Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Social context and other factors influence the behavioural expression of pain by lambs

There is evidence that the presence of a conspecific can alter the experience of pain in humans and other animals. This ‘social buffering' may be mediated by factors such as relatedness and familiarity. This study investigates whether and how the...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Body Modification/Mutilation, Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Guesgen, M. J., Beausoleil, N. J., Minot, E. O. et al. 2014. Social context and other factors influence the behavioural expression of pain by lambs. Applied Animal Behavioural Science 159, 41-49.

The effects of environmental enrichment and age-related differences on inhibitory avoidance in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The inhibitory avoidance paradigm allows the study of mechanisms underlying learning and memory formation in zebrafish (Danio rerio Hamilton). For zebrafish, the physiology and behavior associated with this paradigm are as yet poorly understood. We therefore assessed the effects of...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Manuel, R., Gorissen, M., Stokkermans, M. et al. 2015. The effects of environmental enrichment and age-related differences on inhibitory avoidance in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish 12(2), 152-165.

Depressive-like behavioral profiles in captive-bred single- and socially-housed rhesus and cynomolgus macaques: A species comparison

Background: To unravel the causes of major depressive disorder (MDD), the third leading cause of disease burden around the world, ethological animal models have recently been proposed. Our previous studies highlighted a depressive-like profile among single- and socially-housed farm-bred cynomolgus...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Camus, S. M. J., Rochais, C., Blois-Heulin, C. et al. 2014. Depressive-like behavioral profiles in captive-bred single- and socially-housed rhesus and cynomolgus macaques: A species comparison. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 8, 47.

Defining and assessing animal pain

The detection and assessment of pain in animals is crucial to improving their welfare in a variety of contexts in which humans are ethically or legally bound to do so. Thus clear standards to judge whether pain is likely to...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General, Amphibian, Bird, Cephalopod, Crocodile & Alligator, Crustacean, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Insect & Spider, Invertebrate, Lizard, Other Bird, Other Fish, Other Invertebrate, Parrot, Reptile, Salamander, Salmon, Snake, Tilapia, Trout, Turtle & Tortoise, Zebrafish

Citation: Sneddon, L. U., Elwood, R. W., Adamo, S. A. et al. 2014. Defining and assessing animal pain. Animal Behaviour 97, 201-212.

Social buffering in a bird

The presence of a conspecific can ameliorate an individual's stress response. This social buffering is known to be widespread in social mammals but the capacity of birds to act as social buffers has not yet been determined. We previously demonstrated...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Edgar, J., Held, S., Paul, E. et al. 2015. Social buffering in a bird. Animal Behaviour 105, 11-19.

Behavioural reactivity of ewes and lambs during partial and total social isolation

This work investigated the differences in the reactivity of Sarda (primiparous n = 18, multiparous n = 17) and Dorset (multiparous n = 8) breeds of sheep and their singleton lambs to two challenging test situations involving a mother-lamb partial...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Barnard, S., Matthews, L. R., Messori, S., et al. 2015. Behavioural reactivity of ewes and lambs during partial and total social isolation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 163, 89-97.

Behavioural expression of positive anticipation for food or opportunity to play in lambs

Anticipatory behaviours may serve a useful tool in studying positive emotional states in animals. This study aimed to investigate if lambs express anticipatory behaviours for opportunities to play or a food reward and if these behaviours would differ depending on...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Anderson, C., Yngvesson, J., Boissy, A. et al. 2015. Behavioural expression of positive anticipation for food or opportunity to play in lambs. Behavioural Processes 113, 152-158.

Crowding increases salivary cortisol but not self-directed behavior in captive baboons

Reduced space can lead to crowding in social animals. Crowding increases the risk of agonistic interactions that, in turn, may require additional physiological defensive coping mechanisms affecting health. To determine the stress induced from increased social density in a group...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Baboon, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Pearson, B. L., Reeder, D. M., Judge, P. G. 2015. Crowding increases salivary cortisol but not self-directed behavior in captive baboons. American Journal of Primatology 77, 462-67.