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Author Wathan, J.; McComb, K.
Title The eyes and ears are visual indicators of attention in domestic horses Type Journal Article
Year (up) 2014 Publication Current Biology Abbreviated Journal
Volume 24 Issue 15 Pages R677-R679
Keywords
Abstract Summary Sensitivity to the attentional states of others has adaptive advantages [1], and in social animals, attending to others is important for predator detection, as well as a pre-requisite for normal social functioning and more complex socio-cognitive abilities [2]. Despite widespread interest in how social species perceive attention in others, studies of non-human animals have been inconclusive about the detailed cues involved [3]. Previous work has focused on head and eye direction, overlooking the fact that many mammals have obvious and mobile ears that could act as a visual cue to attention. Here we report that horses use the head orientation of a conspecific to locate food, but that this ability is disrupted when parts of the face (the eyes and ears) are covered up with naturalistic masks. The ability to correctly judge attention also interacted with the identity of the model horse, suggesting that individual differences in facial features may influence the salience of cues. Our results indicate that a combination of head orientation with facial expression, specifically involving both the eyes and ears, is necessary for communicating social attention. These findings emphasise that in order to understand how attention is communicated in non-human animals, it is essential to consider a broad range of cues.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0960-9822 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5929
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Author Wathan, J.; Burrows, A.M.; Waller, B.M.; McComb, K.
Title EquiFACS: The Equine Facial Action Coding System Type Journal Article
Year (up) 2015 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE
Volume 10 Issue 8 Pages e0131738
Keywords
Abstract <p>Although previous studies of horses have investigated their facial expressions in specific contexts, e.g. pain, until now there has been no methodology available that documents all the possible facial movements of the horse and provides a way to record all potential facial configurations. This is essential for an objective description of horse facial expressions across a range of contexts that reflect different emotional states. Facial Action Coding Systems (FACS) provide a systematic methodology of identifying and coding facial expressions on the basis of underlying facial musculature and muscle movement. FACS are anatomically based and document all possible facial movements rather than a configuration of movements associated with a particular situation. Consequently, FACS can be applied as a tool for a wide range of research questions. We developed FACS for the domestic horse (<italic>Equus caballus</italic>) through anatomical investigation of the underlying musculature and subsequent analysis of naturally occurring behaviour captured on high quality video. Discrete facial movements were identified and described in terms of the underlying muscle contractions, in correspondence with previous FACS systems. The reliability of others to be able to learn this system (EquiFACS) and consistently code behavioural sequences was high?and this included people with no previous experience of horses. A wide range of facial movements were identified, including many that are also seen in primates and other domestic animals (dogs and cats). EquiFACS provides a method that can now be used to document the facial movements associated with different social contexts and thus to address questions relevant to understanding social cognition and comparative psychology, as well as informing current veterinary and animal welfare practices.</p>
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Public Library of Science Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5973
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Author McComb, K.
Title Social cognition and emotional awareness: studies on elephants and horses Type Conference Article
Year (up) 2015 Publication Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg
Volume Issue Pages
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Abstract
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Corporate Author McComb, K. Thesis
Publisher Xenophon Publishing Place of Publication Wald Editor Krueger, K.
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title Proc. 3. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg
Series Volume in prep Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN 978-3-95625-000-2 Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Id - Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5800
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Author Smith, A.V.; Proops, L.; Grounds, K.; Wathan, J.; McComb, K.
Title Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year (up) 2016 Publication Biology Letters Abbreviated Journal Biol. Lett.
Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages
Keywords
Abstract Whether non-human animals can recognize human signals, including emotions, has both scientific and applied importance, and is particularly relevant for domesticated species. This study presents the first evidence of horses' abilities to spontaneously discriminate between positive (happy) and negative (angry) human facial expressions in photographs. Our results showed that the angry faces induced responses indicative of a functional understanding of the stimuli: horses displayed a left-gaze bias (a lateralization generally associated with stimuli perceived as negative) and a quicker increase in heart rate (HR) towards these photographs. Such lateralized responses towards human emotion have previously only been documented in dogs, and effects of facial expressions on HR have not been shown in any heterospecific studies. Alongside the insights that these findings provide into interspecific communication, they raise interesting questions about the generality and adaptiveness of emotional expression and perception across species.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6010
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Author Proops, L.; Grounds, K.; Smith, A.V.; McComb, K.
Title Animals Remember Previous Facial Expressions that Specific Humans Have Exhibited Type Journal Article
Year (up) 2018 Publication Current Biology Abbreviated Journal
Volume 28 Issue 9 Pages 1428-1432.e4
Keywords affective processing; face processing; ; animal-human interaction; interspecific communication; animal memory
Abstract Summary For humans, facial expressions are important social signals, and how we perceive specific individuals may be influenced by subtle emotional cues that they have given us in past encounters. A wide range of animal species are also capable of discriminating the emotions of others through facial expressions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], and it is clear that remembering emotional experiences with specific individuals could have clear benefits for social bonding and aggression avoidance when these individuals are encountered again. Although there is evidence that non-human animals are capable of remembering the identity of individuals who have directly harmed them [6, 7], it is not known whether animals can form lasting memories of specific individuals simply by observing subtle emotional expressions that they exhibit on their faces. Here we conducted controlled experiments in which domestic horses were presented with a photograph of an angry or happy human face and several hours later saw the person who had given the expression in a neutral state. Short-term exposure to the facial expression was enough to generate clear differences in subsequent responses to that individual (but not to a different mismatched person), consistent with the past angry expression having been perceived negatively and the happy expression positively. Both humans were blind to the photograph that the horses had seen. Our results provide clear evidence that some non-human animals can effectively eavesdrop on the emotional state cues that humans reveal on a moment-to-moment basis, using their memory of these to guide future interactions with particular individuals.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0960-9822 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6394
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