Female and male pigs’ performance in a spatial holeboard and judgment bias task

Roelofs, Sanne; Nordquist, Rebecca E.; Staay, Franz Josef van der

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2017.01.016

Cited by 23 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…There were two criteria for a pig to complete the acquisition phase, based on previous holeboard studies with pigs ( 18 , 23 ): a pig had to (1) complete a minimum of 44 acquisition trials, and (2) reach a reference memory score of at least 0.7 (see section Ameliorating Effects of Enrichment, Variables for calculation of reference memory) for two consecutive training days (consisting of four consecutive trials). This criterion performance indicated a pig had successfully learned the locations of the four baited holes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…None of the studies assessing the long-term effects of LBW on cognitive development took a potential effect of their study subjects' sex into account. Although it is unlikely that sex in itself has an influence on baseline cognitive performance in pigs ( 23 ), it is possible that females and males perform differently under the influence of stress. For example, spatial learning and memory is typically impaired as a consequence of chronic stress ( 24 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low Birth Weight Impairs Acquisition of Spatial Memory Task in Pigs

et al. 2018

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In commercial pig farming, an increasing number of low birth weight (LBW) piglets are born, due to selection for large litter sizes. While LBW piglets have a higher risk of pre-weaning mortality, a considerable number of these piglets survive to slaughter age. In humans, LBW is a risk factor for long-term cognitive impairments. In pigs, studies examining the post-weaning effects of LBW on cognition have reported contradictory results. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the effects of LBW on cognitive development in pigs using an improved study design, by (1) testing a larger sample size than previous studies, (2) assessing acute and chronic stress responses to account for a potential altered stress response in LBW pigs, and (3) testing both female and male pigs to account for potential confounding effects of sex. Learning and memory of 20 LBW pigs and 20 normal birth weight (NBW) pigs, both groups consisting of 10 females and 10 males, were compared using a spatial holeboard task. In this task, pigs had to learn and remember the locations of hidden food rewards. After a pig had successfully acquired the task, it was presented with two successive reversal phases during which it was presented with a new configuration of reward locations. The holeboard allows for simultaneous assessment of working and reference memory, as well as measures of motivation, exploration, and behavioral flexibility. Mixed model ANOVAs revealed a transiently impaired reference memory performance of LBW pigs, implying they had more difficulty learning their reward configuration in the holeboard. Also, LBW piglets showed increased pre-weaning hair cortisol concentrations compared to their NBW siblings. No other effects of LBW were found. Sex had no direct or interaction effects on any measures of holeboard performance or stress. It is possible that the enriched housing conditions applied during our study had an ameliorating effect on our pigs' cognitive development. Overall, our results suggest LBW has a negative effect on post-weaning cognitive performance in pigs. This could have welfare consequences as cognitive skills are required for pigs to learn how to correctly respond to their environment.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Birth Weight Impairs Acquisition of Spatial Memory Task in Pigs

et al. 2018

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“…Similarly, in the present study females had a lower performance than males in training step 1 (slower to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward, higher percentage of non-compliant trials) but they outperformed males in the reversal step (faster to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward). There are contradicting results on the effect of gender on cognitive performance (Roelofs et al 2017 , 2018 ) that could be related to stress levels and housing conditions (Roelofs et al 2018 ). Given the small sample size, the present study should be considered an exploratory investigation which highlights the importance of assessing piglet IUGR level in cognitive studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, considering other results of the study, the authors suggested that this difference was more likely related to motivation to play than cognitive performance. Roelofs et al ( 2017 ) demonstrated that normal birth-weight male and female pigs had similar learning performance in the initial learning phase of a hole-board spatial task, but females were faster to retrieve rewards in reversal phase, which suggests a more flexible response to reversed learning. Similarly, in the present study females had a lower performance than males in training step 1 (slower to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward, higher percentage of non-compliant trials) but they outperformed males in the reversal step (faster to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploratory study of the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation and neonatal energy supplementation of low birth-weight piglets on their post-weaning cognitive abilities

2019

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The present study investigated the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR, score 0–3; i.e., “normal” to “severe”) level at birth, and the effects of neonatal energy supplementation (dosed with 2 ml of coconut oil, commercial product or water, or sham-dosed), on post-weaning cognitive abilities of low birth-weight piglets (< 1.1 kg). In total, 184 piglets were recruited at weaning (27 ± 0.1 days) for habituation to the test procedures, and were either tested for spatial learning and memory in a T-maze ( n = 42; 37 ± 0.5 days) or for short-term memory in a spontaneous object recognition task (SORT; n = 47; 41 ± 0.3 days). Neonatal supplementation did not affect performances of pigs in the T-maze task or SORT. IUGR3 pigs tended to be faster to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward in the reversal step of the T-Maze task, suggesting a better learning flexibility, compared to IUGR1 (entry t 72.8 =2.9, P = 0.024; reward t 80 = 3.28, P = 0.008) and IUGR2 (entry t 70.3 =2.5, P = 0.068; reward t 73.9 = 2.77, P = 0.034) pigs. However, a higher percentage of IUGR1 pigs tended to approach the novel object first (DSCF-value = 3.07; P = 0.076) and to interact with it more ( t 40 = 2.19, P = 0.085), relative to IGUR3 pigs. IUGR1 pigs showed a strong preference for the novel object, as they had a greater percentage time difference interacting with the objects when the novel object was presented ( t 81 = − 3.41, P = 0.013). In conclusion, some low birth-weight piglets are able to perform a spatial task and an object recognition test, but performances in these tests may be modulated by IUGR level.

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Material and food exploration by zoo‐housed animals can inform cognition and enrichment apparatus design

2022

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To robustly study zoo animal cognition and provide effective enrichment, we must provide animals with carefully designed apparatus made from appropriate (safe, attractive, practical) materials. However, all too often, this design phase is overlooked or omitted from the literature. We evaluated how a troop of 12 ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) explored a range of novel materials and whole foods during outdoor social testing. These items were not intended to test cognition or be enriching; rather we viewed them as the potential "building blocks" from which to build our future apparatus. Lemurs preferred to explore wooden surfaces, but had no preference for manipulanda made from different materials. Large amounts of metal and untreated wood should be avoided in the future; metal produced too much heat and glare, and wood was damaged by biting/chewing. Lemurs used one or two hands to explore manipulanda, and simple touching was more common than twisting or pulling. However, lemurs were most likely to explore by smell than touch or by mouth. Social testing preserved "normal" conditions for the lemurs, including natural food stealing and scrounging in high-and low-ranking individuals, respectively. Our findings culminated in the development of a static, low-level cognitive task apparatus, constructed from modular plastic units. We encourage other researchers to report how they develop cognitive and enrichment apparatuses and consider a similar preference-testing approach.

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Female and male pigs’ performance in a spatial holeboard and judgment bias task

Cited by 23 publications

References 80 publications

Low Birth Weight Impairs Acquisition of Spatial Memory Task in Pigs

Low Birth Weight Impairs Acquisition of Spatial Memory Task in Pigs

Exploratory study of the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation and neonatal energy supplementation of low birth-weight piglets on their post-weaning cognitive abilities

Material and food exploration by zoo‐housed animals can inform cognition and enrichment apparatus design

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