根据一项新的研究，家马可能有能力通过聆听个体动物的呼叫从而识别出它们自己群体的一个成员。Karen McComb及其同事观察了24匹马对其他马的呼叫的响应，从而弄清它们是否具有类似于人类用于识别家族成员声音的交叉模式认知过程。这组作者的模型是基于一个人同时记起贮存的一个人的独特的声音、视觉和嗅觉信息的能力。
在这项实验中，这组科学家把马群的一个成员带出视野，然后通过扬声器播放了被带走的这匹马的呼叫，然后又播放了另一匹马的呼叫，同时对马的个体进行分析。这组科学家证明了当马见到一个马群成员，然后听到另一匹马的呼叫的时候，它们在听到和此前见到的马不匹配的呼叫的时候的反应更快、朝呼叫发出的方向的观察时间更长。这组科学家提出，不同的马的声音与储存的此前看到的马群成员的感觉信息相冲突，这破坏了受试马的预料。
这组作者说，该研究提供了非人类动物可以通过结合多种感觉信息从而识别个体发音的一个例子。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
PNAS December 15, 2008, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0809127105
Cross-modal individual recognition in domestic horses (Equus caballus)
Leanne Proops1, Karen McComb1, and David Reby
Centre for Mammal Vocal Communication Research, Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, United Kingdom
Abstract
Individual recognition is considered a complex process and, although it is believed to be widespread across animal taxa, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this ability are poorly understood. An essential feature of individual recognition in humans is that it is cross-modal, allowing the matching of current sensory cues to identity with stored information about that specific individual from other modalities. Here, we use a cross-modal expectancy violation paradigm to provide a clear and systematic demonstration of cross-modal individual recognition in a nonhuman animal: the domestic horse. Subjects watched a herd member being led past them before the individual went of view, and a call from that or a different associate was played from a loudspeaker positioned close to the point of disappearance. When horses were shown one associate and then the call of a different associate was played, they responded more quickly and looked significantly longer in the direction of the call than when the call matched the herd member just seen, an indication that the incongruent combination violated their expectations. Thus, horses appear to possess a cross-modal representation of known individuals containing unique auditory and visual/olfactory information. Our paradigm could provide a powerful way to study individual recognition across a wide range of species.
