Do Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) apply causal reasoning to tool-use tasks?

Two experiments addressed contradictory claims about causal reasoning in elephants. In Experiment 1, 4 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) were pretrained to remove a lid from the top of a bucket and retrieve a food reward. Subsequently, in the first 5 critical trials, when the lid was placed alongside the bucket and no longer obstructed access to the reward, each elephant continued to remove the lid before retrieving the reward.

Simultaneous visual discrimination in Asian elephants.

Two experiments explored the behavior of 20 Asian elephants (Elephas aximus) in simultaneous visual discrimination tasks. In Experiment 1, 7 Burmese logging elephants acquired a white+/black- discrimination, reaching criterion in a mean of 2.6 sessions and 117 discrete trials, whereas 4 elephants acquired a black+/white- discrimination in 5.

A bibliographical survey of bruxism with special emphasis on non-traditional treatment modalities.

After proposing a common-sense definition of bruxism, this partial review distills its various symptoms and consequences from the literature. That literature suggests that the splint-the most popular treatment modality-falls short in some respects. The research literature is even less sanguine about the efficacy of such other traditional therapies as sound alarms and stress reduction.

Can taste aversion prevent bruxism?

The first part of this note sketches a biofeedback modality for the treatment of bruxism. A mildly aversive, safe liquid is inserted into, and sealed in, small, bilaterally sleeved, polyethylene capsules. Two capsules are attached to a simple dental appliance that comfortably and securely places them between the lower and upper back teeth.