Quantitative testing system and method for macaque fraud and cooperation behaviors

Abstract

The invention discloses a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative test system and method. The system comprises a data acquisition control device and a plurality of experiment boxes. Each experiment box comprises a box body, a test area, a tension sensor and feeding equipment are arranged in the box body, the tension sensor and the feeding equipment are both installed on the inner wall of the box body, a tension handle is installed in the test area, and the tension handle is connected with the tension sensor through a spring; the tension sensor and the feeding equipment are electrically connected with the data acquisition control device. According to the technical scheme, quantitative evaluation of macaque fraudulent behaviors can be realized, and powerful support is provided for macaque behavioristics research.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of animal social behavior testing, and in particular relates to a system and method for quantitatively testing the fraud and cooperation behaviors of macaques. Background Art

[0002] Studying the social behavior of non-human primates is very important for understanding the origin of human behavior. Human social behavior is extremely complex, including altruistic and mutually beneficial behaviors, such as cooperation and sharing; and non-altruistic behaviors are also common, such as competition and even fraud. These social behaviors constitute the complexity of human society. They restrict each other, achieve a dynamic balance, and the society is stable. So, how did these social behaviors evolve? Which brain areas are responsible for different social behaviors? This has always been a concern. With the help of non-human primates, which are highly similar to human genomes and brain structure and function, we can peek into and study the origin of complex human social behavior. Most social studies using non-human primates as experimental subjects focus on the measurement and analysis of cooperative behavior. There is little research on fraud that may occur in cooperative behavior. The reason is that the lack of suitable equipment and devices, as well as suitable experimental design, limits research in this area. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system and method to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0004] On the one hand, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system, including a data acquisition control device and several experimental boxes;

[0005] Each of the experimental boxes includes a box body, and a test area, a tension sensor and a feeding device are arranged inside the box body. The tension sensor and the feeding device are both installed on the inner wall of the box body. A tension handle is installed in the test area, and the tension handle is connected to the tension sensor through a spring; the tension sensor and the feeding device are both electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0006] Optionally, a food trough is further provided in the test area, and the food trough is provided in cooperation with the feeding device.

[0007] Optionally, the feeding device includes a food particle pump, an output end of the food particle pump is connected to the food trough via a delivery pipeline, and the food particle pump is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0008] Optionally, the feeding equipment further comprises a juice pump, a water supply conduit is movably mounted on the output end of the juice pump, and the juice pump is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0009] Optionally, a light stimulation generator is installed at the bottom of the box, and the light stimulation generator is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0010] Optionally, a sound stimulation generator is installed on the inner wall of the box, and the sound stimulation generator is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0011] Optionally, the data acquisition control device includes a control computer and a tension threshold judgment device, one end of the control computer is electrically connected to the tension threshold judgment device through a connecting pipe, and the other end is electrically connected to each device in each of the experimental boxes through a connecting pipe.

[0012] Optionally, the connecting pipeline includes an explosion-proof pipe and a signal line installed inside the explosion-proof pipe.

[0013] On the other hand, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing method, which is applied to the macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system, comprising:

[0014] Turn on the quantitative test system, perform individual or collaborative tests on each animal to be tested based on a preset threshold and a preset number of tests, and record the test records;

[0015] Optionally, the process of the individual test specifically includes:

[0016] When the animal to be tested pulls the pulling handle, the sensing data of the pulling sensor is collected by the control computer, and the preset threshold value and the sensing data are compared by the pulling threshold value judgment device. If the sensing data is greater than or equal to the preset threshold value, the food pellet pump or juice pump is controlled by the control computer to release the reward; if the sensing data is less than the preset threshold value, no reward is given;

[0017] The process of the cooperative testing specifically includes:

[0018] In the cooperative test, when each of the animals to be tested pulls the handles respectively within a preset time period, if the tension sensor data corresponding to each of the animals to be tested reaches a preset threshold, the food pellet pump or juice pump is controlled by the control computer to release the reward; if the tension sensor data corresponding to one of the animals to be tested does not reach the preset threshold, while the tension sensor data corresponding to the other animal to be tested reaches the preset threshold, and the total tension sensor data reaches the threshold, and both animals receive food or juice rewards, then the first animal is judged to be a fraudulent act;

[0019] When one of the tested animals does not pull the tension handle, and the corresponding tension sensor data of the other tested animal reaches the preset threshold of the total tension, and both animals receive food or juice rewards, the first animal is judged to have betrayed.

[0020] The technical effects of the present invention are:

[0021] The invention provides a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system with the advantages of simple structure, convenient operation, accurate and reliable data, etc. The system can realize the quantitative evaluation of macaque fraud behavior, and provide strong support for macaque behavioral research. At the same time, the system can also be applied to the behavioral research field of other animals, and has wide applicability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0023] The drawings constituting a part of the present application are used to provide a further understanding of the present application. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of the present application are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0024] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a quantitative test system in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 The figure is a flow chart of a quantitative testing method in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Explanation of reference numerals: 100, first tensile test device experimental box; 101, second tensile test device experimental box; 110, tensile sensor; 120, food particle pump; 130, juice pump; 140, water supply pipe; 150, sound stimulation generator; 160, light stimulation generator; 170, tensile handle; 180, food trough; 200, tensile test device control computer; 210, explosion-proof pipe; 220, signal line; 230, single-chip microcomputer I / O control card. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more comprehensively below with reference to the relevant drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are given. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present invention more thorough and comprehensive.

[0029] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an element in the middle; when an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an element in the middle at the same time; the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only;

[0030] The words “include,” “including,” “have,” “contain,” etc. used in this article are open-ended terms, meaning including but not limited to.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by technicians in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0032] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0033] Embodiment 1

[0034] like Figure 1-Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system, including a data acquisition control device and a number of experimental boxes; each of the experimental boxes includes a box body, and a test area, a tension sensor 110 and a feeding device are arranged inside the box body, and the tension sensor 110 and the feeding device are both installed on the inner wall of the box body, and a tension handle 170 is installed in the test area, and the tension handle 170 is connected to the tension sensor 110 through a spring; the tension sensor 110 and the feeding device are both electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

[0035] A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing method, applied to a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system, comprising:

[0036] Turn on the quantitative test system, perform individual or collaborative tests on each animal to be tested based on a preset threshold and a preset number of tests, and record the test records;

[0037] The deceptive behavior tendency and cooperation ability of the tested animals are evaluated based on the test records.

[0038] This embodiment constructs a tensile testing device for detecting the upper limb strength of macaques. This embodiment forms two or more combined systems with the tensile testing device. First, the macaques are trained to obtain food through cooperation, and then rules are set to detect fraudulent behavior in the cooperation process of the macaques. The details are as follows:

[0039] Pre-selected macaques are trained to use the tension test device to obtain food rewards. When the macaque reaches out to pull the handle of the device and the tension exceeds the set threshold, a reward will be obtained (a grain of food falls from the pellet pump to the food trough or a drop of juice reward flows out of the water supply conduit 140). If the macaque's pulling force does not reach the threshold, there will be no food or juice reward. Generally, macaques can complete different threshold training after learning 25 times a day. In about 3 months, their maximum tension threshold can be determined. If the threshold is exceeded, the macaque cannot pull the handle. The maximum tension threshold of each macaque's upper limb may be different. After the animals have learned and determined the maximum tension threshold, two tension test devices and two animals are combined. At this time, the two animals begin to learn to pull the handle together in a certain time range in a specified time period to obtain a reward. The tension threshold required for each animal and the total tension threshold of the two animals are set artificially to determine whether the reward is issued. The pulling force value of each animal during the experiment is recorded separately. Combined with the social hierarchy of two or more animals, the possible fraudulent behaviors that may occur during the experiment, that is, the frequency and objects of unearned or lazy behaviors, and the related factors are analyzed. Future experiments will combine electrophysiological recordings, brain region intervention and other methods to study the correlation between fraudulent behavior and brain region function, so as to achieve the purpose of analyzing the mechanism of fraudulent behavior. In addition, the fraudulent behavior characteristics of experimental animals with pathological social behavior disorders and the differences with normal animals can also be studied.

[0040] The structure of the test device of this embodiment includes a tensile test device test box and a tensile test device control computer 200. The tensile test device control computer 200 is connected to two tensile test device test boxes through an input and output signal line 220 in an explosion-proof tube 210. The tensile test device test box is fixedly connected with a tensile sensor 110, a food particle pump 120, a juice pump 130, a bendable and detachable water supply conduit 140, a sound stimulation generator 150, a light stimulation generator 160, a tensile handle 170 and a food trough 180. The tensile handle 170 is connected to the tensile sensor 110 by a spring. The tensile test device control computer 200 is connected to two tensile test device test boxes through an input and output signal line 220 in an explosion-proof tube 210. The tensile test device control computer 200 contains a single-chip microcomputer I / O control card 230.

[0041] The tensile test control system in this embodiment is equipped with a dedicated control software to support tensile behavior experimental research. The computer I / O control card with USB interface can realize the synchronous control of two experimental animals. The software is flexible in function, supports multiple signal acquisition and control, can synchronize external devices, provides continuous signal recording and event recording functions, supports Chinese and English interface switching, and runs on Windows system.

[0042] Data collection: When running the experiment, all experimental data are automatically collected. After the experiment, the experimental data can be browsed, analyzed, and exported through data analysis software. Each experimental animal generates a data file for each experiment.

[0043] The pulling force sampling frequency in this embodiment is >60HZ, the pulling force range is 0-10kg, and the accuracy is 2-5g. The difficulty of the pulling task is adjusted by setting different pulling force thresholds so that the animals can obtain food rewards, and different auditory and visual signal prompts are configured. The collected data includes each test of each macaque: time (pull-down start time, peak duration, release time, duration to complete a complete pulling action, etc., in milliseconds), force value (force peak, average pulling force value to complete a complete pulling action, average pulling force value in a fixed time period before and after the threshold, etc.), speed (pull-down speed, release speed), number of times (number of pull-down peaks before reaching the threshold), and the success rate of each test of pulling through the threshold.

[0044] The operation process of this embodiment is as follows: the tension test device test box and the tension test device control computer 200 are powered on. When the animal in the first tension test device test box 100 pulls down the tension handle 170, the signal of the tension sensor 110 will be transmitted to the tension test device control computer 200 through the input and output signal line 220 in the explosion-proof tube 210. The single-chip microcomputer I / O control card 230 determines whether the current maximum tension exceeds the threshold set by the technician. If it exceeds the preset threshold, the tension test device control computer 200 controls the food particle pump 120 to feed the animal so that the animal can get a reward from the food trough 180, or the juice pump 130 controlled by the relay allows the juice to be delivered to the animal's mouth along the bendable and detachable water supply conduit 140, and controls the sound stimulus generator 150 and the light stimulus generator 160 to give prompts.

[0045] When conducting cooperative animal training operations, the technician first powers on the tension test device test box and the tension test device control computer 200. When the animals in the first tension test device test box 100 and the second tension test device test box 101 pull down the tension handle 170 within a specified time period, the signal of the tension sensor 110 will be transmitted to the tension test device control computer 200 through the input and output signal line 220 in the explosion-proof pipe 210. The single-chip microcomputer I / O control card 230 determines whether the current maximum tension of the two sensors exceeds the threshold set by the technician. If it exceeds the preset threshold, the tension test device control computer 200 controls the two food pellet pumps 120 to feed, so that both animals can get rewards from the food trough 180, or controls the two juice pumps 130 to make the animals get juice rewards from the bendable and detachable water supply conduit 140, and controls the sound stimulus generator 150 and the light stimulus generator 160 to prompt. If the tension value of the animal on one side does not reach the maximum preset threshold, the animal will not be rewarded. When two animals can cooperate to take food stably for a certain number of times (for example, more than 100 times) with the maximum threshold pulling force within a limited time range (for example, within 10 seconds), the maximum threshold total value is obtained. After that, the threshold setting of the unilateral macaque is cancelled. When the sum of the pulling force of the two animals to pull down the handle reaches the maximum threshold total value within the specified time range, the two animals can get food or juice rewards. After a certain number of stable cooperative feeding (for example, more than 100 times), the total threshold value required for feeding is reduced, and the pulling force value of the two macaques to pull down the handle changes during the cooperative feeding process. When one animal cooperates with another animal that pulls down the handle with less than its own maximum pulling force threshold, it is judged as fraud in cooperation; when the animal does not pull the pulling force handle 170 and can still get a reward, it is judged as betrayal. By judging the pulling force value of the cooperative animals on both sides, this macaque fraud test based on the pulling device can be achieved. The specific plan can be customized according to the experimental requirements.

[0046] The macaque fraud behavior testing system based on the tension device provided in this embodiment has the advantages of simple structure, convenient operation, accurate and reliable data, etc. The system can realize the quantitative evaluation of macaque fraud behavior, and provide strong support for macaque behavioral research. At the same time, the system can also be applied to the behavioral research field of other animals, and has wide applicability.

[0047] The above is only a preferred specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system, characterized in that: It includes data acquisition control device and several experimental boxes; Each of the experimental boxes comprises a box body, wherein a test area, a tension sensor (110) and a feeding device are arranged inside the box body, wherein the tension sensor (110) and the feeding device are both installed on the inner wall of the box body, and a tension handle (170) is installed in the test area, wherein the tension handle (170) is connected to the tension sensor (110) via a spring; and the tension sensor (110) and the feeding device are both electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

2. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A food trough (180) is also provided in the test area, and the food trough (180) is provided in coordination with the feeding device.

3. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The feeding device comprises a food particle pump (120), the output end of the food particle pump (120) is connected to the food trough (180) via a delivery pipeline, and the food particle pump (120) is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

4. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The feeding equipment further comprises a juice pump (130), a water supply conduit (140) being movably mounted at the output end of the juice pump (130), and the juice pump (130) is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

5. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A light stimulation generator (160) is installed at the bottom of the box, and the light stimulation generator (160) is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

6. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sound stimulation generator (150) is installed on the inner side wall of the box, and the sound stimulation generator (150) is electrically connected to the data acquisition control device.

7. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data acquisition control device includes a control computer and a tension threshold judgment device. One end of the control computer is electrically connected to the tension threshold judgment device through a connecting pipeline, and the other end is electrically connected to each device in each experimental box through a connecting pipeline.

8. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The connecting pipeline comprises an explosion-proof pipe (210) and a signal line (220) installed inside the explosion-proof pipe (210).

9. A macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing method, applied to a macaque fraud and cooperation behavior quantitative testing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: include: The quantitative test system is turned on, and each animal to be tested is tested individually or collaboratively based on a preset threshold value and a preset number of tests, and the test records are recorded.

10. A method for quantitatively testing macaque fraud and cooperation behavior according to claim 9, characterized in that: The process of the separate test specifically includes: When the animal to be tested pulls the pulling handle (170), the sensing data of the pulling sensor (110) is collected by the control computer, and the preset threshold value and the sensing data are compared by the pulling threshold value judgment device. If the sensing data is greater than or equal to the preset threshold value, the food pellet pump (120) or the juice pump (130) is controlled by the control computer to release the reward; if the sensing data is less than the preset threshold value, no reward is given; The process of the cooperative testing specifically includes: In the cooperative test, when each of the animals to be tested pulls the handles respectively within a preset time period, if the tension sensor data corresponding to each of the animals to be tested reaches a preset threshold value, the food pellet pump (120) or the juice pump (130) is controlled by the control computer to release the reward; if the tension sensor data corresponding to one of the animals to be tested does not reach the preset threshold value, while the tension sensor data corresponding to the other animal to be tested reaches the preset threshold value, the total tension sensor data reaches the threshold value, and both animals receive food or juice rewards, then the first animal is judged to be cheating; When one of the tested animals does not pull the pulling handle (170), and the pulling force sensor data corresponding to the other tested animal reaches the total pulling force preset threshold, and both animals are rewarded with food or juice, the first animal is judged to be in a betrayal behavior.

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