title: Unsupervised statistical learning in newly hatched chicks.
abstract: The ability to extract probabilistic information from visual inputs has been reported in human adults and infants (reviewed in [1,2]), and in adults of non-human species, though only under supervised (conditioning) procedures [3]. Here, we report spontaneous sensitivity to the probabilistic structure underlying sequences of visual stimuli in newly hatched domestic chicks using filial imprinting, suggesting that statistical learning may be fully operating at the onset of life in precocial avian species.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705, USA; Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy. Electronic address: santolin@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santolin
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind-Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Orsola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rosa-Salva
authors.affiliation: CIMeC, Center for Mind-Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy. Electronic address: giorgio.vallortigara@unitn.it.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vallortigara
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Regolin
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D007173:Imprinting, Psychological; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*