新奇事件簿 研究称猫和狗一样聪明

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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.

无论出于何种原因，人们认为狗是比猫更聪明的动物。日本科学家质疑了这个观念，他们说，在某些记忆测试中，猫和狗一样聪明。当然，喜欢猫的人一直都知道这一点。京都大学研究人员测试了49只猫能否回忆或联想起过去的事情——这叫做情景记忆。研究小组让这些猫用两个碗中的一个进食。15分钟后，研究人员测试猫是否记得它们是用哪只碗来吃东西的，哪只是没碰过的。他们发现，猫可以回忆起它们吃饭用的碗，这表明它们存在情景记忆。

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."

科学家还表示，在一系列智力测验中，猫的表现都和狗一样好，包括回应人类的姿势，面部表情和情绪。研究人员Saho Takagi告诉记者，她相信猫和人一样会回忆过去的事情。她说：“一个有趣的猜测是，它们很乐于积极回忆过去的经历，就像人类一样。”她补充说：“情景记忆被视为与思维的反省功能有关。我们的研究或许暗示猫存在意识。”Takagi说，对于宠物主人来说，这项研究是好消息，“对猫更深入的了解可以帮助人类和猫之间建立更好的关系。”