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How do Hawkmoths Learn Multi-Modal Stimuli? A Comparison of Three Models

Balkenius, Anna LU ; Kelber, Almut LU and Balkenius, Christian LU orcid (2008) In Adaptive Behavior 16(6). p.349-360
Abstract
The moth Macroglossum stellatarum can learn the color and sometimes the odor of a rewarding food source. We present data from 20 different experiments with different combinations of blue and yellow artificial flowers and the two odors, honeysuckle and lavender. The experiments show that learning about the odors depends on the color used. By training on different color—odor combinations and testing on others, it becomes possible to investigate the exact relation between the two modalities during learning. Three computational models were tested in the same experimental situations as the real moths and their predictions were compared with the experimental data. The average error over all experiments as well as the largest deviation from the... (More)
The moth Macroglossum stellatarum can learn the color and sometimes the odor of a rewarding food source. We present data from 20 different experiments with different combinations of blue and yellow artificial flowers and the two odors, honeysuckle and lavender. The experiments show that learning about the odors depends on the color used. By training on different color—odor combinations and testing on others, it becomes possible to investigate the exact relation between the two modalities during learning. Three computational models were tested in the same experimental situations as the real moths and their predictions were compared with the experimental data. The average error over all experiments as well as the largest deviation from the experimental data were calculated. Neither the Rescorla—Wagner model nor a learning model with independent learning for each stimulus component were able to explain the experimental data. We present the new hawkmoth learning model, which assumes that the moth learns a template for the sensory attributes of the rewarding stimulus. This model produces behavior that closely matches that of the real moth in all 20 experiments. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
learning, model, hawkmoth, vision, olfaction
in
Adaptive Behavior
volume
16
issue
6
pages
349 - 360
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • wos:000260840100001
  • scopus:55949108132
ISSN
1741-2633
DOI
10.1177/1059712308092955
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7489dc63-4271-4591-b8e4-2c1adfc1993f (old id 949405)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:16:44
date last changed
2022-01-27 01:23:05
@article{7489dc63-4271-4591-b8e4-2c1adfc1993f,
  abstract     = {{The moth Macroglossum stellatarum can learn the color and sometimes the odor of a rewarding food source. We present data from 20 different experiments with different combinations of blue and yellow artificial flowers and the two odors, honeysuckle and lavender. The experiments show that learning about the odors depends on the color used. By training on different color—odor combinations and testing on others, it becomes possible to investigate the exact relation between the two modalities during learning. Three computational models were tested in the same experimental situations as the real moths and their predictions were compared with the experimental data. The average error over all experiments as well as the largest deviation from the experimental data were calculated. Neither the Rescorla—Wagner model nor a learning model with independent learning for each stimulus component were able to explain the experimental data. We present the new hawkmoth learning model, which assumes that the moth learns a template for the sensory attributes of the rewarding stimulus. This model produces behavior that closely matches that of the real moth in all 20 experiments.}},
  author       = {{Balkenius, Anna and Kelber, Almut and Balkenius, Christian}},
  issn         = {{1741-2633}},
  keywords     = {{learning; model; hawkmoth; vision; olfaction}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{349--360}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Adaptive Behavior}},
  title        = {{How do Hawkmoths Learn Multi-Modal Stimuli? A Comparison of Three Models}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1059712308092955}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1059712308092955}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}