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Davis, S. L., & Cheeke, P. R. (1998). Do domestic animals have minds and the ability to think? A provisional sample of opinions on the question. J. Anim Sci., 76(8), 2072–2079.
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Gonyou, H. W. (1994). Why the study of animal behavior is associated with the animal welfare issue. J. Anim Sci., 72(8), 2171–2177.
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Hanggi, E. B. (1999). Interocular transfer of learning In horses (Equus caballus). J Equine Vet Sci, 19(8), 518–524.
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Apfelbach, R., Blanchard, C. D., Blanchard, R. J., Hayes, R. A., & McGregor, I. S. (2005). The effects of predator odors in mammalian prey species: A review of field and laboratory studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 29(8), 1123–1144.
Abstract: Prey species show specific adaptations that allow recognition, avoidance and defense against predators. For many mammalian species this includes sensitivity towards predator-derived odors. The typical sources of such odors include predator skin and fur, urine, feces and anal gland secretions. Avoidance of predator odors has been observed in many mammalian prey species including rats, mice, voles, deer, rabbits, gophers, hedgehogs, possums and sheep. Field and laboratory studies show that predator odors have distinctive behavioral effects which include (1) inhibition of activity, (2) suppression of non-defensive behaviors such as foraging, feeding and grooming, and (3) shifts to habitats or secure locations where such odors are not present. The repellent effect of predator odors in the field may sometimes be of practical use in the protection of crops and natural resources, although not all attempts at this have been successful. The failure of some studies to obtain repellent effects with predator odors may relate to (1) mismatches between the predator odors and prey species employed, (2) strain and individual differences in sensitivity to predator odors, and (3) the use of predator odors that have low efficacy. In this regard, a small number of recent studies have suggested that skin and fur-derived predator odors may have a more profound lasting effect on prey species than those derived from urine or feces. Predator odors can have powerful effects on the endocrine system including a suppression of testosterone and increased levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone and ACTH. Inhibitory effects of predator odors on reproductive behavior have been demonstrated, and these are particularly prevalent in female rodent species. Pregnant female rodents exposed to predator odors may give birth to smaller litters while exposure to predator odors during early life can hinder normal development. Recent research is starting to uncover the neural circuitry activated by predator odors, leading to hypotheses about how such activation leads to observable effects on reproduction, foraging and feeding. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Stachurska, A., Janczarek, I., Wilk, I., & Kedzierski, W. (2015). Does Music Influence Emotional State in Race Horses? Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 35(8), 650–656.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of music featured in the barn, on the emotional state of race horses. Seventy 3-year-old Purebred Arabian horses in their first race season were divided into experimental group (EXP) of 40 horses and control group (CNT) of 30 horses and placed in separate barns. The EXP was subject to specifically composed music featured in the barn for 5 hours in the afternoon during the whole study. The emotional state in the horses was assessed at rest, saddling, and warm-up walk under rider. Measurements were taken six times, every 30 to 35 days, starting from the beginning of featuring the music. The horse's emotional state was assessed by cardiac activity variables. The music effect on the emotional state was also considered with regard to the horse's performance estimated by race records. The cardiac activity variables were compared with repeated measures design, whereas race records were analyzed with analysis of variance generalized linear model. The music positively affected the emotional state in race horses. The influence was noticeable already after the first month of featuring the music and increased in the second and third months. Despite the fact that later the variables began to return to initial levels, a positive effect of the music on prizes won by the horses in the EXP compared to the CNT was found (P < .05). The results suggest that the music may be featured in the barn, preferably for 2 to 3 months as a means of improving the welfare of race horses.
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Seyfarth, R. M., & Cheney, D. L. (2002). What are big brains for? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 99(7), 4141–4142.
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Hall, C. A., Cassaday, H. J., & Derrington, A. M. (2003). The effect of stimulus height on visual discrimination in horses. J. Anim Sci., 81(7), 1715–1720.
Abstract: This study investigated the effect of stimulus height on the ability of horses to learn a simple visual discrimination task. Eight horses were trained to perform a two-choice, black/white discrimination with stimuli presented at one of two heights: ground level or at a height of 70 cm from the ground. The height at which the stimuli were presented was alternated from one session to the next. All trials within a single session were presented at the same height. The criterion for learning was four consecutive sessions of 70% correct responses. Performance was found to be better when stimuli were presented at ground level with respect to the number of trials taken to reach the criterion (P < 0.05), percentage of correct first choices (P < 0.01), and repeated errors made (P < 0.01). Thus, training horses to carry out tasks of visual discrimination could be enhanced by placing the stimuli on the ground. In addition, the results of the present study suggest that the visual appearance of ground surfaces is an important factor in both horse management and training.
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Reader, S. M., & Laland, K. N. (2002). Social intelligence, innovation, and enhanced brain size in primates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 99(7), 4436–4441.
Abstract: Despite considerable current interest in the evolution of intelligence, the intuitively appealing notion that brain volume and “intelligence” are linked remains untested. Here, we use ecologically relevant measures of cognitive ability, the reported incidence of behavioral innovation, social learning, and tool use, to show that brain size and cognitive capacity are indeed correlated. A comparative analysis of 533 instances of innovation, 445 observations of social learning, and 607 episodes of tool use established that social learning, innovation, and tool use frequencies are positively correlated with species' relative and absolute “executive” brain volumes, after controlling for phylogeny and research effort. Moreover, innovation and social learning frequencies covary across species, in conflict with the view that there is an evolutionary tradeoff between reliance on individual experience and social cues. These findings provide an empirical link between behavioral innovation, social learning capacities, and brain size in mammals. The ability to learn from others, invent new behaviors, and use tools may have played pivotal roles in primate brain evolution.
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Pickens, C. L., & Holland, P. C. (2004). Conditioning and cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 28(7), 651–661.
Abstract: Animals' abilities to use internal representations of absent objects to guide adaptive behavior and acquire new information, and to represent multiple spatial, temporal, and object properties of complex events and event sequences, may underlie many aspects of human perception, memory, and symbolic thought. In this review, two classes of simple associative learning tasks that address these core cognitive capacities are discussed. The first set, including reinforcer revaluation and mediated learning procedures, address the power of Pavlovian conditioned stimuli to gain access, through learning, to representations of upcoming events. The second set of investigations concern the construction of complex stimulus representations, as illustrated in studies of contextual learning, the conjunction of explicit stimulus elements in configural learning procedures, and recent studies of episodic-like memory. The importance of identifying both cognitive process and brain system bases of performance in animal models is emphasized.
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Sarter, M. (2004). Animal cognition: defining the issues. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 28(7), 645–650.
Abstract: The assessment of cognitive functions in rodents represents a critical experimental variable in many research fields, ranging from the basic cognitive neurosciences to psychopharmacology and neurotoxicology. The increasing use of animal behavioral tests as 'assays' for the assessment of effects on learning and memory has resulted in a considerable heterogeneity of data, particularly in the field of behavioral and psycho pharmacology. The limited predictive validity of changes in behavioral performance observed in standard animal tests of learning and memory indicates that a renewed effort to scrutinize the validity of these tests is warranted. In humans, levels of processing (effortful vs. automatic) and categories of information (procedural vs. episodic/declarative) are important variables of cognitive operations. The design of tasks that assess the recall of 'episodic' or 'declarative' information appears to represent a particular challenge for research using laboratory rodents. For example, the hypothesis that changes in inspection time for a previously encountered place or object are based on the recall of declarative/episodic information requires substantiation. In order to generalize findings on the effects of neuronal or pharmacological manipulations on learning and memory, obtained from one species and one task, to other species and other tasks, the mediating role of important sets of variables which influence learning and memory (e.g. attentional, affective) needs to be determined. Similar to the view that a neuronal manipulation (e.g. a lesion) represents a theory of the condition modeled (e.g. a degenerative disorder), an animal behavioral task represents a theory of the behavioral/cognitive process of interest. Therefore, the test of hypotheses regarding the validity of procedures used to assess cognitive functions in animals is an inherent part of the research process.
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