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Abstract
Reversal learning requires the subjects to inhibit a preponderant response towards a previously reinforced stimulus and change their behavior according to a new stimulus-reward contingency. This paradigm allows for the assessment of behavioral flexibility and inhibitory control, both crucial abilities for highly trained dogs, such as detection dogs. The aim of this study was to determine whether detection training modulates reversal learning with and without human social cues. Thus, detection dogs were compared with untrained pet dogs in a spatial reversal learning task, first using just a spatial cue (right-left, non-social task) and then adding a social cue (position of the experimenter, social task). However, results indicate that there were no differences between the groups in either task. This could be related to the particular characteristics of detection dog training. In addition, overall performance was better in the social task during the initial discrimination, but the inverse pattern was observed during the reversal phase. These differences highlight the importance of human social cues during training.
References
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