Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Environmental complexity positively impacts affective states of broiler chickens

Affective state can bias an animal's judgement. Animals in positive affective states can interpret ambiguous cues more positively (“optimistically”) than animals in negative affective states. Thus, judgement bias tests can determine an animal's affective state through their responses to ambiguous...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Anderson, M. G., Campbell, A. M., Crump, A. et al. 2021. Environmental complexity positively impacts affective states of broiler chickens. Scientific Reports 11(1), 16966.

Happy hamsters? Enrichment induces positive judgement bias for mildly (but not truly) ambiguous cues to reward and punishment in Mesocricetus auratus

Recent developments in the study of animal cognition and emotion have resulted in the ‘judgement bias' model of animal welfare. Judgement biases describe the way in which changes in affective state are characterized by changes in information processing. In humans,...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Bethell, E. J., Koyama, N. F. 2015. Happy hamsters? Enrichment induces positive judgement bias for mildly (but not truly) ambiguous cues to reward and punishment in Mesocricetus auratus. Royal Society Open Science 2, 140399.

Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states

Describing certain animal behaviours as 'depression-like' or 'depressive' has become common across several fields of research. These typically involve unusually low activity or unresponsiveness and/or reduced interest in pleasure (anhedonia). While the term 'depression-like' carefully avoids directly claiming that animals...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Bird, Cattle, Chicken, Dog, Equine, Fowl, Macaque, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rat, Rodent

Citation: MacLellan, A., Fureix, C., Polanco, A. et al. 2021. Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states. Behaviour 158(14/15), 1303–1353.

Collective emotional contagion in zebrafish

Seeking to match our emotional state with one of those around us is known as emotional contagion-a fundamental biological process that underlies social behavior across several species and taxa. While emotional contagion has been traditionally considered to be a prerogative...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Burbano Lombana, D. A., Macrì, S., Porfiri, M. 2021. Collective emotional contagion in zebrafish. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 15, 730372.

A perspective on strategic enrichment for brain development: Is this the key to animal happiness? Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 720422

Livestock animals are sentient beings with cognitive and emotional capacities and their brain development, similar to humans and other animal species, is affected by their surrounding environmental conditions. Current intensive production systems, through the restrictions of safely managing large numbers...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Cattle, Chicken, Fowl, Goat, Mink, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Campbell, D. L. M., Lee, C. 2021. A perspective on strategic enrichment for brain development: Is this the key to animal happiness? Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 720422.

The use of artificial intelligence in assessing affective states in livestock

In order to promote the welfare of farm animals, there is a need to be able to recognize, register and monitor their affective states. Numerous studies show that just like humans, non-human animals are able to feel pain, fear and...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Neethirajan, S. 2021. The use of artificial intelligence in assessing affective states in livestock. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 715261.

Can tail and ear postures be suitable to capture the affective state of growing pigs? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 24(4), 411-423

The present study examined whether tail and ear postures in fattening pigs (n = 228) housed in different environments could be suitable for assessing their affective state. In doing so, it investigated the appearance of curled-up, hanging, raised, tucked-under or...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Krugmann, K. L., Mieloch, F. J., Krieter, J. 2021. Can tail and ear postures be suitable to capture the affective state of growing pigs? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 24(4), 411-423.

Infrared thermography in the study of animals’ emotional responses: A critical review

Whether animals have emotions was historically a long-lasting question but, today, nobody disputes that they do. However, how to assess them and how to guarantee animals their welfare have become important research topics in the last 20 years. Infrared thermography...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Cat, Cattle, Chicken, Chimpanzee, Dog, Equine, Fowl, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Bird, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Travain, T., Valsecchi, P. 2021. Infrared thermography in the study of animals' emotional responses: A critical review. Animals 11(9), 2510.

Effect of chronic handling and social isolation on emotion and cognition in adolescent rats

Adolescence is a critical period of establishing social relations through social interactions that affect the emotional development associated with stress responses, anxiety, depression, and cognitive development. We investigated the behavioral and neurobiological changes induced by handling and social isolation in...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, HandlingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Song, M. K., Lee, J. H., Kim, Y.-J. 2021. Effect of chronic handling and social isolation on emotion and cognition in adolescent rats. Physiology & Behavior 237, 113440.

Does farm animals experience emotions and feelings? Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 7(4), 170-175

In recent years, there has been a great increase in the interest of "emotion" and how it can be studied and translated from animals. Emotions arise when the brain receives an external stimulus, while the feeling is a response to...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Machado, M., Oliveira da Silva, I. J. 2019. Does farm animals experience emotions and feelings? Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 7(4), 170-175.