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Rizhova, L.Y.; Kokorina, E.P. |
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Title |
Behavioural asymmetry is involved in regulation of autonomic processes: Left side presentation of food improves reproduction and lactation in cows |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioural Brain Research |
Abbreviated Journal  |
Behav. Brain. Res. |
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161 |
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1 |
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75-81 |
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Behavioural asymmetry; Somatic functions; Reproduction; Lactation |
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It is known that the right and left brain hemispheres differ in their ability to regulate autonomic processes in the organism. Direct unilateral stimulation of the brain provokes side-dependent endocrine, immune and other visceral reactions. Since brain hemispheres are mainly involved in the regulation of muscles and sensory organs on the contra lateral side of the body the activation of behavioural asymmetry stimulates the contra lateral half of the brain. The important theoretical and practical question of whether autonomic processes can be regulated via the behavioural asymmetry route remains unexplored. In this study, we report that the chronic presentation of an emotionally important stimulus--food--from the left side, improves reproductive performance in animals in a broad range of feeding conditions. The unilateral presentation of food can also influence lactation, but in this case the side-dependent effects are different under varying feeding conditions. This finding opens a simple practical approach to influence basic somatic functions in the organism. |
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0166-4328 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5348 |
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Gibson, B.M.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
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Title |
Place versus response learning revisited: tests of blocking on the radial maze |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioral neuroscience |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav Neurosci |
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Volume |
119 |
Issue |
2 |
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567-586 |
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Animals; *Association Learning; Male; *Maze Learning; Memory; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Reproducibility of Results |
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Neurobiological and behavioral research indicates that place learning and response learning occur simultaneously, in parallel. Such findings seem to conflict with theories of associative learning in which different cues compete for learning. The authors conducted place+response training on a radial maze and then tested place learning and response learning separately by reconfiguring the maze in various ways. Consistent with the effects of manipulating place and response systems in the brain (M. G. Packard & J. L. McGaugh, 1996), well-trained rats showed strong place learning and strong response learning. Three experiments using associative blocking paradigms indicated that prior response learning interferes with place learning. Blocking and related tests can be used to better understand how memory systems interact during learning. |
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Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3567, USA. bgibson@cisunix.unh.edu |
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0735-7044 |
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PMID:15839803 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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362 |
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Vallortigara, G.; Rogers, L.J. |
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Title |
Survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
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The Behavioral and Brain Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav Brain Sci |
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28 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
575-89; discussion 589-633 |
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Animals; Attention/*physiology; Behavior/*physiology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Dominance, Cerebral/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; Models, Biological; Visual Perception/physiology |
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Recent evidence in natural and semi-natural settings has revealed a variety of left-right perceptual asymmetries among vertebrates. These include preferential use of the left or right visual hemifield during activities such as searching for food, agonistic responses, or escape from predators in animals as different as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are obvious disadvantages in showing such directional asymmetries because relevant stimuli may be located to the animal's left or right at random; there is no a priori association between the meaning of a stimulus (e.g., its being a predator or a food item) and its being located to the animal's left or right. Moreover, other organisms (e.g., predators) could exploit the predictability of behavior that arises from population-level lateral biases. It might be argued that lateralization of function enhances cognitive capacity and efficiency of the brain, thus counteracting the ecological disadvantages of lateral biases in behavior. However, such an increase in brain efficiency could be obtained by each individual being lateralized without any need to align the direction of the asymmetry in the majority of the individuals of the population. Here we argue that the alignment of the direction of behavioral asymmetries at the population level arises as an “evolutionarily stable strategy” under “social” pressures occurring when individually asymmetrical organisms must coordinate their behavior with the behavior of other asymmetrical organisms of the same or different species. |
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Department of Psychology and B.R.A.I.N. Centre for Neuroscience, University of Trieste, 34123 Trieste, Italy. vallorti@univ.trieste.it |
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0140-525X |
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PMID:16209828 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4622 |
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Davies, H.M.S. |
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The timing and distribution of strains around the surface of the midshaft of the third metacarpal bone during treadmill exercise in one Thoroughbred racehorse |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Australian Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Aust Vet J |
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83 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
157-162 |
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Animals; Exercise Test/veterinary; Female; Gait/*physiology; Horses/*physiology; Metacarpus/*physiology; Motor Activity/physiology; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*physiology; Stress, Mechanical; Weight-Bearing/physiology |
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OBJECTIVE: To confirm that the midshaft dorsal cortex of the third metacarpal bone experienced higher compressive strains during fast exercise than the medial or lateral cortices, and that the strain peak occurred earlier in the hoof-down phase of the stride on the dorsal cortex than the medial or lateral cortices. DESIGN: Observations of a single horse. PROCEDURE: Strains were collected from a single, sound, 3-year-old Thoroughbred mare during treadmill exercise from rosette strain gauges implanted onto the medial, lateral and dorsal surfaces of the midshaft of the right cannon bone, simultaneously with data from a hoof switch that showed when the hoof was in the stance phase. RESULTS: Peak compressive strains on the dorsal surface of the third metacarpal bone were proportional to exercise speed and occurred at about 30% of stance. Peak compressive strains on the medial surface of the non-lead limb reached a maximum at a speed around 10 m/s and occurred at mid-stance. Peak compressive strains on the lateral surface varied in timing and size between strides at all exercise speeds, but remained less than -2000 microstrains. CONCLUSIONS: The timing of peak compressive strains on the dorsal cortex suggests a relationship to deceleration of the limb following hoof impact, so the main determinants of their size would be exercise speed and turning (as shown in previous experiments). This experiment confirms data from other laboratories that were published but not discussed, that peak compressive strains on the medial surface occur at mid-stance. This suggests that they are related to the support of body weight. The strains on the lateral cortex occurred at variable times so may be associated with the maintenance of balance as well as the support of body weight. Understanding the loading of the third metacarpal bone will help to determine causes of damage to it and ways in which the bone might be conditioned to prevent such damage. |
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Department of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010. h.davies@unimelb.edu.au |
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0005-0423 |
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PMID:15825628 |
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1891 |
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Author |
Pearce, G.P.; May-Davis, S.; Greaves, D. |
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Title |
Femoral asymmetry in the Thoroughbred racehorse |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Australian Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Aust Vet J |
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83 |
Issue |
6 |
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367-370 |
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Animals; Cumulative Trauma Disorders/pathology/*veterinary; Femur/*pathology; Horse Diseases/*pathology/physiopathology; Horses; Locomotion; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*physiology |
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of geometrical asymmetries in the macro-architecture of left and right femurs from Thoroughbred racehorses previously used in competitive training and racing in New South Wales, Australia. METHODS: Detailed postmortem measurements were made of 37 characteristics of left and right femurs from eleven Thoroughbred racehorses euthanased for reasons unrelated to the study. Measurements focused on articulating surfaces and sites of attachment of muscles and ligaments known to be associated with hindlimb locomotion. RESULTS: Five measurements were significantly larger in left compared to right femurs (P < 0.05). The regions showing significant differences between left and right limbs were proximal cranial and overhead medio-lateral widths, greater trochanter depth, depth of the fovea in the femoral head and distal inter-epicondylar width. CONCLUSION: The left-right differences in femoral morphology were associated with sites of muscle and ligament attachment known to be involved with hindlimb function in negotiating turns. These differences may be the result of selection pressure for racing performance on curved race tracks and/or adaptations related to asymmetrical loading of the outside hindlimb associated with repeated negotiation of turns on such tracks. |
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Faculty of Rural Management, University of Sydney, Leeds Parade, Orange, New South Wales 2800. gpp28@cam.ac.uk |
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0005-0423 |
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PMID:15986917 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4036 |
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Mills, D.S.; Riezebos, M. |
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The role of the image of a conspecific in the regulation of stereotypic head movements in the horse |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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91 |
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1-2 |
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155-165 |
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Behaviour; Horse; Nodding; Perception; Stereotypy; Vision; Weaving |
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Weaving is a common locomotor stereotypy in horses, which has been shown to be reduced by the presence of a mirror in the stable; however, it remains unclear whether this effect is due to the reflected image of a horse or some other property associated with the introduction of a mirror. To investigate this further, the response of six known weaving horses to each of three different types of poster was recorded. The poster images consisted of a life-size image of a horse's face (true image), a version of the same image cut into 54 squares, which were then randomly rearranged (pixilated image) and a blank (white image) display of the same size as the other posters. Four observation periods were included in each of the two days of observation per treatment condition: 08:00-08:30 h, 10:00-10:30 h, 12:00-12:30 h and 16:00-17:00 h. The first observation period was followed by the provision of concentrate feed and forage, the second observation period by exercise, the third by further forage and the fourth by concentrate feed and forage. The horses' activities and positions in the box were scanned at 1 min intervals and the number of observations registering each activity and position was calculated as a percentage of the total number of observations for each observation period. Weaving was significantly less when the horses were provided with the image of a horse's face (mean percentage of observations +/- S.E.M.; 5.56 +/- 1.57), compared to both the pixilated (14.85 +/- 3.06) and white (20.52 +/- 4.12) images. Nodding was significantly less when provided with the true image of a horse (0.45 +/- 0.15) compared to the pixilated image (2.15 +/- 0.67). The pattern of weaving throughout the day differed from that of nodding, and together these results suggest that the two behaviours are not analogous. The presence of the image of the horse's face was associated with a significant increase in alertness (F112,2 = 11.31, p < 0.001) and recorded time spent looking at the poster(F112,2 = 3.46, p < 0.05). The timing of stereotypic head movements in the horse in this study suggests that they are not associated with boredom, or lack of stimulation but rather acute frustration. |
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307 |
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Sibbald, A.M.; Elston, D.A.; Smith, D.J.F.; Erhard, H.W. |
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A method for assessing the relative sociability of individuals within groups: an example with grazing sheep |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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91 |
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1-2 |
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57-73 |
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Association; Grazing; Nearest neighbour; Sheep; Sociability; Social behaviour |
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We describe a method for quantifying relative sociability within a group of animals, which is defined as the tendency to be close to others within the group and based on the identification of nearest neighbours. The method is suitable for groups of animals in which all individuals are visible and identifiable and has application as a tool in other areas of behavioural research. A sociability index (SI) is calculated, which is equivalent to the relative proportion of time that an individual spends as the nearest neighbour of other animals in the group and is scaled to have an expectation of 1.0 under the null hypothesis of random mixing. Associated pairs, which are animals seen as nearest neighbours more often than would be expected by chance, are also identified. The method tests for consistency across a number of independent observation periods, by comparison with values obtained from simulations in which animal identities are randomised between observation periods. An experiment is described in which 8 groups of 7 grazing sheep were each observed for a total of 10, one-hour periods and the identities and distances away of the 3 nearest neighbours of each focal animal recorded at 5-min intervals. Significant within-group differences in SIs were found in four of the groups (P < 0.001). SIs calculated using the nearest neighbour, two nearest neighbours or three nearest neighbours, were generally highly correlated within all groups, with little change in the ranking of animals. There were significant negative correlations between SIs and nearest neighbour distances in five of the groups. It was concluded that there was no advantage in recording more than one neighbour to calculate the SI. Advantages of the SI over other methods for measuring sociability and pair-wise associations are discussed. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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317 |
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Henry, S.; Hemery, D.; Richard, M.-A.; Hausberger, M. |
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Human-mare relationships and behaviour of foals toward humans |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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93 |
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3-4 |
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341-362 |
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Horse; Human-animal relationship; Maternal influence; Early experience; Social facilitation |
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We studied experimentally whether horse dams influenced foals' relationships with humans. We investigated the influence of the establishment of positive human-mare relationships on foals' behaviour toward humans. Forty-one foals and their dams were involved in this experiment. Half of the mares were softly brushed and fed by hand during a short period (total of 1.25 h) during the first 5 days of their foals' lives (experimental group, n = 21). The other mares were not handled experimentally and their foals received no contact with the experimenter (control group, n = 20). The reactions of both experimental and control foals were recorded under various conditions, first, for 5 min in the presence of a motionless experimenter, when foals were 15 and 30-35 days old, then in an approach test when they were 15 days old and in a saddle-pad tolerance test when they were 30-35 days old. Finally, approach-stroking tests were performed successively by the familiar experimenter when foals were 11-13 months old and by an unfamiliar person when they were 13-15 months old. Several observations strongly suggest that mares can influence their foals' behaviour toward humans: (1) during the handling procedure, experimental foals of protective mares were further from the handler than foals of calm mares (p < 0.001); (2) experimental foals remained, at all ages, closer to the experimenter (p < 0.05) and initiated more physical contacts (sniffing, licking, etc.) with the experimenter (p < 0.05) than control foals; (3) avoidance and flight responses of experimental foals were considerably reduced during approaches by the experimenter (p < 0.01) and they accepted saddle-pads on their backs more easily (p < 0.01) and more quickly (p < 0.01) than control foals. Lastly, the consequences of handling mares had effects that lasted at least until foals were one year old (p < 0.05) and became generalized from experimenter to unfamiliar humans, who could approach and stroke experimental foals rapidly during a test (p < 0.05). This is the first report of an attempt to use observation of mother by foals to facilitate human-foal relationships. The procedure is simple, takes little time and can easily be applied to any dam-foal pair, as it is not intrusive and presents no risks of disrupting mare-foal bonds. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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331 |
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Thorne, J.B.; Goodwin, D.; Kennedy, M.J.; Davidson, H.P.B.; Harris, P. |
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Foraging enrichment for individually housed horses: Practicality and effects on behaviour |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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94 |
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1-2 |
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149-164 |
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Horse; Foraging behaviour; Eating; Feeding; Enrichment; Welfare |
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The stabled (UK) or stalled (USA) horse is commonly fed a restricted-forage diet in contrast to the varied ad libitum high-fibre diet it evolved to consume. A low-forage diet has been linked to the performance of stereotypical behaviour and health problems including gastric ulceration and impaction colic (in cases where horses are bedded on straw). Provision of a diet closer to that which the horse is adapted to and which enables more natural feeding behaviour warrants investigation. This trial aimed to establish whether the behavioural effects observed in short-term trials when stabled horses were provided with a multiple forage diet persist over longer periods. It also aimed to develop a practical methodology for maintaining stabled horses under forage-enriched conditions. Nine horses (aged 5-20 years, various breeds), acting as their own controls, participated in an 18-day, cross-over, Latin Square designed trial, in which they received comparable weights of two dietary treatments: a Single Forage (SF, hay) diet and a Multiple Forage (MF) diet (three long-chop and three short-chop commercially available forages). Following a 2-day acclimatisation, horses were maintained on the forage treatments for 7 days. Horses were observed on alternate days, morning and afternoon, during the 25 min following forage presentation. Horses then crossed over onto their second treatment and, following a further 2 days' acclimatisation, the same protocol was followed for a further 7 days. Observations from video were made using The Observer 3.0(R) and SPPS (version 11). Horses on the MF treatment performed foraging behaviour significantly more frequently and for significantly longer periods than horses on the SF treatment. On the MF treatment horses sampled all forages during observations. However, there were significant differences in the frequency and duration of foraging on individual forages, indicating that horses demonstrated individual preferences for particular forages. Stereotypic weaving behaviour only occurred on the SF treatment. The results indicate that the potentially beneficial behavioural effects of short-term multiple forage provision do persist when horses are managed on a MF diet for a 7-day period. They suggest that a MF diet provides a means of enriching the stabled horse's environment, by offering variety and enabling patch foraging behaviour. The methodology proved practical for maintaining horses under forage-enriched conditions and could easily be adopted by horse owners to facilitate foraging behaviour. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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333 |
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Murphy, J.; Sutherland, A.; Arkins, S. |
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Idiosyncratic motor laterality in the horse |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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91 |
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3-4 |
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297-310 |
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Horse; Idiosyncratic motor behaviour; Laterality; Sidedness |
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Abstract |
Idiosyncratic motor behaviour was investigated during four experimental procedures in 40 horses (males = 20, females = 20) to establish if horses revealed evidence of significant right or left laterality. The experimental procedures included (1) detection of the preferred foreleg to initiate movement (walk or trot), (2) obstacle avoidance within a passageway (right or left), (3) obstacle avoidance when ridden and (4) idiosyncratic motor bias when rolling. The influence of the horses' sex on both the direction and the degree of the laterality was explored within and between experimental procedures. The findings showed that the direction, but not the degree of idiosyncratic motor preference in the horses was strongly sex-related. Male horses exhibited significantly more (t = 3.74, d.f. = 79, P < 0.001) left lateralised responses and female horses exhibited significantly more (t = -6.35, d.f. = 79, P < 0.01) right lateralised responses. There was also significant positive correlation (P < 0.05) between four of six possible inter-experimental relationships. The results suggest two discrete trends of laterality associated with the sex of the horse. The primary cause of idiosyncratic motor laterality may be genetically predetermined, influenced by environmental factors or a combination of these two and the current findings may support the development of sex-specific training schedules for the horse. Further, work in this area might assist in defining the mechanisms of brain hemisphere lateralisation and allocation of cognitive function in the horse. |
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