Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms

About this book

Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms is an exploration of laboratory and field research on the many ways that evolution has influenced learning and memory processes, such as associative learning, social learning, and spatial, working, and episodic memory systems. This volume features research by both outstanding early-career scientists as well as familiar luminaries in the field. Learning and memory in a broad range of animals are explored, including numerous species of invertebrates (insects, worms, sea hares), as well as fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, bears, and human and nonhuman primates. Contributors discuss how the behavioural, cognitive, and neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory have been influenced by evolutionary pressures. They also draw connections between learning and memory and the specific selective factors that shaped their evolution. Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms should be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of experimental and comparative psychology, comparative cognition, brain–behaviour evolution, and animal behaviour.

Contents

Introduction to evolution of learning and memory mechanisms / Mark A. Krause, Karen L. Hollis, and Mauricio R. Papini

Part I. Evolution of Learning Processes
1. Thrive on Simplicity: An Ethological recount of learning and memory in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans / Alex Yu and Catharine Rankin
2. Adaptive evolution of learning and memory in a model lineage / William G. Wright
3. Learning in insects: Possibilities and perspectives / Alexis L. Kriete and Karen L. Hollis
4. Experimental evolution and prepared learning / Aimee Dunlap and Andreia Dexheimer
5. Evolutionary processes shaping learning ability in insects / Maartje Liefting
6. Brain and spatial cognition in amphibians: Stem adaptations in the evolution of tetrapod cognition / Rubén Muzio and Vern Bingman
7. Pavlovian conditioning, survival and reproductive success / Mark A. Krause and Michael Domjan
8. Evolution and learning of trap avoidance by invasive birds: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence / Andrea Griffin and Marie Diquelou
9. Relational memory functions of the hippocampal pallium in teleost fish / Antonia Gómez, Francisco M. Ocaña, Tamara del Águila, Fernando Rodríguez and Cosme Salas
10. Mechanisms underlying absolute and relative reward value in vertebrates / Mauricio R. Papini
11. Suboptimal choice: A psycho-evolutionary perspective / Patrick Anselme
12. A behavior systems approach: What it is and how to use it / Francisco Silva and Kathleen Silva
13. Dissociable learning processes: A comparative perspective / Barbara A. Church, Brooke N. Jackson and J. David Smith
14. Social learning strategies / Rachel Kendal
15. How learning affects evolution / Kevin Laland, Thomas Oudman and Wataru Toyokawa

Part II. Evolution of Memory Processes
16. The evolution of memory as an immediate perceptual identification mechanism / Michael Fanselow
17. Episodic memory in animals / Jonathon Crystal
18. A hierarchical framework for quantifying complex cognition / Alexandra Schnell and Nicola Clayton
19. Evolution of memory systems / Johan Lind, Magnus Enquist and Stefano Ghirlanda
20. What laboratory and field approaches bring to bear for understanding the evolution of ursid cognition / Jennifer Vonk
21. Distinguishing mechanisms of behavioral inhibition and self-control / Michael Beran and Audrey E. Parrish
22. Metamemory and control of memory in primates / Robert Hampton
23. Adaptive memory: The mnemonic value of fitness-relevant processing / James Nairne and Michelle E. Coverdale
24. Remembering cheaters: The influence of social relevance on source memory / Meike Kroneisen
25. Evolution of memory circuits under epigenetic regulation / Ji-Song Guan
26. Constraints on learning and memory: A resolution / Aaron Blaisdell and Ben Seitz

Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Mark A. Krause is a Professor of Psychology at Southern Oregon University. He has served as Associate Editor of Animal Behavior and Cognition, and is co-author of Introduction to Psychological Science (2020).

Karen L. Hollis is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Mount Holyoke College. She served as President of APA's Divisions 3 and 6 and has received the Comparative Cognition Society Research Award for contributions to the field.

Mauricio R. Papini is a Professor of Psychology at Texas Christian University. He was Editor of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology and is the author of Comparative Psychology: Evolution and Development of Brain and Behavior, third edition (2021).


Contributors:
- Mark A. Krause
- Karen L. Hollis
- Mauricio R. Papini
- Alex Yu
- Catharine Rankin
- William G. Wright
- Alexis L. Kriete
- Aimee Dunlap
- Andreia Dexheimer
- Maartje Liefting
- Rubén Muzio
- Vern Bingman
- Mark A. Krause
- Michael Domjan
- Andrea Griffin
- Marie Diquelou
- Antonia Gómez
- Francisco M. Ocaña
- Tamara del Águila
- Fernando Rodríguez
- Cosme Salas
- Patrick Anselme
- Francisco Silva
- Kathleen Silva
- Barbara A. Church
- Brooke N. Jackson
- J. David Smith
- Rachel Kendal
- Kevin Laland
- Thomas Oudman
- Wataru Toyokawa
- Michael Fanselow
- Jonathon Crystal
- Alexandra Schnell
- Nicola Clayton
- Johan Lind
- Magnus Enquist
- Stefano Ghirlanda
- Jennifer Vonk
- Michael Beran
- Audrey E. Parrish
- Robert Hampton
- James Nairne
- Michelle E. Coverdale
- Meike Kroneisen
- Ji-Song Guan
- Aaron Blaisdell
- Ben Seitz