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Author |
Bigiani, A.; Mucignat-Caretta, C.; Montani, G.; Tirindelli, R. |
Title |
Pheromone reception in mammals |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
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Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology |
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154 |
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1-35 |
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Pheromonal communication is the most convenient way to transfer information regarding gender and social status in animals of the same species with the holistic goal of sustaining reproduction. This type of information exchange is based on pheromones, molecules often chemically unrelated, that are contained in body fluids like urine, sweat, specialized exocrine glands, and mucous secretions of genitals. So profound is the relevance of pheromones over the evolutionary process that a specific peripheral organ devoted to their recognition, namely the vomeronasal organ of Jacobson, and a related central pathway arose in most vertebrate species. Although the vomeronasal system is well developed in reptiles and amphibians, most mammals strongly rely on pheromonal communication. Humans use pheromones too; evidence on the existence of a specialized organ for their detection, however, is very elusive indeed. In the present review, we will focus our attention on the behavioral, physiological, and molecular aspects of pheromone detection in mammals. We will discuss the responses to pheromonal stimulation in different animal species, emphasizing the complicacy of this type of communication. In the light of the most recent results, we will also discuss the complex organization of the transduction molecules that underlie pheromone detection and signal transmission from vomeronasal neurons to the higher centers of the brain. Communication is a primary feature of living organisms, allowing the coordination of different behavioral paradigms among individuals. Communication has evolved through a variety of different strategies, and each species refined its own preferred communication medium. From a phylogenetic point of view, the most widespread and ancient way of communication is through chemical signals named pheromones: it occurs in all taxa, from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. The release of specific pheromones into the environment is a sensitive and definite way to send messages to other members of the same species. Therefore, the action of an organism can alter the behavior of another organism, thereby increasing the fitness of either or both. Albeit slow in transmission and not easily modulated, pheromones can travel around objects in the dark and over long distances. In addition, they are emitted when necessary and their biosynthesis is usually economic. In essence, they represent the most efficient tool to refine the pattern of social behaviors and reproductive strategies. © Springer-Verlag 2005. |
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Università di Parma, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisiologia, Via Volturno 39, 43100 Parma, Italy |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4570 |
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Fiske, J.C.; Potter, G.D. |
Title |
Discrimination reversal learning in yearling horses |
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Journal Article |
Year |
1979 |
Publication |
J. Anim. Sci. |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Anim. Sci. |
Volume |
49 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
583-588 |
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Twenty-six yearling horses were tested on a serial reversal learning discrimination combining spatial and brightness cues. An original discrimination of rewarded or nonrewarded stimuli was made followed by 20 daily reversals for position/brightness discrimination. Learning criteria were defined as 11 out of 12 correct, with the last eight responses all correct. Each horse was allowed 30 trials per discrimination to achieve criteria. Mean errors (ME) and mean trials (MT) required to achieve criteria were computed for each horse. A relative learning ability index (LAI) was calculated by the formula 1000/MT/ME. A daily emotionality score, based on a scale of one (tranquil) to six (very excitable) was assigned each horse each day after testing and a mean computed for each horse. A single subjective trainability score, based on a scale of one (difficult to train) to six (easy to train) was obtained for each horse from an independent trainer. Linear regression analyses for all 26 horses revealed a reduction in MT and ME (P<.01) over the 21-day test period indicating evidence of learning to learn. Differences (P<.05) were evident between sexes for MT and ME. Significant correlations between trainability scores and learning ability indices MT, ME, and LAI were evident for colts and geldings but not for fillies. Pooled data showed significant correlations between ME and trainability. There was a negative correlation (P<.05) between emotionality and trainability scores for all 26 horses, although the filly group did not exhibit significant correlation between these parameters. |
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Cited By (since 1996): 31; Export Date: 24 October 2008 |
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Admin @ knut @ |
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4583 |
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McCall, C.A.; Potter, G.D.; Friend, T.H.; Ingram, R.S. |
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Learning abilities in yearling horses using the Hebb-Williams closed field maze |
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Journal Article |
Year |
1981 |
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J. Anim. Sci. |
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J. Anim. Sci. |
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53 |
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4 |
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928-933 |
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Cited By (since 1996): 9; Export Date: 24 October 2008 |
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Admin @ knut @ |
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4613 |
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Vallortigara, G.; Rogers, L.J. |
Title |
Survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences |
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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 |
Abstract |
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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Berge, J.; Cottier, F.; Last, K.S.; Varpe, O.; Leu, E.; Soreide, J.; Eiane, K.; Falk-Petersen, S.; Willis, K.; Nygard, H.; Vogedes, D.; Griffiths, C.; Johnsen, G.; Lorentzen, D.; Brierley, A.S. |
Title |
Diel vertical migration of Arctic zooplankton during the polar night |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Biology Letters |
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Biol Lett |
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High-latitude environments show extreme seasonal variation in physical and biological variables. The classic paradigm of Arctic marine ecosystems holds that most biological processes slow down or cease during the polar night. One key process that is generally assumed to cease during winter is diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton. DVM constitutes the largest synchronized movement of biomass on the planet, and is of paramount importance for marine ecosystem function and carbon cycling. Here we present acoustic data that demonstrate a synchronized DVM behaviour of zooplankton that continues throughout the Arctic winter, in both open and ice-covered waters. We argue that even during the polar night, DVM is regulated by diel variations in solar and lunar illumination, which are at intensities far below the threshold of human perception. We also demonstrate that winter DVM is stronger in open waters compared with ice-covered waters. This suggests that the biologically mediated vertical flux of carbon will increase if there is a continued retreat of the Arctic winter sea ice cover. |
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University Centre in Svalbard, Pb 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway The Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratories, Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA, UK |
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1744-9561 |
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PMID:18948249 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4629 |
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Patris, B.; Perrier, G.; Schaal, B.; Coureaud, G. |
Title |
Early development of filial preferences in the rabbit: implications of nursing- and pheromone-induced odour learning? |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
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Anim. Behav. |
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76 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
305-314 |
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learning; mammary pheromone; mother-young relationship; Oryctolagus cuniculus; rabbit; recognition |
Abstract |
Newborn rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, discriminate between different categories of adult conspecifics on the basis of their abdominal odour cues. Whether these cues can support the development of filial preferences has not been adequately tested. Using a two-choice paradigm, we assessed the ability of 3-8-day-old pups to orient selectively to the mother versus an unfamiliar female, either spontaneously or after odour conditioning. In experiment 1, nonconditioned pups roamed indifferently over the mother and an unfamiliar female. In experiment 2, pups conditioned to a neutral odorant while nursing or with the mammary pheromone became attracted by the odorant. In experiment 3, pups that had learned the odorant while nursing oriented for longer to any female carrying it, but the unscented mother and a scented unfamiliar female were equally attractive. Finally, in experiment 4, pups that had learned the odorant paired with the mammary pheromone showed a preference for their scented mother, but not systematically for a scented unfamiliar female; furthermore, they were equally attracted by the unscented mother and a scented unfamiliar female. In sum, pups did not spontaneously evince an olfactory preference for the mother when opposed to an unfamiliar female, although they seemed able to detect individual maternal odours. In fact, they appeared to react to both species-specific cues and individual cues that they had learned, and their responses depended on their degree of familiarity with the cues and on the context. The mammary pheromone by itself might act as both a releasing and a reinforcing signal in these early socially oriented behaviours. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4646 |
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Howard, R.W.; Blomquist, G.J. |
Title |
Ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of insect hydrocarbons |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Annual Review of Entomology |
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Annu Rev Entomol |
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50 |
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371-393 |
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Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Hydrocarbons/*metabolism; Insects/*physiology; Pheromones/*physiology; Reproduction; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
This review covers selected literature from 1982 to the present on some of the ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of hydrocarbon use by insects and other arthropods. Major ecological and behavioral topics are species- and gender-recognition, nestmate recognition, task-specific cues, dominance and fertility cues, chemical mimicry, and primer pheromones. Major biochemical topics include chain length regulation, mechanism of hydrocarbon formation, timing of hydrocarbon synthesis and transport, and biosynthesis of volatile hydrocarbon pheromones of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. In addition, a section is devoted to future research needs in this rapidly growing area of science. |
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USDA-ARS, Manhattan, Kansas 66502, USA. howardks@ksu.edu |
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0066-4170 |
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PMID:15355247 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4650 |
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Beauchamp, G. |
Title |
Individual Differences In Activity And Exploration Influence Leadership In Pairs Of Foraging Zebra Finches |
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Journal Article |
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2000 |
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Behaviour |
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Behaviour |
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137 |
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301-314 |
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This study investigated the role of dominance and level of activity and exploration on leadership in zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) searching for food. In pairs of zebra finches fairly matched in size and that experienced the same level of food deprivation, the same bird consistently reached first one foraging patch over several trials. The same pattern of arrival to food occurred when resources were provided in two distant patches available concurrently, a situation that would potentially allow subordinates a greater access to resources. In further testing, the formation of new pairs with the same birds led to several changes in leadership, indicating that leadership is not an absolute feature. The member of a pair that proved to be the most active and exploratory during independent, solitary trials became the leader in nearly all pairs tested. The same pattern held true in newly rearranged pairs where individuals often experienced changes in dominance status. Dominance failed to be associated with leadership in all tests. The results suggest that in a relatively egalitarian species, level of activity and exploration may be a stronger predictor of leadership than dominance. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4698 |
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Roth II,T.C.; Cox, J.G.; Lima, S.L. |
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The Use and Transfer of Information About Predation Risk in Flocks of Wintering Finches |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
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Ethology |
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Ethology |
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114 |
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12 |
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1218 - 1226 |
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ABSTRACT
Several studies in behavior have focused in some way on how groups of prey gather and use information about predation risk. Although asymmetries in information about risk exist among members of real groups, we know little about how such uneven information might affect individual or group antipredator decisions. Hence, we studied the use and transfer of information about the risk of predation in small flocks of wintering birds. House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus; 28 groups of three) were held in large enclosures divided into safe and risky patches. We controlled the information about risk available to each individual by conducting attacks with a model hawk that was visible to only a single (informed) bird. Repeated attacks on a single individual did not reduce the amount of feeding by other birds in that patch, although the time to resume feeding after observing a response to an attack event was somewhat longer than after a no attack event. These results suggest that informed individuals impart some information to naive (uninformed) birds, but this effect was not strong. In fact, the frequent return of informed individuals to feeders after observing uninformed individuals feed suggests that finches relied more on public information regarding safety than their own personal information in deciding when to feed. Group patch choice appeared to be based on a majority-rules decision, although an effect of dominance status was apparent. Our results suggest that subordinate flock members may exert a large influence over group decision-making by acting as spatial 'anchors'. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4704 |
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Range, F.; Horn, L.; Bugnyar, T.; Gajdon, G.; Huber, L. |
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Social attention in keas, dogs, and human children |
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Journal Article |
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2009 |
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Animal Cognition |
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Anim. Cogn. |
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12 |
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1 |
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181-192 |
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Abstract: Understanding animals" abilities to cooperate with and learn from each other has been an active field of research in recent years. One important basis for all types of social interactions is the disposition of animals to pay attention to each other-a factor often neglected in discussions and experiments. Since attention differs between species as well as between individuals, it is likely to influence the amount and type of information different species and/or observers may extract from conspecifics in any given situation. Here, we carried out a standardized comparative study on attention towards a model demonstrating food-related behavior in keas, dogs and children. In a series of experimental sessions, individuals watched different conspecific models while searching, manipulating and feeding. Visual access to the demonstration was provided by two observation holes, which allowed us to determine exactly how often and for how long observers watched the model. We found profound differences in the factors that influence attention within as well as between the tested species. This study suggests that attention should be incorporated as an important variable when testing species in social situations. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4713 |
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