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McLean, A.N.; Christensen, J.W. |
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Title |
The application of learning theory in horse training |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume  |
190 |
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18-27 |
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Behaviour; Conflict theory; Desensitisation; Habituation; Reinforcement; Stress |
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The millennia-old practices of horse training markedly predate and thus were isolated from the mid-twentieth century revelation of animal learning processes. From this standpoint, the progress made in the application and understanding of learning theory in horse training is reviewed including a discussion of how learning processes are employed or otherwise under-utilised in training. This review describes the process of habituation and the most commonly applied desensitisation techniques (systematic desensitisation, counter-conditioning, overshadowing, response prevention) and propose two additional techniques (approach conditioning and stimulus blending). The salience of different types of cues, the interaction of operant and classical conditioning and the impact of stress are also discussed. This paper also exposes the inflexibility and occasional inadequacy of the terminology of learning theory when translated from the research laboratory situation to the practical setting in horse training. While learning theory provides a rich toolbox for riders and trainers, the training process is subject to the simultaneous use of multiple learning processes. In addition, learning/behavioural outcomes and trained responses are not just the result of simple stimulus-response based interactions but are further shaped by arousal, affective and attachment states. More research is needed in these areas. For the field of equitation science to progress and to improve clarity and use of learning processes, changes in nomenclature are required. In particular, the use of the terms 'positive' and 'negative' as descriptive labels in both reinforcement and punishment modalities are unacceptably misleading for everyday use. These labels inhibit the understanding and recognition of the learning processes that these terms supposedly represent, yet the learning processes they describe are vital for horse riders, handlers and trainers to understand. We therefore propose that these labels should be re-labelled more appropriately as 'addition' or 'subtraction' reinforcement/punishment. This would enlighten trainers on the correct application of learning theory, and safety and welfare benefits for people and horses would follow. Finally it is also proposed that the term 'conflict theory' be taken up in equitation science to facilitate diagnosis of training-related behaviour disorders and thus enable the emergence of improved training practices. The optimal use of learning theory should be established as a fundamental principle in equestrian education. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6597 |
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Author |
McBride, S.D.; Parker, M.O.; Roberts, K.; Hemmings, A. |
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Title |
Applied neurophysiology of the horse; implications for training, husbandry and welfare |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
190 |
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90-101 |
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Horse; Neurophysiology; Behaviour; Endophenotype; Equitation science; Welfare |
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Understanding the neural circuits underlying equine behaviour has the potential to help optimise strategies of husbandry and training. This review discusses two areas of neurophysiological research in a range of species and relates this information to the horse. The first discussion focuses on mechanisms of learning and motivation and assesses how this information can be applied to improve the training of the horse. The second concerns the identification of the equine neurophysiological phenotype, through behavioural and genetic probes, as a way of improving strategies for optimal equine husbandry and training success. The review finishes by identifying directions for future research with an emphasis on how neurophysiological systems (and thus behaviour) can be modified through strategic husbandry. This review highlights how a neurophysioloigical understanding of horse behaviour can play an important role in attaining the primary objectives of equitation science as well as improving the welfare of the horse. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6627 |
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Dugnol, B.; Fernández, C.; Galiano, G. |
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Wolf population counting by spectrogram image processing |
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2007 |
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Appl Math Comput |
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186 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ Dugnol2007 |
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6464 |
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Author |
Mejdell, C.M.; Buvik, T.; Jørgensen, G.H.M.; Bøe, K.E. |
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Title |
Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2016 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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184 |
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66-73 |
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Keywords |
Operant conditioning; Blanket; Rug; Thermoregulation; Cognition; Clicker training |
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This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P<0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2=36.67, P<0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6617 |
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Mejdell, C.M.; Buvik, T.; Jørgensen, G.H.M.; Bøe, K.E. |
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Title |
Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2016 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
184 |
Issue |
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Pages |
66-73 |
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Keywords |
Operant conditioning; Blanket; Rug; Thermoregulation; Cognition; Clicker training |
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Abstract |
This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P<0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2=36.67, P<0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6651 |
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Versace, E.; Morgante, M.; Pulina, G.; Vallortigara, G. |
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Behavioural lateralization in sheep (Ovis aries) |
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2007 |
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Behavioural Brain Research |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Brain. Res. |
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184 |
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1 |
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72-80 |
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Lateralization; Laterality; Brain asymmetry; Hemisphere; Sheep; Lamb; Strength of lateralization |
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This study investigates behavioural lateralization in sheep and lambs of different ages. A flock was tested in a task in which the animals were facing an obstacle and should avoid it on either the right or left side to rejoin flock-mates (adult sheep) or their mothers (lambs). A bias for avoiding the obstacle on the right side was observed, with lambs apparently being more lateralized than sheep. This right bias was tentatively associated with the left-hemifield laterality in familiar faces recognition which has been documented in this species. Differences between adult sheep and lambs were likely to be due to differences in social reinstatement motivation elicited by different stimuli (flock-mates or mothers) at different ages. Preferential use of the forelegs to step on a wood-board and direction of jaw movement during rumination was also tested in adult animals. No population bias nor individual-level lateralization was observed for use of the forelegs. At the same time, however, there was a large number of animals showing individual-level lateralization for the direction of jaw movement during rumination even though there was no population bias. These findings highlight that within the same species individual- and population-level lateralization can be observed in different tasks. Moreover, the results fit the general hypothesis that population-level asymmetries are more likely to occur in tasks that require social coordination among behaviourally asymmetric individuals. |
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0166-4328 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6701 |
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Author |
Palm, A.-K.E.; Wattle, O.; Lundström, T.; Wattrang, E. |
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Title |
Secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G in horse saliva |
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Journal Article |
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2016 |
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Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Vet. Immunol. Immunolpathol. |
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180 |
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59-65 |
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Equine; Secretory IgA; IgG; Saliva; Mucosal immunity |
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This study aimed to increase the knowledge on salivary antibodies in the horse since these constitute an important part of the immune defence of the oral cavity. For that purpose assays to detect horse immunoglobulin A (IgA) including secretory IgA (SIgA) were set up and the molecular weights of different components of the horse IgA system were estimated. Moreover, samples from 51 clinically healthy horses were tested for total SIgA and IgG amounts in saliva and relative IgG3/5 (IgG(T)) and IgG4/7 (IgGb) content were tested in serum and saliva. Results showed a mean concentration of 74μg SIgA/ml horse saliva and that there was a large inter-individual variation in salivary SIgA concentration. For total IgG the mean concentration was approx. 5 times lower than that of SIgA, i.e. 20μg IgG/ml saliva and the inter-individual variation was lower than that observed for SIgA. The saliva-serum ratio for IgG isotypes IgG3/5 and IgG4/7 was also assessed in the sampled horses and this analysis showed that the saliva-serum ratio of IgG4/7 was in general approximately 4 times higher than that of IgG3/5. The large inter-individual variation in salivary SIgA levels observed for the normal healthy horses in the present study emphasises the need for a large number of observations when studying this parameter especially in a clinical setting. Moreover, our results also indicated that some of the salivary IgG does not originate from serum but may be produced locally. Thus, these results provide novel insight, and a base for further research, into salivary antibody responses of horses. |
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0165-2427 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6514 |
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Koistinen, T.; Korhonen, H.T.; Hämäläinen, E.; Mononen, J. |
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Title |
Blue foxes' (Vulpes lagopus) motivation to gain access and interact with various resources |
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Journal Article |
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2016 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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176 |
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105-111 |
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Cage; Enrichment; Fur farming; Latency |
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We analysed the willingness of blue foxes (Vulpes lagopus) to work for and utilise five resources: a platform, wooden block, sand floor, nest box and empty space. Ten juvenile blue fox males were housed singly in apparatus consisting of three cages connected with one-way doors through the walls in between the cages and subjected to work for each of the five resources, one at a time. The resource was placed in one of the outermost cages of the apparatus. Force needed to open the door leading to the resource cage was increased daily by 0.25 or 0.5kg. The number of daily entries, visit durations and interaction with the resource were recorded on workloads of 0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 5, 6.5, and 8kg of extra weight. The latency to start interacting with the resource after entering the resource cage was measured on a workload of 3.5kg. The mean number of daily entries in the resource and the other outermost, i.e. control cage varied from 7 to 28 and from 17 to 44, respectively. The increasing workload decreased the number of entries in the resource cage, increased those in the control cage (Linear Mixed Model: F1,638=79.5, P<0.001) and lengthened the visit durations in both cages (F1,642=7.2, P<0.01). The foxes made most (F4,643=9.0, P<0.001) and shortest (F4,641=2.8, P<0.05) visits to the outermost cages when the available resource was either a platform or empty space. The visit durations were longest when the available resource was a nest box. The foxes interacted regularly with the wooden block, but five foxes were not observed interacting with the platform. The nest box was utilised approximately 50% of the time spent in the resource cage, while the platform was utilised only 1-6% and wooden block 2-17% of the time. The mean latency to start interacting with the resource after entering the resource cage was shortest for the sand floor (8s) and longest for the platform (113s, F3,335=26.3, P<0.001). The results show that the foxes re-scheduled their activities on increasing workloads in the apparatus. Based on the number of entries and visit durations, blue foxes valued the wooden block, nest box and sand floor more than the platform or an empty cage. After entering the resource cage, the foxes started interacting fastest with the sand floor, showing high motivation to interact. After entering the resource cage, the foxes make use of the roof of the nest box more urgently than the interior of the nest box. Long bouts in the cage with nest box indicate resting behaviour. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6166 |
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Ahrendt, L.P.; Labouriau, R.; Malmkvist, J.; Nicol, C.J.; Christensen, J.W. |
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Development of a standard test to assess negative reinforcement learning in horses |
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2015 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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169 |
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38-42 |
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Algometry; Horse behaviour; Learning performance; Operant conditioning; Pressure-release; Horse training |
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Most horses are trained by negative reinforcement. Currently, however, no standardised test for evaluating horses' negative reinforcement learning ability is available. The aim of this study was to develop an objective test to investigate negative reinforcement learning in horses. Twenty-four Icelandic horses (3 years old) were included in this study. The horses were tested in a pressure-release task on three separate days with 10, 7 and 5 trials on each side, respectively. Each trial consisted of pressure being applied on the hindquarter with an algometer. The force of the pressure was increased until the horse moved laterally away from the point of pressure. There was a significant decrease in required force over trials on the first test day (P<0.001), but not the second and third day. The intercepts on days 2 and 3 differed significantly from day 1 (P<0.001), but not each other. Significantly stronger force was required on the right side compared to the left (P<0.001), but there was no difference between first and second side tested (P=0.56). Individual performance was evaluated by median-force and the change in force over trials on the first test day. These two measures may explain different characteristics of negative reinforcement learning. In conclusion, this study presents a novel, standardised test for evaluating negative reinforcement learning ability in horses. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6650 |
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Giljov, A.; Karenina, K. |
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Differential roles of the right and left brain hemispheres in the social interactions of a free-ranging ungulate |
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2019 |
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Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
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168 |
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103959 |
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Laterality; Hemispheric specialization; Brain asymmetry; Eye preference; Ungulate; Bovid |
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Despite the abundant empirical evidence on lateralized social behaviours, a clear understanding of the relative roles of two brain hemispheres in social processing is still lacking. This study investigated visual lateralization in social interactions of free-ranging European bison (Bison bonasus). The bison were more likely to display aggressive responses (such as fight and side hit), when they viewed the conspecific with the right visual field, implicating the left brain hemisphere. In contrast, the responses associated with positive social interactions (female-to-calf bonding, calf-to-female approach, suckling) or aggression inhibition (fight termination) occurred more likely when the left visual field was in use, indicating the right hemisphere advantage. The results do not support either assumptions of right-hemisphere dominance for control of various social functions or hypotheses about simple positive (approach) versus negative (withdrawal) distinction between the hemispheric roles. The discrepancy between the studies suggests that in animals, the relative roles of the hemispheres in social processing may be determined by a fine balance of emotions and motivations associated with the particular social reaction difficult to categorize for a human investigator. Our findings highlight the involvement of both brain hemispheres in the control of social behaviour. |
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0376-6357 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6587 |
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