2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Comparative studies of cognitive and behavioral characteristics in dogs and cats
| Project/Area Number |
23650132
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Cognitive science
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha) |
SAITO Atsuko 東京大学, 総合文化研究科, 講師 (00415572)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2011 – 2012
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| Keywords | 比較認知心理学 / イヌ / ネコ / 犬種差 / 社会的認知 / 社会性 |
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| Research Abstract |
This study investigates the behavioral/cognitive characteristics and effects of domestication on them in dogs and cats. About behavioral characteristics and its genetic basis, we have shown that the polymorphism in androgen receptor related to sociality in cats, as shown in dogs. About cognitive characteristics, the following possibilities have been shown: dogs mainly process human voices in left hemisphere; eye contact for humans differs among dog breeds; cats discriminate owner's voice from others' voices, emotional states of owner's voice, their own names from other words, and owners' attention states. To clarify the phylogenetic changes, we studied the close relatives of dogs and cats and the other domesticated species and its relatives. Wolves have the capacity to yawn contagiously. In lions, affiliative behavior maintains the amicable relationship, but they do not reconcile. Zebras' group moving is mainly led by adult individuals.
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