Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Animal-centric Care and Management – Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and management, Animal-centric Care and Management:...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Animal Training, Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Human-Animal Interaction, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: All/General, Dog, Fish, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Zebrafish

Citation: Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review

Dogs and cats have been extensively studied of late in relation to their paw preferences, with both species showing preferential motor bias at the level of the individual. Over the years, a wide range of measures have been designed to...

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

Citation: Wells, D. L. 2021. Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105148.

A test of the effects of the equine maternal pheromone on the clinical and ethological parameters of equines undergoing hoof trimming

“Pheromonal therapy” has been promoted as a promising alternative therapy to improve the human-animal relationship and to reduce behavioral reactions to stressful stimuli. This placebo-controlled double blind study evaluated the use of a synthetic equine maternal pheromone (EMP) in animals...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Alves de Paula, R., Cruz Aleixo, A. S., Peternelli da Silva, L. et al. 2019. A test of the effects of the equine maternal pheromone on the clinical and ethological parameters of equines undergoing hoof trimming. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 31, 28-35.

Fish Welfare

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent perhaps to that attributed to...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Relocation & Transport, Stocking Density, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Branson, E. J. (Ed.) 2008. Fish Welfare. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK, 300 p.

Hypercortisolemia and depressive-like behaviors in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) involved in visual research

A 10-y-old cranially implanted rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) involved in visual research was presented for dull mentation and weight loss. Physical examination revealed alopecia and poor body conditioning, and bloodwork revealed marked hypercortisolemia (23 μg/dL). Differential diagnoses for hypercortisolemia, weight...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Adams, S. C., Guyot, C. M., Berry, K. M. et al. 2017. Hypercortisolemia and depressive-like behaviors in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) involved in visual research. Comparative Medicine 67(6), 529–536.

Are there facial indicators of positive emotions in birds? A first exploration in Japanese quail

The positive aspect of emotions, like pleasure, remains overlooked in birds. Our aim was to contribute to the exploration of facial indicators of positive emotions. To observe contrasting emotional expressions, we used two lines of Japanese quail divergently selected on...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Fowl

Citation: Bertin, A., Cornilleau, F., Lemarchand, J. et al. 2018. Are there facial indicators of positive emotions in birds? A first exploration in Japanese quail. Behavioural Processes 157, 470-473.

Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure?

Applying objective measures to assess the emotional states of animals is an important area of research and essential for improving animal welfare. In this study, we have built upon previous research to test whether ear postures can be used as...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Lambert, H., Carder, G. 2019. Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure? Behavioural Processes 158, 172-180.

Preliminary validation of natural depression in macaques with acute treatments of the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine

Non-human primates have become one of the most important model animals for the investigation of brain diseases because they share a wide-range of genetics and social similarities with human beings. Naturally-evoked depression models in macaques may offer a full spectrum...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Chu, X. 2019. Preliminary validation of natural depression in macaques with acute treatments of the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine. Behavioural Brain Research 360, 60-68.

Emission of 22 kHz vocalizations in rats as an evolutionary equivalent of human crying: Relationship to depression

There is no clear relationship between crying and depression based on human neuropsychiatric observations. This situation originates from lack of suitable animal models of human crying. In the present article, an attempt will be made to answer the question whether...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brudzynski, S. M. 2019. Emission of 22 kHz vocalizations in rats as an evolutionary equivalent of human crying: Relationship to depression. Behavioural Brain Research 363, 1-12.

Gentle abdominal stroking (‘belly rubbing’) of pigs by a human reduces EEG total power and increases EEG frequencies

The neurobiological response to gentle touch remains poorly understood, especially in the context of human-animal interaction. A novel approach allowed recording the pig electroencephalogram (EEG) cranially epidurally and wirelessly during positive interactions with a human. Stroking of the pig's abdomen...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Rault, J.-L., Truong, S., Hemsworth, L. et al. 2019. Gentle abdominal stroking (‘belly rubbing') of pigs by a human reduces EEG total power and increases EEG frequencies. Behavioural Brain Research 374, 111892.