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Author Zucca, P.; Baciadonna, L.; Masci, S.; Mariscoli, M.
Title Illness as a source of variation of laterality in lions (Panthera leo) Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Laterality Abbreviated Journal Laterality
Volume 16 Issue 3 Pages 356-366
Keywords Brain lateralisation; Illness; Iions; Panthera leo; Footedness
Abstract Brain asymmetry—i.e. the specialisation of each cerebral hemisphere for sensorimotor processing mechanisms and for specific cognitive functions—is widely distributed among vertebrates. Several factors, such as embryological manipulations, sex, age, and breeds, can influence the maintenance, strength, and direction of laterality within a certain vertebrate species. Brain lateralisation is a universal phenomenon characterising not only cerebral control of cognitive or emotion-related functions but also cerebral regulation of somatic processes, and its evolution is strongly influenced by social selection pressure. Diseases are well known to be a cost of sociality but their role in influencing behaviour has received very little attention. The present study investigates the influence of illness conditions as a source of variation on laterality in a social keystone vertebrate predator model, the lion. In a preliminary stage, the clinical conditions of 24 adult lions were assessed. The same animals were scored for forelimb preference when in the quadrupedal standing position. Lions show a marked forelimb preference with a population bias towards the use of the right forelimb. Illness conditions strongly influenced the strength of laterality bias, with a significant difference between clinically healthy and sick lions. According to these results, health conditions should be recognised as an important source of variation in brain lateralisation.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Psychology Press Place of Publication Editor (up)
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1357-650x ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5372
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Author Zucca, P.; Cerri, F.; Carluccio, A.; Baciadonna, L.
Title Space availability influence laterality in donkeys (Equus asinus) Type Journal Article
Year Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume In Press, Uncorrected Proof Issue Pages
Keywords Cerebral lateralization; Donkey; Footedness; Welfare; Equus asinus
Abstract Cerebral lateralization is the portioning of the cognitive functions between the two cerebral hemispheres. Several factors, like embryological manipulations, light exposure, health conditions, sex and age can influence the left-right brain asymmetries and contribute to increasing the variability in the strength and direction of laterality within most species. We investigated the influence of an environmental constraint, namely space availability, as a new source of variation on laterality in an adult vertebrate model, the donkey. In a baseline condition we tested whether donkeys show a motor lateralization bias at population level, while in an experimental condition we manipulated space availability to verify if a reduction in this parameter could represent a new source of variation in laterality. Results show that donkeys are lateralized at population level with a strong bias to standing with the right forelimb advanced over the left and that a reduction of space availability is an important source of variation in the laterality strength and direction within this species. The comparative analysis of the environmental and developmental factors that give origin to neural and behavioural laterality in animal models will be very important for a better understanding of the evolutionary origin of such multifaceted phenomenon.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor (up)
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5400
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Author Baciadonna, L.; McElligott, A.G.; Briefer, E.F.
Title Goats favour personal over social information in an experimental foraging task Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication Peer J Abbreviated Journal
Volume 1 Issue Pages
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor (up)
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Baciadonna2013 Serial 6269
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Author Briefer, E.F.; Haque, S.; Baciadonna, L.; McElligott, A.G.
Title Goats excel at learning and remembering a highly novel cognitive task Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Frontiers in Zoology Abbreviated Journal Front. Zool.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 20
Keywords
Abstract The computational demands of sociality (maintaining group cohesion, reducing conflict) and ecological problems (extractive foraging, memorizing resource locations) are the main drivers proposed to explain the evolution cognition. Different predictions follow, about whether animals would preferentially learn new tasks socially or not, but the prevalent view today is that intelligent species should excel at social learning. However, the predictions were originally used to explain primate cognition, and studies of species with relatively smaller brains are rare. By contrast, domestication has often led to a decrease in brain size, which could affect cognition. In domestic animals, the relaxed selection pressures compared to a wild environment could have led to reduced social and physical cognition. Goats possess several features commonly associated with advanced cognition, such as successful colonization of new environments and complex fission-fusion societies. Here, we assessed goat social and physical cognition as well as long-term memory of a complex two-step foraging task (food box cognitive challenge), in order to investigate some of the main selection pressures thought to affect the evolution of ungulate cognition.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor (up)
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1742-9994 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Briefer2014 Serial 6376
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