Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Transgenerational effects of early-life stress on anxiety behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Early-life adversity impacts on anxiety-related behaviors in adulthood. The effects of such adversity not only affect the animal itself, but can be passed on transgenerationally. Pervasive effects of experimentally-induced early-life stress (ELS) have been documented in adult zebrafish but it...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Fontana, B. D., Alnassar, N., Parker, M. O. 2023. Transgenerational effects of early-life stress on anxiety behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Behavioural Processes 208, 104874.

Social buffering of the stress response: Insights from fishes

Social buffering of stress refers to the effect of a social partner in reducing the cortisol or corticosterone response to a stressor. It has been well studied in mammals, particularly those that form pair bonds. Recent studies on fishes suggest...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Shark & Ray, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Gilmour, K. M., Bard, B. 2022. Social buffering of the stress response: Insights from fishes. Biology Letters 18(10), 20220332.

Hunger affects cognitive performance of dairy calves

Hunger remains a significant animal welfare concern as restricted feeding practices are common on farms. Studies to date have focused on negative effects on health and productivity but little research has addressed the feeling of hunger, mostly due to methodological...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Lecorps, B., Woodroffe, R. E., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. et al. 2023. Hunger affects cognitive performance of dairy calves. Biology Letters 19(1), 20220475.

A new tool for quantifying mouse facial expressions

Facial expressions are an increasingly used tool to assess emotional experience and affective state during experimental procedures in animal models. Previous studies have successfully related specific facial features with different positive and negative valence situations, most notably in relation to...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Moëne, O. L., Larsson, M. 2023. A new tool for quantifying mouse facial expressions. ENeuro 10(2) ENEURO.0349-22.2022.

Can the emotional state of calves be noticed by their facial expression and heart rate?

The aim of this study was to identify whether or not dairy calves change their facial expression and heart rate according to their emotional state when subjected to a stroking or umbrella stimulus. Thirty-two mixed-breed Holstein calves of different ages...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Machado, M., Freitas Silveira, R. M., Machado Bittar, C. M. et al. 2023. Can the emotional state of calves be noticed by their facial expression and heart rate? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 260, 105874.

Recognising the facial expression of frustration in the horse during feeding period

Horses often present negative emotional states which are frequently poorly recognised, with much of our understanding of horse expressions based on anecdotes, rather than scientific evidence. The aim of this project was to identify potential facial markers of emotional states....

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ricci-Bonot, C., Mills, D. S. 2023. Recognising the facial expression of frustration in the horse during feeding period. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 265, 105966.

Monkeying around: Non-human primate behavioural responses to humans reproducing their facial expressions

People are often observed mimicking animals' facial expressions in an attempt to communicate with them. However, to date, there is limited understanding of how animals respond to humans reproducing their facial displays, or if this type of human behaviour presents...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Luisi, B., Micheletta, J., Julle-Danière, E. et al. 2023. Monkeying around: Non-human primate behavioural responses to humans reproducing their facial expressions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 265, 105990.

Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare

In nature, animals need to actively engage with the environment in order to prosper in survival and reproduction. Hence, agency is a central adaptive characteristic of animal life. In this paper, I propose that from the adaptive/functional point of view,...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Špinka, M. 2019. Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare. Animal Welfare 28(1), 11–20.

Environmental challenge and animal agency

Challenges are there to be overcome – seen usually as problems to avoid rather than as opportunities to enjoy. However, for humans a life without challenge would be likely to be dull and boring, lacking the enthusiasm and satisfaction that...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Špinka, M., Wemelsfelder, F. 2011. Environmental challenge and animal agency. Animal Welfare 27–43.

In pursuit of peak animal welfare; the need to prioritize the meaningful over the measurable

Despite the diversity of animal welfare definitions, most recognise the centrality of the feelings of animals which are currently impossible to measure directly. As a result, animal welfare assessment is heavily reliant upon the indirect measurement of factors that either...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Veasey, J. S. 2017. In pursuit of peak animal welfare; the need to prioritize the meaningful over the measurable. Zoo Biology 36(6), 413–425.