Abstract: No longer viewed as a characteristic unique to humans, brain lateralization is considered a key property of most, if not all, vertebrates. This field of study provides a firm basis from which to examine a number of important issues in the study of brain and behaviour. This book takes a comparative and integrative approach to lateralization in a wide range of vertebrate species, including humans. It highlights model systems that have proved invaluable in elucidating the function, causes, development, and evolution of lateralization. The book is arranged in four parts, beginning with the evolution of lateralization, moving to its development, to its cognitive dimensions, and finally to its role in memory. Experts in lateralization in lower vertebrates, birds, non-primate mammals, and primates have contributed chapters in which they discuss their own research and consider its implications to humans. The book is suitable for researchers, graduates and advanced undergraduates in psychology, neuroscience and the behavioral sciences.
- Unique in its truly comparative approach, covering fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals (including primates and humans) – World-class editors and contributors – Very broad coverage of both theoretical and technical aspects of laterality, including evolution, development, behaviour, and memory
Contents
Preface; Introduction; Part I. Evolution of Lateralization: 1. How ancient is lateralization? G. Vallortigara and A. Bisazza; 2. The earliest origins and subsequent evolution of lateralization R. J. Andrew; 3. The nature of lateralization in tetrapods R. J. Andrew and L. J. Rogers; 4. Advantages and disadvantages of lateralization L. J. Rogers; Part II. Development of Lateralization: 5. Behavioral development and lateralization R. J. Andrew; 6. Factors affecting the development of lateralization in chicks C. Deng and L. J. Rogers; 7. Ontogony of visual lateralization in pigeons O. Güntürkün; 8. Development of laterality and the role of the corpus callosum in rodents and humans P. E. Cowell and V. H. Denenberg; 9. Posture and laterality in human and nonhuman primates: asymmetries in maternal handling and the infant"s early motor asymmetries E. Damerose and J. Vauclair; Part III. Cognition and Lateralization: 10. Evidence of cerebral lateralization from senses other than vision R. J. Andrew and J. A. S. Watkins; 11. Facing an obstacle: lateralization of object and spatial cognition G. Vallortigara and L. Regolin; 12. Laterality of communicative behaviors in nonhuman primates: a critical analysis W. D. Hopkins and S. F. Carriba; 13. Specialized processing of primate facial and vocal expressions: evidence for cerebral asymmetries D. J. Weiss, A. A. Ghazanfar, C. T. Miller and M. D. Hauser; Part IV. Lateralization and Memory: 14. Memory and lateralized recall A. N. B. Johnston and S. P. R. Rose; 15. Memory formation and brain lateralization R. J. Andrew; Epilogue; Appendix; Index.
Reviews
'Andrew & Roger perform an enormous service in bringing data from animal behaviour, neuroanatomy and electrophysiology into contact with traditional zoological concerns such as genetics, embryology and population biology.' Journal of Animal Behaviour
'Whatever the outcome of the war, this book will be a key starting point for those trying to understand it (or perhaps to fight in it).' Annals of Human Biology
Contributors
Richard J. Andrew, Angelo Bisazza, Samuel F. Carriba, Patricia E. Cowell, Eric Damerose, Victor H. Denenberg, Chao Deng, Asif A. Ghazanfar, Onur Güntürkün, Mark D. Hauser, William D. Hopkins, Amy N. B. Johnston, Cory T. Miller, Lucia Regolin, Lesley L. Rogers, Steven Rose, Giorgio Vallortigara, J. Vauclair, J. A. S. Watkins, Daniel J. Weiss

Abstract: Finding the right horse for each rider is a difficult task as it is just as important that the temperament of the horse fits the rider as it is that the horse is of the right size. Even though it is a commonly experienced problem, no objective method of easily measuring the horse“s temperament has yet been developed. If it is possible to test horses and get an objective measure of how reactive (emotional) they are, it could be a big help in finding the right horse for each rider. It would be desirable to have a way of testing the horse”s reaction in an unfamiliar (and potentially frightening) situation. In practice this test should be just as easy as it is getting a judgement of its conformation and gaits.
The aim of the present study was to measure individual variation in HR response to different novel objects in horses of the same age, breed and reared in the same environment. We wanted to see whether certain horses (i.e. more emotional horses) react more to novel stimuli, in general, than other horses (i.e. less emotional), irrespective of the type of stimulus. We also wanted to see if different novel stimuli elicited different responses within individuals. The hypothesis was that individuals will react in a similar way to various stimuli.
Twenty four Danish warmblood horses were included in this study. All horses were 2 year-old stallions, reared under similar environmental conditions. They had received a minimum of handling prior to the experimental period. Three different stimuli were used. They were chosen because they were novel to the horses and would elicit measurable fear-reactions in all horses, but not so much that the horses did not approach the feed within the duration of the test. The visual stimulus consisted of a 1meter high orange traffic cone with reflex stripes, placed 1 m in front of the tub, the olfactory stimulus was eucalyptus oil and the auditory stimulus was a radio tuned to white noise. The control was an empty arena.
The result was that only the HR response to the auditory and visual stimuli differed significantly from the control days. The olfactory stimulus did not seem to alarm the horses the way the other stimuli did. We found a tendency towards a correlation in reaction between the olfactory and auditory stimuli and between the auditory and visual stimuli within individuals. These results indicate that horses do not generalize completely in their reaction between different stimuli.

Abstract: Description
How do animals perceive the world, learn, remember, search for food or mates, and find their way around? Do any non-human animals count, imitate one another, use a language, or think as we do? What use is cognition in nature and how might it have evolved? Historically, research on such questions has been fragmented between psychology, where the emphasis has been on theoretical models and lab experiments, and biology, where studies focus on evolution and the adaptive use of perception, learning, and decision-making in the field.
Cognition, Evolution and the Study of Behavior integrates research from psychology, behavioral ecology, and ethology in a wide-ranging synthesis of theory and research about animal cognition in the broadest sense, from species-specific adaptations in fish to cognitive mapping in rats and honeybees to theories of mind for chimpanzees. As a major contribution to the emerging discipline of comparative cognition, the book is an invaluable resource for all students and researchers in psychology, zoology, behavioral neuroscience. It will also interest general readers curious about the details of how and why animals--including humans--process, retain, and use information as they do.
Reviews
“This book is a very comprehensive review of animal cognition. It differs from other texts on this topic in a number of ways, as outlined by Shettleworth in her preface and in the opening chapter. Essentially, Shettleworth wants to advocate an 'adaptationist or ecological approach to cognition'. In doing so, she brings together a wealth of data on animal cognition, studied from quite different theoretical viewpoints, such as cognitive ethology, animal learning theory, neuroscience, behavioural ecology and cognitive psychology. . . . Each chapter ends with a clear and useful summary, and helpful suggestions for further reading. The book's numerous illustrations, which are mostly tables or figures redrawn by Margaret Nelson, greatly add to its appeal. . . . [T]his is a marvellously rich, well-written and stimulating book. . . . I greatly enjoyed reading [and] recommend it highly to anyone interested in animal cognition, evolution and behaviour.”--Animal Behaviour
“Sara Shettleworth has probably written the most comprehensive study of the animal mind ever and therefore a fundamental textbook on 'comparative cognition'. She first gets consciousness out of the way: whether an animal is conscious or not is impossible to determine, since consciousness is a private, subjective phenomenon. We can study cognition, and certainly cognition lends credibility to the idea that at least some animals must be at least to some degree conscious, but experiments can only prove facts about cognition. She reviews the field of cognitive ethology from the beginning and then analyzes the main cognitive tasks from an information-processing perspective By the end of her review of cognitive faculties, it become apparent that, at least among vertebrates, there are no significant differences in learning, except for language. All vertebrates are capable of 'associative' learning What no other vertebrate seems to be capable of is 'syntax'.” -- Piero Scaruffi, Thymos.com