Dog behavior but not frontal brain reaction changes in repeated positive interactions with a human: A non-invasive pilot study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Gygax, Lorenz; Reefmann, Nadine; Pilheden, Therese; Scholkmann, Felix; Keeling, Linda J.

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.11.044

Cited by 25 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Although this allocation of valence values to the stimuli might explain the results of the fNIRS measurements in terms of a deactivation during a presumed positive stimulus [18,21], it is more difficult to reconcile with our observations of attentiveness. The reverse scoring of the valence would indicate a decreased attentiveness towards the negative stimulus, which does not seem plausible.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

“…[12]). Emotional reactions investigated in previous studies include physical stimuli [12,18] and situations with ambiguous information [20] in sheep, feed and feed frustration in goats [19] as well as interactions with a human handler in dogs [21]. In all these studies an attempt has been made to vary valence of the stimuli to a certain extent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Housing conditions influence cortical and behavioural reactions of sheep in response to videos showing social interactions of different valence

Vögeli¹,

Wolf²,

Wechsler

et al. 2015

Behavioural Brain Research

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Mood, as a long-term affective state, is thought to modulate short-term emotional reactions in animals, but the details of this interplay have hardly been investigated experimentally. Apart from a basic interest in this affective system, mood is likely to have an important impact on animal welfare, as bad mood may taint all emotional experience. In the present study about mood -emotion interaction, 29 sheep were kept under predictable, stimulus-rich or unpredictable, stimulus-poor housing conditions, to induce different mood states. In an experiment, the animals were confronted with video sequences of social interactions of conspecifics showing agonistic interactions, ruminating or tolerantly co-feeding as stimuli of different valences. Emotional reactions were assessed by measuring frontal brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and by recording behavioral reactions. Attentiveness of the sheep decreased from videos showing agonistic interactions toruminating sheep to those displaying co-feeding sheep. Seeing agonistic interactions was also associated with a deactivation of the frontal cortex, specifically in animals living under predictable, stimulus-rich housing conditions. These sheep generally showed less attentiveness and locomotor activity and they had their ears in a forward position less often and in a backward position more often than the sheep from the unpredictable, stimulus-poor conditions. Housing conditions influenced how the sheep behaved, which can either be thought to be mediated by mood or by the animals' previous experience with stimulusrichness in their housing conditions. Frontal cortical activity may not depend on valence only, but also on the perceptual channel through which the stimuli were perceived.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Housing conditions influence cortical and behavioural reactions of sheep in response to videos showing social interactions of different valence

Vögeli¹,

Wolf²,

Wechsler

et al. 2015

Behavioural Brain Research

Self Cite

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“…Nose/lip licking was rarely performed and it occurred mainly during Phase 1 when dogs entered the unfamiliar room for the test. Despite being a signal occurring in different contexts [28][29][30][31]46], in the present study it could indicate an initial mild discomfort in the new environment. Other behaviors signaling stress were almost completely absent, confirming that the procedure was not stressful as was instead the veterinary visit of the previous study, when dogs showed stress/fear signals in all the three phases of the experiment.…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…While the literature on positive emotions in farm animals has grown [5,27,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41], the same topic has received little attention in companion animals [42][43][44][45][46][47]. Dogs' positive affective states have been investigated in female laboratory beagles tested in four different experimental protocols:…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How good is this food? A study on dogs' emotional responses to a potentially pleasant event using infrared thermography

Travain

Colombo

Grandi

et al. 2016

Physiology & Behavior

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Understanding how animals express positive emotions is becoming an interesting and promising area of research in the study of animal emotions and affective experiences.In the present study, we used infrared thermography in combination with behavioral measures, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), to investigate dogs' emotional responses to a potentially pleasant event: receiving palatable food from the owner. 2. Tail wagging could be a useful indicator of positive emotional state.3. Eye temperature can assess the arousal dimension of dogs' emotions in a positive situation.

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Visual perception of emotion cues in dogs: a critical review of methodologies

2023

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Comparative studies of human–dog cognition have grown exponentially since the 2000’s, but the focus on how dogs look at us (as well as other dogs) as social partners is a more recent phenomenon despite its importance to human–dog interactions. Here, we briefly summarise the current state of research in visual perception of emotion cues in dogs and why this area is important; we then critically review its most commonly used methods, by discussing conceptual and methodological challenges and associated limitations in depth; finally, we suggest some possible solutions and recommend best practice for future research. Typically, most studies in this field have concentrated on facial emotional cues, with full body information rarely considered. There are many challenges in the way studies are conceptually designed (e.g., use of non-naturalistic stimuli) and the way researchers incorporate biases (e.g., anthropomorphism) into experimental designs, which may lead to problematic conclusions. However, technological and scientific advances offer the opportunity to gather much more valid, objective, and systematic data in this rapidly expanding field of study. Solving conceptual and methodological challenges in the field of emotion perception research in dogs will not only be beneficial in improving research in dog–human interactions, but also within the comparative psychology area, in which dogs are an important model species to study evolutionary processes.

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Dog behavior but not frontal brain reaction changes in repeated positive interactions with a human: A non-invasive pilot study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Cited by 25 publications

References 24 publications

Housing conditions influence cortical and behavioural reactions of sheep in response to videos showing social interactions of different valence

Housing conditions influence cortical and behavioural reactions of sheep in response to videos showing social interactions of different valence

How good is this food? A study on dogs' emotional responses to a potentially pleasant event using infrared thermography

Visual perception of emotion cues in dogs: a critical review of methodologies

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