Data from: Cognitive resonance: when information carry-over constrains cognitive plasticity

1. When faced with a changing environment, some species appear to adapt quickly, while others seem unable to update the value of environmental cues on which they base their decisions, leading them to display seemingly maladaptive responses. 2. While behavioural and cognitive plasticity are two traits that should predict the ability of species to update the value of environmental cues, we argue that this flexibility may be constrained by ontogeny. While sensitive periods have been shown to exist for establishing an individual's food, habitat and mate preference, no studies have established the existence of a cognitive sensitive period for predation-related information. 3. In this study, we used wood frogs, Lithobates sylvaticus, to demonstrate the existence of a sensitive period for predation-related information, with risk information learned as embryos maintained for more than 5 weeks, while the same information learned as tadpoles was unused after just 10 days. Next we demonstrated that tadpoles that had learned a cue as safe as embryos were unable to update the cue as risky after three fear conditioning attempts, while tadpoles that learned the cue as safe a few days prior did successfully update the cue as risky after three conditionings. 4. We coined the term 'cognitive resonance' to describe how information learned early in life can have marked cognitive consequence later in life, affecting not only the duration for which information learned is actively used in decision-making, but how this information can interfere with the acquisition of up-to-date information about the environment. 5. Cognitive resonance might be beneficial in stable environments where the change in the value of a cue is relatively small through time, but it can quickly become costly in environments where the identity of potential threats changes quickly, as in the case of introduced species.1. 当面对变化的环境时，部分物种能够快速适应，而另一些物种则无法更新其决策所依赖的环境线索（environmental cues）的价值，进而表现出看似适应不良的反应。2. 尽管行为可塑性与认知可塑性（behavioural and cognitive plasticity）这两个特征本应能够预测物种更新环境线索价值的能力，但我们认为这种灵活性可能会受到个体发育（ontogeny）的制约。已有研究表明，个体在建立食物、栖息地与配偶偏好时存在关键期（sensitive periods），但目前尚无研究证实捕食相关信息（predation-related information）存在认知关键期。3. 本研究以美洲林蛙（Lithobates sylvaticus）为实验对象，证实了捕食相关信息存在认知关键期：胚胎阶段习得的风险信息可被保留超过5周，而蝌蚪阶段习得的同类信息仅在10天后便不再被使用。随后我们进一步验证，胚胎阶段被判定为安全的线索，即便经过三次恐惧条件反射（fear conditioning）训练，蝌蚪也无法将其更新为危险线索；而在数天前刚习得该线索为安全的蝌蚪，经过三次条件反射训练后则成功将其更新为危险线索。4. 我们提出了“认知共振（cognitive resonance）”这一术语，用以描述生命早期习得的信息如何对后续生命阶段产生显著的认知影响：这种影响不仅包括已习得信息在决策中被主动使用的持续时长，还包括该信息如何干扰个体获取环境的最新信息。5. 认知共振在环境线索价值随时间变化相对较小的稳定环境中或许有益，但在潜在威胁种类快速变化的环境（如外来入侵物种（introduced species）入侵的环境）中，这种效应可能会迅速演变为代价高昂的不利因素。