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Siniscalchi, M., Lusito, R., Vallortigara, G., & Quaranta, A. (2013). Seeing Left- or Right-Asymmetric Tail Wagging Produces Different Emotional Responses in Dogs. Curr Biol, 23(22).
Abstract: Summary Left-right asymmetries in behavior associated with asymmetries in the brain are widespread in the animal kingdom [1], and the hypothesis has been put forward that they may be linked to animals’ social behavior [2, 3]. Dogs show asymmetric tail-wagging responses to different emotive stimuli [4]—the outcome of different activation of left and right brain structures controlling tail movements to the right and left side of the body. A crucial question, however, is whether or not dogs detect this asymmetry. Here we report that dogs looking at moving video images of conspecifics exhibiting prevalent left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging showed higher cardiac activity and higher scores of anxious behavior when observing left- rather than right-biased tail wagging. The finding that dogs are sensitive to the asymmetric tail expressions of other dogs supports the hypothesis of a link between brain asymmetry and social behavior and may prove useful to canine animal welfare theory and practice.
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Siniscalchi, M., Cirone, F., Guaricci, A. C., & Quaranta, A. (2013). Catecholamine plasma levels, IFN-γ serum levels and antibodies production induced by rabies vaccine in dogs selected for their paw preference. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 19(5), 522–532.
Abstract: To explore the possible role of the sympathetic nervous activity in the asymmetrical crosstalk between the brain and immune system, catecholamine (E, NE) plasma levels, Interferon-? (IFN-?) serum levels and production of antibodies induced by rabies vaccine in dogs selected for their paw preference were measured. The results showed that the direction of behavioural lateralization influenced both epinephrine levels and immune response in dogs. A different kinetic of epinephrine levels after immunization was observed in left-pawed dogs compared to both right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. The titers of antirabies antibodies were lower in left-pawed dogs than in right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. Similarly, the IFN-? serum levels were lower in left-pawed dogs than in the other two groups. Taken together, these findings showed that the left-pawed group appeared to be consistently the different group stressing the fundamental role played by the sympathetic nervous system as a mechanistic basis for the crosstalk between the brain and the immune system.
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