More experience in the initial learning of spatial information improves cognitive flexibility in food-caching chickadees

Cognitive flexibility - the ability to adjust previously learned associations given novel information - is hypothesized to allow animals to respond to variable conditions. While cognitive flexibility is thought to primarily rely on executive control, previous experiences may interfere with learning. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that strength of associations should improve cognitive flexibility and that birds given more time to learn different spatial associations would perform better in a serial reversal task with multiple, not binary, choices. Wild chickadees were subjected to one of three spatial learning tasks that differed in the number and duration of learned associations and then completed a serial reversal task using eight-feeder arrays. All birds learned the locations of two rewarding feeders sequentially. The control group then started the serial reversal task with reward alternating daily between those two feeders. The two experimental groups had to sequentially learn an additional two locations but differed in the time allowed to learn these associations – one day for the short exposure group and three days for the long exposure group. This was followed by the serial reversal task which involved daily alternations between these two additional feeder locations. The birds in the long exposure group showed fewer location errors and learned the reversal rule faster than birds in the short exposure group. Our results demonstrate that increased experience with specific associations improves cognitive flexibility involving these associations when animals have multiple choices.