Records |
Author |
De Boyer Des Roches, A.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Henry, S.; Ezzaouia, M.; Hausberger, M. |
Title |
Laterality and emotions: visual laterality in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) differs with objects' emotional value |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Physiology & Behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
Physiol. Behav. |
Volume |
94 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
487-490 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Dominance, Ocular/*physiology; *Emotions; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Female; Horses/*physiology; Olfactory Pathways/physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Pregnancy; Statistics, Nonparametric; Visual Fields/physiology |
Abstract |
Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects according to their emotional value and a clear asymmetry in visual exploration. When exploring the novel object, mares used preferentially their right eyes, while they showed a slight tendency to use their left eyes for the negative object. No asymmetry was evidenced for the object with the positive valence. A trend for an asymmetry in olfactory investigation was also observed. Our data confirm the role of the left hemisphere in assessing novelty in horses like in many vertebrate species and the possible role of the right hemisphere in processing negative emotional responses. Our findings also suggest the importance of both hemispheres in the processing positive emotions. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate clearly that the emotional valence of a stimulus induces a specific visual lateralization pattern. |
Address |
UMR CNRS 6552 Ethologie-Evolution-Ecologie, Universite de Rennes 1, Avenue du General Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France. a.de-boyer@wanadoo.fr |
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Thesis |
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Publisher |
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Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
0031-9384 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
PMID:18455205 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4762 |
Permanent link to this record |
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Author |
Basile, M.; Boivin, S.; Boutin, A.; Blois-Heulin, C.; Hausberger, M.; Lemasson, A. |
Title |
Socially dependent auditory laterality in domestic horses (Equus caballus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
12 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
611-619 |
Keywords |
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Abstract |
Laterality is now known to be an ubiquitous phenomenon among the vertebrates. Particularly, laterality of auditory processing has been demonstrated in a variety of species, especially songbirds and primates. Such a hemispheric specialization has been shown to depend on factors such as sound structure, species specificity and types of stimuli. Much less is known on the possible influence of social familiarity although a few studies suggest such an influence. Here we tested the influence of the degree of familiarity on the laterality of the auditory response in the domestic horse. This species is known for its social system and shows visible reactions to sounds, with one or two ears moving towards a sound source. By comparing such responses to the playback of different conspecific whinnies (group member, neighbor and stranger), we could demonstrate a clear left hemisphere (LH) preference for familiar neighbor calls while no preference was found for group member and stranger calls. Yet, we found an opposite pattern of ear side preference for neighbor versus stranger calls. These results are, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate auditory laterality in an ungulate species. They open further lines of thought on the influence of the social “value” of calls and the listener's arousal on auditory processing and laterality. |
Address |
Universite de Rennes I, EthoS, Ethologie animale et humaine-UMR 6552-CNRS Station Biologique de Paimpont, 35380, Paimpont, France, basilemuriel@hotmail.com |
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Thesis |
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Publisher |
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Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1435-9456 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
PMID:19283416 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4761 |
Permanent link to this record |