新奇事件簿 研究稱貓和狗一樣聰明

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For whatever reason, people assume dogs are more intelligent creatures than cats. This notion has been called into question by scientists in Japan, who have said that cats are as smart as dogs at certain memory tests. Cat lovers, of course, have always known this. Researchers at Kyoto University conducted tests on how well 49 cats could recall or relate to an event from the past – known as an episodic memory. The Japanese team got the felines to eat from one of two bowls. Fifteen minutes later, the cats were tested on their ability to remember which bowl they had eaten from and which remained untouched. The team found the cats could recall what they ate and where, suggesting they had episodic memory.

無論出于何種原因，人們認(rèn)為狗是比貓更聰明的動物。日本科學(xué)家質(zhì)疑了這個觀念，他們說，在某些記憶測試中，貓和狗一樣聰明。當(dāng)然，喜歡貓的人一直都知道這一點(diǎn)。京都大學(xué)研究人員測試了49只貓能否回憶或聯(lián)想起過去的事情——這叫做情景記憶。研究小組讓這些貓用兩個碗中的一個進(jìn)食。15分鐘后，研究人員測試貓是否記得它們是用哪只碗來吃東西的，哪只是沒碰過的。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，貓可以回憶起它們吃飯用的碗，這表明它們存在情景記憶。

The scientists also said that cats were as good as dogs on a whole variety of mental tests, including responding to the gestures, facial expressions and emotions of humans. Researcher Saho Takagi told reporters that she believed cats think about past events similar to the way humans do. She said: " An interesting speculation is that they may enjoy actively recalling memories of their experience, like humans." She added: "Episodic memory is viewed as being related to an introspective function of the mind. Our study may imply a type of consciousness in cats." Ms Takagi said the research is good news for pet owners, saying: "Understanding cats more deeply helps to establish better cat-human relationships."

科學(xué)家還表示，在一系列智力測驗(yàn)中，貓的表現(xiàn)都和狗一樣好，包括回應(yīng)人類的姿勢，面部表情和情緒。研究人員Saho Takagi告訴記者，她相信貓和人一樣會回憶過去的事情。她說：“一個有趣的猜測是，它們很樂于積極回憶過去的經(jīng)歷，就像人類一樣。”她補(bǔ)充說：“情景記憶被視為與思維的反省功能有關(guān)。我們的研究或許暗示貓存在意識。”Takagi說，對于寵物主人來說，這項(xiàng)研究是好消息，“對貓更深入的了解可以幫助人類和貓之間建立更好的關(guān)系。”