimuli in the range of suprasecond intervals using reproduction as experimental paradigma. The filled- duration illusion, the divided time illusion and an effect of tone pitch were demonstrated. The findings from the experiment could be used in future research in the field of music and time perception. Klíčová slova: time perception, music perception, psychology of time
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