Comparative Cognition Lab

Comparative cognition in animals

Cognitive development

Prof N S Clayton FRS (Head)
Professor of Comparative Cognition
Graduate Tutor and Director of Studies in Natural Sciences (Biological) for Clare College.
Tel: 01223 333559 Fax: 01223 333564 e-mail: n.clayton@psychol.cam.ac.uk

Current topics in animal cognition include: Mental time travel (episodic-like memory and future planning) by food-caching Western Scrub-Jays. This work is done in collaboration with Professor Tony Dickinson who is also in the Department of Experimental Psychology. Crime, punishment and protection by food-caching corvids. This work is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Emery at Queen Mary College, University of London. Social and physical cognition in corvids (members of the crow family, which includes jackdaws, rooks and jays), from studies of alliance formation and post-conflict behaviours in rooks, and food-sharing in jackdaws, to tests of what corvids understand about tools and other tests of folk physics. This work is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Emery at Queen Mary College, University of London Comparative studies of cognition in corvids (jackdaws, rooks and jays) and apes (chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos). This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Emery and Dr. Josep Call at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. Current topics in development include: Development of prospective cognition in young children. This work is done in collaboration with Dr James Russell who also works in the Department of Experimental Psychology. Development of social cognition in young children. This work is also done in collaboration with Dr James Russell. Current links include: Jays plan for tomorrow's breakfast Food-Caching Western Scrub-Jays Keep Track of Who was Watching When, Abstract, Reprint The Mentality of Crows: Convergent Evolution of Intelligence in Corvids and Apes, Abstract, Full Text Episodic-like Memory by Food-Caching Jays Theory of Mind in Food-Caching Jays Physical Cognition in Rooks What Rooks Do After Fights Royal Society - Publishing - Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B Bird Tango - youtube and the Times newspaper

Lab Members

Cleo Buitendijk Lucy Cheke Sergio Correia Dr Uri Grodzinski Jolle Jolles Corina Logan Ljerka Ostojic Dr Caroline Raby Rachel Shaw Dr Alex Taylor James Thom Elske van der Vaart Allie Watanabe

We hold weekly lab meetings during term time on Tuesdays at 4.30 pm in the Craik-Marshall seminar room. These are also attended by Prof Tony Dickinson's and Dr Nathan Emery's groups, as well as by Prof Nick Mackintosh (Psychology, n.mackintosh@psychol.cam.ac.uk) and Prof Nick Humphrey (London School of Economics, n.humphrey@lse.ac.uk).

Profile Pieces

• Morell, V. Nicola Clayton Profile: Nicky and the Jays. Science 315, 1074-1075. (pdf)
• Clayton, N. S. (2007). Nicola Clayton: Q & A. Current Biology 17, R345-346. (pdf)
• Clayton, N. S. (2009). Dancing to Darwin. Current Biology 19, R725. (See My Word: Dancing to Darwin.)
• Random Samples: Darwin and Dance. Science 325, 1481.
• Q&A: Bird behaviour, darwin and dance. Nature 462, 288. (pdf)
• Arts & Reviews. Blue Sci 17, 26-27 (2010). (pdf)

Recent sites

• Discover magazine March 2010:Who are you calling bird brain?
• Fitwilliam project
• On the shoulders of giants by Howard Guest
• When it comes to food-caching scrub jays, it takes a thief to know a thief.
• Food for thought

Some Recent Publications

Clayton, N. S. & Dickinson, A. (1998). Episodic-like memory during cache recovery by scrub jays. Nature 395, 272-278.

Clayton, N. S. & Russell, J. (2009). Looking for episodic cognition in animals and young children: prospects for a new minimalism. Neuropsychologia 47, 2330-2340.

Correia, S. P. C., Alexis, D. M., Dickinson, A. & Clayton, N. S. (2007). Western Scrub-Jays anticipate future needs independently of their current motivational state. Current Biology 17, 856-861.

Dally, J. M., Emery, N. J. & Clayton, N. S. (2006). Food-caching western scrub-jays keep track of who was watching when. Science 312, 1662-1665. 

Emery, N. J. & Clayton, N. S. (2001). Effects of experience and social context on prospective caching strategies in scrub jays. Nature 414, 443–446.

Emery, N. J. & Clayton, N. S. (2004). The mentality of crows. Convergent evolution of intelligence in corvids and apes. Science 306, 1903-1907.

Raby, C. R., Alexis, D. M., Dickinson, A. & Clayton, N. S. (2007). Planning for the future by Western Scrub-Jays. Nature 445, 919-921.

Russell, J. Alexis, D. M. & Clayton, N. S. (2009). Episodic future thinking in 3- to 5- year-old-children: The ability to think of what will be needed from a different point of view. Cognition. DOI: 10.1016/jcognition.2009.08.013

Seed, A. M., Emery, N. J. & Clayton, N. S. (2009). Intelligence in corvids and apes: a case of convergent evolution? Ethology 115, 401-420.

Stulp, G., Emery, N. J., Verhulst, S. & Clayton, N. S. (2009). Western scrub-jays conceal auditory information when competitors can hear but cannot see. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Letters 5, 583-585.

Teufel, C. R., Alexis, D. M., Clayton, N. S. & Davis, G. G. (2009). Social Cognition Modulates the Sensory Coding of Observed Gaze-Direction. Current Biology 19, 1274-1277.

Science and Dance Nicky is also a keen dancer and is fascinated by the links between science and dance. She is collaborating with Rambert Dance Company on a new work, 'The Comedy of Change', based on Darwinian principles to commemorate Darwin's 200th anniversary. See http://www.rambert.org.uk/comedy_of_change/mark_baldwin/marks_blog/on_the_origin_of_species http://www.skyarts.co.uk/video/video-sky-arts-at-rambert-dance-company Rambert Dance Company have just appointed Nicky to become the Company's Scientific Advisor.