Reactions of sheep towards three sets of emotional stimuli: (In)Consistency in respect to stimulus valence and sheep identity

Gygax, Lorenz; Vögeli, Sabine

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2015.11.015

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Differently from other studies, thanks to the use of proper short distance and long distance channels, we were able to clearly discriminate the contributions from extra-cerebral and cerebral tissue. Our experience suggests that inconsistent and conflicting fNIRS results on the emotional and cognitive responses of animals reported in literature 6,30 can be explained by the fact that it is very unlikely that the photons may reach the sheep equivalent of the human pre-frontal cortex and other areas dedicated to processing of cognitive stimuli, placed too distant from scalp, and the respiratory sinuses immediately below it in the animal calvaria (see Supplementary Section S1 and Supplementary Section S3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Reliability of fNIRS for noninvasive monitoring of brain function and emotion in sheep

Chincarini

Costa

Qiu

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The aim of this work was to critically assess if functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can be profitably used as a tool for noninvasive recording of brain functions and emotions in sheep. We considered an experimental design including advances in instrumentation (customized wireless multi-distance fNIRS system), more accurate physical modelling (two-layer model for photon diffusion and 3D Monte Carlo simulations), support from neuroanatomical tools (positioning of the fNIRS probe by MRI and DTI data of the very same animals), and rigorous protocols (motor task, startling test) for testing the behavioral response of freely moving sheep. Almost no hemodynamic response was found in the extra-cerebral region in both the motor task and the startling test. In the motor task, as expected we found a canonical hemodynamic response in the cerebral region when sheep were walking. In the startling test, the measured hemodynamic response in the cerebral region was mainly from movement. Overall, these results indicate that with the current setup and probe positioning we are primarily measuring the motor area of the sheep brain, and not probing the too deeply located cortical areas related to processing of emotions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In these studies, fNIRS monitoring has been considered and used as an additional technique to measure emotional and cognitive responses in animals exposed to different stimuli or different environments. Noticeably, results were sometimes inconsistent among studies 6,30 , suggesting that measurement accuracy and reliability need to be improved.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability of fNIRS for noninvasive monitoring of brain function and emotion in sheep

Chincarini

Costa

Qiu

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…During the stimulus phase (vs pre- and post-stimulus), our sheep showed more ear movements, both ears forward often, and few passive ears, especially when habituated. In sheep, more ear posture changes [ 13 , 14 , 47 , 49 , 52 ] and forward ears [ 13 , 14 , 47 , 54 , 91 ] have often been associated with negative valence. This would indicate that habituated sheep found the video stimuli more aversive than unhabituated sheep, which seems counterintuitive.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, attention can be assessed by kinematic indicators [ 45 ], such as the movements and specific positions of the ears and head. Several studies in sheep [ 10 , 13 , 14 , 28 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] have recorded head and ear postures and position changes as measures of affective state, which are likely to be related to attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valence and Intensity of Video Stimuli of Dogs and Conspecifics in Sheep: Approach-Avoidance, Operant Response, and Attention

Raoult

Gygax

2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryAnimals’ judgement of stimuli’s negativity or positivity cannot always be assumed. To assess the valence and intensity of video stimuli (dogs as negative vs. conspecifics as positive stimuli) in sheep, we used three experimental approaches: (1) an approach-avoidance paradigm; (2) operant conditioning using the videos as reinforcers; and (3) an attention test. We measured sheep’s behavioral and physiological reactions. Sheep generally reacted to the videos presented. Nevertheless, we found no support with the approach–avoidance paradigm, and the attention test for dog videos were more negative than sheep videos. However, the operant conditioning indicated that sheep were more prone to avoid videos of moving dogs. Overall, we found that standard video images may not be ideal to represent valence characteristics of stimuli to sheep.AbstractStimuli are often presumed to be either negative or positive. However, animals’ judgement of their negativity or positivity cannot generally be assumed. A possibility to assess emotional states in animals elicited by stimuli is to investigate animal preferences and their motivation to gain access to these stimuli. This study’s aim was to assess the valence of social stimuli in sheep. We used silent videos of varying intensity of dogs as negative versus conspecifics as positive stimuli in three approaches: (1) an approach–avoidance paradigm; (2) operant conditioning using the video stimuli as reinforcers; and (3) an attention test. In the latter, we assessed differential attention of sheep to simultaneous projections by automatically tracking sheep head and ear postures and recording brain activity. With these approaches, it was difficult to support that the sheep’s reactions varied according to the stimuli’s presumed valence and intensity. The approach–avoidance paradigm and attention test did not support the assumption that dog videos were more negative than sheep videos, though sheep reacted to the stimuli presented. Results from the operant conditioning indicated that sheep were more prone to avoid videos of moving dogs. Overall, we found that standard video images may not be ideal to represent valence characteristics of stimuli to sheep.

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“…Indicator variables are often used to assess the affective reactions in animals. General movement activity (e.g., [ 29 , 30 ]) and reactions in the autonomic nervous system (e.g., [ 7 , 31 , 32 ]), as reflected by heart rate variables, provide such indicators that can be used to compare affective reactions in a broad range of experimental situations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets

Henzen

Gygax

2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryEveryday experience shows that getting used to negative events is difficult, whereas positive events are quickly taken for granted. This is relevant for basic questions on how we and other animals deal with emotional events. It has also practical implications because we would like to avoid negative events as much as possible and increase the positive events for animals in our care. Here, we repeatedly treated pairs of piglets with a variety of presumed negative, intermediate and positive events and measured their restlessness as well as the reaction of the autonomic nervous system, while the piglets expected these events. We found limited evidence that the reactions of the piglets changed in a systematic way with more repetitions of the different events. Both our experimental set-up and measurements have been used in similar ways before. Therefore, it is likely that we did not find a consistent pattern because we had not correctly assessed the negativity-positivity of the events used or their intensity from the point of view of the piglets.AbstractPositive and negative stimuli have asymmetric fitness consequences. Whereas, a missed opportunity may be compensated, an unattended threat can be fatal. This is why it has been hypothesised that habituation to positive stimuli is fast while it may be difficult to habituate to negative stimuli, at least for primary (innate) stimuli. However, learning of secondary stimuli may delay the process of habituation. Here, we tested 64 weaned piglets in pairs. In three phases, lasting one week each, piglets were exposed five times to a stimulus of presumed negative, intermediate, or positive valence. Etho-physiological measurements of heart rate, heart rate variability, and general movement activity were collected during the last 4 min before the confrontation with the stimulus (anticipation phase). We found no consistent effect of the interaction between the valence of the stimuli and the repetition and a main effect of valence on our outcome variables. Therefore, we could neither support the hypothesis that piglets habituate more slowly to secondary positive stimuli than to primary negative stimuli nor that they habituate less to primary negative stimuli when compared with other stimuli. These results could have been caused because stimuli may not have differed in the presumed way, the experimental design may not have been adequate, or the measures were not suitable for detecting habituation to the stimuli. Based on the stimuli used here and their valence that was only presumed, we could not support the hypothesis that the habituation process differs according to the valence of the stimuli.

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Reactions of sheep towards three sets of emotional stimuli: (In)Consistency in respect to stimulus valence and sheep identity

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

Reliability of fNIRS for noninvasive monitoring of brain function and emotion in sheep

Reliability of fNIRS for noninvasive monitoring of brain function and emotion in sheep

Valence and Intensity of Video Stimuli of Dogs and Conspecifics in Sheep: Approach-Avoidance, Operant Response, and Attention

Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets

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