51
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Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens ( Corvus corax). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:11547-11552. [PMID: 31110007 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1817066116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional contagion is described as an emotional state matching between subjects, and has been suggested to facilitate communication and coordination in complex social groups. Empirical studies typically focus on the measurement of behavioral contagion and emotional arousal, yet, while highly important, such an approach often disregards an additional evaluation of the underlying emotional valence. Here, we studied emotional contagion in ravens by applying a judgment bias paradigm to assess emotional valence. We experimentally manipulated positive and negative affective states in demonstrator ravens, to which they responded with increased attention and interest in the positive condition, as well as increased redirected behavior and a left-eye lateralization in the negative condition. During this emotion manipulation, another raven observed the demonstrator's behavior, and we used a bias paradigm to assess the emotional valence of the observer to determine whether emotional contagion had occurred. Observers showed a pessimism bias toward the presented ambiguous stimuli after perceiving demonstrators in a negative state, indicating emotional state matching based on the demonstrators' behavioral cues and confirming our prediction of negative emotional contagion. We did not find any judgment bias in the positive condition. This result critically expands upon observational studies of contagious play in ravens, providing experimental evidence that emotional contagion is present not only in mammalian but also in avian species. Importantly, this finding also acts as a stepping stone toward understanding the evolution of empathy, as this essential social skill may have emerged across these taxa in response to similar socioecological challenges.
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52
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Yin J. Study on the Progress of Neural Mechanism of Positive Emotions. Transl Neurosci 2019; 10:93-98. [PMID: 31098318 PMCID: PMC6487779 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2019-0016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Positive emotions refer to emotions accompanied by pleasant feelings, such as happiness, interest, satisfaction, pride, and love, which are generated by individuals in response to internal and external stimuli and events. Positive emotions are conscious processes that involve a variety of components, such as a pleasant experience, facial/body expressions, evaluations, and especially behavioural plans and activation states. People's cognitive process is often accompanied by emotions, and the influence of positive emotions on cognitive activities has gradually become the focus of research in recent years. This study constructs a regulation model and an assessment model of positive emotions, and analyses the neural mechanisms of the effects of dopamine substances on human positive emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yin
- School of Educational Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
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53
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Renoult JP, Mendelson TC. Processing bias: extending sensory drive to include efficacy and efficiency in information processing. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190165. [PMID: 30940061 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication signals often comprise an array of colours, lines, spots, notes or odours that are arranged in complex patterns, melodies or blends. Receiver perception is assumed to influence preference and thus the evolution of signal design, but evolutionary biologists still struggle to understand how perception, preference and signal design are mechanistically linked. In parallel, the field of empirical aesthetics aims to understand why people like some designs more than others. The model of processing bias discussed here is rooted in empirical aesthetics, which posits that preferences are influenced by the emotional system as it monitors the dynamics of information processing and that attractive signals have effective designs that maximize information transmission, efficient designs that allow information processing at low metabolic cost, or both. We refer to the causal link between preference and the emotionally rewarding experience of effective and efficient information processing as the processing bias, and we apply it to the evolutionary model of sensory drive. A sensory drive model that incorporates processing bias hypothesizes a causal chain of relationships between the environment, perception, pleasure, preference and ultimately the evolution of signal design, both simple and complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien P Renoult
- 1 Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE UMR5175), CNRS-University of Montpellier-University Paul-Valery Montpellier-EPHE) , 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier , France
| | - Tamra C Mendelson
- 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County , 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 , USA
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54
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Friel M, Kunc HP, Griffin K, Asher L, Collins LM. Positive and negative contexts predict duration of pig vocalisations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2062. [PMID: 30765788 PMCID: PMC6375976 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38514-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotions are mental states occurring in response to external and internal stimuli and thus form an integral part of an animal's behaviour. Emotions can be mapped in two dimensions based on their arousal and valence. Whilst good indicators of arousal exist, clear indicators of emotional valence, particularly positive valence, are still rare. However, positively valenced emotions may play a crucial role in social interactions in many species and thus, an understanding of how emotional valence is expressed is needed. Vocalisations are a potential indicator of emotional valence as they can reflect the internal state of the caller. We experimentally manipulated valence, using positive and negative cognitive bias trials, to quantify changes in pig vocalisations. We found that grunts were shorter in positive trials than in negative trials. Interestingly, we did not find differences in the other measured acoustic parameters between the positive and negative contexts as reported in previous studies. These differences in results suggest that acoustic parameters may differ in their sensitivity as indicators of emotial valence. However, it is important to understand how similar contexts are, in terms of their valence, to be able to fully understand how and when acoustic parameters reflect emotional states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Friel
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, Belfast, UK
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Hansjoerg P Kunc
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, Belfast, UK
| | - Kym Griffin
- School of Animal Rural & Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Lucy Asher
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Lisa M Collins
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
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55
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56
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Deakin A, Mendl M, Browne WJ, Paul ES, Hodge JJL. State-dependent judgement bias in Drosophila: evidence for evolutionarily primitive affective processes. Biol Lett 2018; 14:rsbl.2017.0779. [PMID: 29491031 PMCID: PMC5830672 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Affective states influence decision-making under ambiguity in humans and other animals. Individuals in a negative state tend to interpret ambiguous cues more negatively than individuals in a positive state. We demonstrate that the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, also exhibits state-dependent changes in cue interpretation. Drosophila were trained on a Go/Go task to approach a positive (P) odour associated with a sugar reward and actively avoid a negative (N) odour associated with shock. Trained flies were then either shaken to induce a purported negative state or left undisturbed (control), and given a choice between: air or P; air or N; air or ambiguous odour (1 : 1 blend of P : N). Shaken flies were significantly less likely to approach the ambiguous odour than control flies. This ‘judgement bias’ may be mediated by changes in neural activity that reflect evolutionarily primitive affective states. We cannot say whether such states are consciously experienced, but use of this model organism's versatile experimental tool kit may facilitate elucidation of their neural and genetic basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Deakin
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
| | - Michael Mendl
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
| | - William J Browne
- Centre for Multilevel Modelling, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Elizabeth S Paul
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
| | - James J L Hodge
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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57
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Gu S, Gao M, Yan Y, Wang F, Tang YY, Huang JH. The Neural Mechanism Underlying Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Creativity. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1924. [PMID: 30429805 PMCID: PMC6220028 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Creativity is related to both cognition and emotion, which are the two major mental processes, interacting with each other to form psychological processes. Emotion is the major driving force of almost all creativities, sometimes in an unconscious way. Even though there are many studies concerning the relationship between creativity and cognition, there are few studies about the neural mechanisms of the emotional effects on creativity. Here, we introduce a novel model to explain the relationship between emotions and creativities: Three Primary Color model, which proposes that there are four major basic emotions; these basic emotions are subsided by three monoamines, just like the three primary colors: dopamine-joy, norepinephrine-stress (fear and anger), and serotonin-punishment. Interestingly, these three neuromodulators play similar roles in creativity, whose core features are value and novelty (surprise), like the characteristics of the core features of basic emotions (hedonic value and arousal value). Dysfunctions of these neuromodulators may be the reasons for both psychopathology and creativity, in that they can change the thinking styles such as novelty seeking behavior, hyper-connectivity of brain areas, and/or cognitive disinhibition to induce both creativity and psychopathology. This new model will not only help researchers understand the dynamics of basic emotion elements, it can also bring an entirely new perspective into the relationship between psychopathology and creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simeng Gu
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.,Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Mengdan Gao
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yaoyao Yan
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Fushun Wang
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States.,College of Medicine, Texas A&M HSC, Temple, TX, United States
| | - Yi-Yuan Tang
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States.,Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Jason H Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States.,College of Medicine, Texas A&M HSC, Temple, TX, United States
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58
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Hewlett SE, Delahunt Smoleniec JD, Wareham DM, Pyne TM, Barron AB. Biogenic amine modulation of honey bee sociability and nestmate affiliation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0205686. [PMID: 30359390 PMCID: PMC6201892 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Biogenic amines modulate a range of social behaviours, including sociability and mechanisms of group cohesion, in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Here, we tested if the biogenic amines modulate honey bee (Apis mellifera) sociability and nestmate affiliation. We examined the consequences of treatments with biogenic amines, agonists and antagonists on a bee’s approach to, and subsequent social interactions with, conspecifics in both naturally hive-reared bees and isolated bees. We used two different treatment methods. Bees were first treated topically with compounds dissolved in the solvent dimethylformamide (dMF) applied to the dorsal thorax, but dMF had a significant effect on the locomotion and behaviour of the bees during the behavioural test that interfered with their social responses. Our second method used microinjection to deliver biogenic amines to the head capsule via the ocellar tract. Microinjection of dopamine and a dopamine antagonist had strong effects on bee sociability, likelihood of interaction with bees, and nestmate affiliation. Octopamine treatment reduced social interaction with other bees, and serotonin increased the likelihood of social interactions. HPLC measurements showed that isolation reduced brain levels of biogenic amines compared to hive-reared bees. Our findings suggest that dopamine is an important neurochemical component of social motivation in bees. This finding advances a comparative understanding of the processes of social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susie E. Hewlett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail: (SH); (AB)
| | | | - Deborah M. Wareham
- Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Thomas M. Pyne
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail: (SH); (AB)
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59
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Friedman DA, Pilko A, Skowronska-Krawczyk D, Krasinska K, Parker JW, Hirsh J, Gordon DM. The Role of Dopamine in the Collective Regulation of Foraging in Harvester Ants. iScience 2018; 8:283-294. [PMID: 30270022 PMCID: PMC6205345 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 08/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Colonies of the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) differ in how they regulate collective foraging activity in response to changes in humidity. We used transcriptomic, physiological, and pharmacological experiments to investigate the molecular basis of this ecologically important variation in collective behavior among colonies. RNA sequencing of forager brain tissue showed an association between colony foraging activity and differential expression of transcripts related to biogenic amine and neurohormonal metabolism and signaling. In field experiments, pharmacological increases in forager brain dopamine titer caused significant increases in foraging activity. Colonies that were naturally most sensitive to humidity were significantly more responsive to the stimulatory effect of exogenous dopamine. In addition, forager brain tissue significantly varied among colonies in biogenic amine content. Neurophysiological variation among colonies associated with individual forager sensitivity to humidity may reflect the heritable molecular variation on which natural selection acts to shape the collective regulation of foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Friedman
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Anna Pilko
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCB), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk
- Shiley Eye Institute, Richard C. Atkinson Lab for Regenerative Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Karolina Krasinska
- Stanford University Mass Spectrometry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jacqueline W Parker
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Jay Hirsh
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Deborah M Gordon
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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60
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Wang XT. Resource Signaling via Blood Glucose in Embodied Decision Making. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1965. [PMID: 30374322 PMCID: PMC6196271 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Food, money, and time are exchangeable resources essential for survival and reproduction. Individuals live within finite budgets of these resources and make tradeoffs between money and time when making intertemporal choices between an immediate smaller reward and a delayed lager reward. In this paper, I examine signaling functions of blood glucose in regulating behaviors related to resource regulations beyond caloric metabolisms. These behavioral regulations include choices between energy expenditure and energy conservation, monetary intertemporal choices, and self-control in overcoming temptations. I begin by comparing potential embodied signals for resource forecasting and proactive decision making in terms of their pros and cons as a signal for regulating both metabolism and behavioral decision making and self-control. Based on this analysis, circulating glucose emerges as not only the designated fuel for brain metabolism but also a privileged resource forecasting signal for regulating immediate, short-term, and long-term behavioral adaptations to the resource budget of the decision maker. In the context of an on-going debate between the limited resource model and the motivation accounts of behavioral effects of blood glucose, I propose a dual functions (caloric provision and resource forecasting) and dual signaling (glucose taste and ingestion) hypothesis of circulating glucose in resource management, and provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence of the separate effects of glucose taste to motivate effort for resource acquisition and glucose ingestion to promote resource conservation and future orientation. Accumulating evidence indicates that the body is able to detect fake signals of non-caloric sweeteners and react to such "caloric crisis" with an enhanced preference for immediate rewards over future rewards, revealing the wisdom of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Tian Wang
- School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzen, China.,Department of Psychology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, United States
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61
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Baciadonna L, Duepjan S, Briefer EF, Padilla de la Torre M, Nawroth C. Looking on the Bright Side of Livestock Emotions-the Potential of Their Transmission to Promote Positive Welfare. Front Vet Sci 2018; 5:218. [PMID: 30258847 PMCID: PMC6143710 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotions can be defined as an individual's affective reaction to an external and/or internal event that, in turn, generates a simultaneous cascade of behavioral, physiological, and cognitive changes. Those changes that can be perceived by conspecifics have the potential to also affect other's emotional states, a process labeled as "emotional contagion." Especially in the case of gregarious species, such as livestock, emotional contagion can have an impact on the whole group by, for instance, improving group coordination and strengthening social bonds. We noticed that the current trend of research on emotions in livestock, i.e., investigating affective states as a tool to assess and improve animal welfare, appears to be unbalanced. A majority of studies focuses on the individual rather than the social component of emotions. In this paper, we highlight current limitations in the latter line of research and suggest a stronger emphasis on the mechanisms of how emotions in livestock are transmitted and shared, which could serve as a promising tool to synergistically enhance the welfare of all individuals within a group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Baciadonna
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sandra Duepjan
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - Elodie F Briefer
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Christian Nawroth
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
- Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, Agroscope Tänikon, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Ettenhausen, Switzerland
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62
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Crump A, Arnott G, Bethell EJ. Affect-Driven Attention Biases as Animal Welfare Indicators: Review and Methods. Animals (Basel) 2018; 8:E136. [PMID: 30087230 PMCID: PMC6115853 DOI: 10.3390/ani8080136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention bias describes the differential allocation of attention towards one stimulus compared to others. In humans, this bias can be mediated by the observer's affective state and is implicated in the onset and maintenance of affective disorders such as anxiety. Affect-driven attention biases (ADABs) have also been identified in a few other species. Here, we review the literature on ADABs in animals and discuss their utility as welfare indicators. Despite a limited research effort, several studies have found that negative affective states modulate attention to negative (i.e., threatening) cues. ADABs influenced by positive-valence states have also been documented in animals. We discuss methods for measuring ADAB and conclude that looking time, dot-probe, and emotional spatial cueing paradigms are particularly promising. Research is needed to test them with a wider range of species, investigate attentional scope as an indicator of affect, and explore the possible causative role of attention biases in determining animal wellbeing. Finally, we argue that ADABs might not be best-utilized as indicators of general valence, but instead to reveal specific emotions, motivations, aversions, and preferences. Paying attention to the human literature could facilitate these advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Crump
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
| | - Gareth Arnott
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
| | - Emily J Bethell
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
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63
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Paul ES, Mendl MT. Animal emotion: Descriptive and prescriptive definitions and their implications for a comparative perspective. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2018; 205:202-209. [PMID: 30078924 PMCID: PMC6041721 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
In recent years there has been a growing research interest in the field of animal emotion. But there is still little agreement about whether and how the word "emotion" should be defined for use in the context of non-human species. Here, we make a distinction between descriptive and prescriptive definitions. Descriptive definitions delineate the ways in which the word emotion is used in everyday life. Prescriptive definitions are used to pick out the set of events that scientific theories of emotion purport to explain. Picking out three prescriptive definitions, we show that the different ways in which emotions are defined correspond to processes that are distributed differentially across the animal kingdom. We propose that these definitions provide a useful starting point for investigating the varying emotional capacities of a wide range of animals, providing a basis for a new, comparative science of emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth S Paul
- School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK
| | - Michael T Mendl
- School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK
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64
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Abstract
Maeterlinck did not mean to suggest that honeybees rival humans in intelligence - rather he saw in the bee a qualitatively different form of intelligence, tailored to the challenges of a profoundly different kind of society and lifestyle. Insects are strange "aliens from inner space", with sensory and cognitive worlds wholly different from our own. The 19th century discovery that ants can detect ultraviolet light triggered a golden age in the exploration of the diversity of sensory systems of insects (and indeed other animals), identifying such abilities as magnetic compasses, electrosensitivity, polarization vision, and peculiar locations for sense organs such as the infrared sensors on the abdomens of some beetles or photoreceptors on the genitalia of some butterflies. Could insect minds be equally strange and diverse?
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65
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Mizunami M, Terao K, Alvarez B. Application of a Prediction Error Theory to Pavlovian Conditioning in an Insect. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1272. [PMID: 30083125 PMCID: PMC6064870 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Elucidation of the conditions in which associative learning occurs is a critical issue in neuroscience and comparative psychology. In Pavlovian conditioning in mammals, it is thought that the discrepancy, or error, between the actual reward and the predicted reward determines whether learning occurs. This theory stems from the finding of Kamin’s blocking effect, in which after pairing of a stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus (US), conditioning of a second stimulus is blocked when the two stimuli are presented in compound and paired with the same US. Whether this theory is applicable to any species of invertebrates, however, has remained unknown. We first showed blocking and one-trial blocking of Pavlovian conditioning in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, which supported the Rescorla–Wagner model but not attentional theories, the major competitive error-correction learning theories to account for blocking. To match the prediction error theory, a neural circuit model was proposed, and prediction from the model was tested: the results were consistent with the Rescorla–Wagner model but not with the retrieval theory, another competitive theory to account for blocking. The findings suggest that the Rescorla–Wagner model best accounts for Pavlovian conditioning in crickets and that the basic computation rule underlying Pavlovian conditioning in crickets is the same to those suggested in mammals. Moreover, results of pharmacological studies in crickets suggested that octopamine and dopamine mediate prediction error signals in appetitive and aversive conditioning, respectively. This was in contrast to the notion that dopamine mediates appetitive prediction error signals in mammals. The functional significance and evolutionary implications of these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kanta Terao
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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66
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Hegdé J. Neural Mechanisms of High-Level Vision. Compr Physiol 2018; 8:903-953. [PMID: 29978891 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c160035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The last three decades have seen major strides in our understanding of neural mechanisms of high-level vision, or visual cognition of the world around us. Vision has also served as a model system for the study of brain function. Several broad insights, as yet incomplete, have recently emerged. First, visual perception is best understood not as an end unto itself, but as a sensory process that subserves the animal's behavioral goal at hand. Visual perception is likely to be simply a side effect that reflects the readout of visual information processing that leads to behavior. Second, the brain is essentially a probabilistic computational system that produces behaviors by collectively evaluating, not necessarily consciously or always optimally, the available information about the outside world received from the senses, the behavioral goals, prior knowledge about the world, and possible risks and benefits of a given behavior. Vision plays a prominent role in the overall functioning of the brain providing the lion's share of information about the outside world. Third, the visual system does not function in isolation, but rather interacts actively and reciprocally with other brain systems, including other sensory faculties. Finally, various regions of the visual system process information not in a strict hierarchical manner, but as parts of various dynamic brain-wide networks, collectively referred to as the "connectome." Thus, a full understanding of vision will ultimately entail understanding, in granular, quantitative detail, various aspects of dynamic brain networks that use visual sensory information to produce behavior under real-world conditions. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:903-953, 2018.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay Hegdé
- Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA.,James and Jean Culver Vision Discovery Institute, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA.,The Graduate School, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA
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67
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Verlinden H. Dopamine signalling in locusts and other insects. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 97:40-52. [PMID: 29680287 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine is an important catecholamine neurotransmitter in invertebrates and vertebrates. It is biochemically derived from tyrosine via L-DOPA. It is most abundant in the central nervous system, but can also be produced in e.g. epidermal cells. Dopamine has conserved roles in the control of movement, pleasure, motivation, arousal and memory between invertebrate and vertebrate animals. It is crucial for melanisation and sclerotisation, important processes for the formation of the exoskeleton of insects and immune function. In this brief review I will discuss some general aspects of insect dopamine biosynthesis and breakdown, dopamine receptors and their pharmacology. In addition, I will provide a glance on the multitude of biological functions of dopamine in insects. More detail is provided concerning the putative roles of dopamine in phase related phenomena in locusts. Finally, molecular and pharmacological adjustments of insect dopamine signalling are discussed in the light of possible approaches towards insect pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heleen Verlinden
- Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
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68
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Perry CJ, Baciadonna L. Studying emotion in invertebrates: what has been done, what can be measured and what they can provide. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 220:3856-3868. [PMID: 29093185 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.151308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Until recently, whether invertebrates might exhibit emotions was unknown. This possibility has traditionally been dismissed by many as emotions are frequently defined with reference to human subjective experience, and invertebrates are often not considered to have the neural requirements for such sophisticated abilities. However, emotions are understood in humans and other vertebrates to be multifaceted brain states, comprising dissociable subjective, cognitive, behavioural and physiological components. In addition, accumulating literature is providing evidence of the impressive cognitive capacities and behavioural flexibility of invertebrates. Alongside these, within the past few years, a number of studies have adapted methods for assessing emotions in humans and other animals, to invertebrates, with intriguing results. Sea slugs, bees, crayfish, snails, crabs, flies and ants have all been shown to display various cognitive, behavioural and/or physiological phenomena that indicate internal states reminiscent of what we consider to be emotions. Given the limited neural architecture of many invertebrates, and the powerful tools available within invertebrate research, these results provide new opportunities for unveiling the neural mechanisms behind emotions and open new avenues towards the pharmacological manipulation of emotion and its genetic dissection, with advantages for disease research and therapeutic drug discovery. Here, we review the increasing evidence that invertebrates display some form of emotion, discuss the various methods used for assessing emotions in invertebrates and consider what can be garnered from further emotion research on invertebrates in terms of the evolution and underlying neural basis of emotion in a comparative context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint J Perry
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Luigi Baciadonna
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
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69
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Environmental complexity buffers against stress-induced negative judgement bias in female chickens. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5404. [PMID: 29599444 PMCID: PMC5876351 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23545-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive processes are often biased by emotions. In humans, affective disorders are accompanied by pessimistic judgement, while optimistic judgement is linked to emotional stability. Similar to humans, animals tend to interpret ambiguous stimuli negatively after experiencing stressful events, although the long-lasting impact on judgement bias has rarely been investigated. We measure judgement bias in female chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) after exposure to cold stress, and before and after exposure to additional unpredictable stressors. Additionally, we explore if brain monoamines can explain differences in judgement bias. Chicks exposed to cold stress did not differ in judgement bias compared to controls, but showed sensitivity to additional stressors by having higher motivation for social reinstatement. Environmental complexity reduced stress-induced negative judgement bias, by maintaining an optimistic bias in individuals housed in complex conditions even after stress exposure. Moreover, judgement bias was related to dopamine turnover rate in mesencephalon, with higher activity in individuals that had a more optimistic response. These results demonstrate that environmental complexity can buffer against negative effects of additive stress and that dopamine relates to judgement bias in chicks. These results reveal that both internal and external factors can mediate emotionally biased judgement in animals, thus showing similarities to findings in humans.
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70
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Pleasure: The missing link in the regulation of sleep. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 88:141-154. [PMID: 29548930 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although largely unrecognized by sleep scholars, sleeping is a pleasure. This report aims first, to fill the gap: sleep, like food, water and sex, is a primary reinforcer. The levels of extracellular mesolimbic dopamine show circadian oscillations and mark the "wanting" for pro-homeostatic stimuli. Further, the dopamine levels decrease during waking and are replenished during sleep, in opposition to sleep propensity. The wanting of sleep, therefore, may explain the homeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep. Accordingly, sleep onset occurs when the displeasure of excessive waking is maximal, coinciding with the minimal levels of mesolimbic dopamine. Reciprocally, sleep ends after having replenished the limbic dopamine levels. Given the direct relation between waking and mesolimbic dopamine, sleep must serve primarily to gain an efficient waking. Pleasant sleep (i.e. emotional sleep), can only exist in animals capable of feeling emotions. Therefore, although sleep-like states have been described in invertebrates and primitive vertebrates, the association sleep-pleasure clearly marks a difference between the sleep of homeothermic vertebrates and cool blooded animals.
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71
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Shymansky T, Hughes E, Rothwell CM, Lukowiak K. Propranolol disrupts consolidation of emotional memory in Lymnaea. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 149:1-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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72
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Li L, Su S, Perry CJ, Elphick MR, Chittka L, Søvik E. Large-scale transcriptome changes in the process of long-term visual memory formation in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris. Sci Rep 2018; 8:534. [PMID: 29323174 PMCID: PMC5765018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18836-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Many genes have been implicated in mechanisms of long-term memory formation, but there is still much to be learnt about how the genome dynamically responds, transcriptionally, during memory formation. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to examine how transcriptome profiles change during visual memory formation in the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Expression of fifty-five genes changed immediately after bees were trained to associate reward with a single coloured chip, and the upregulated genes were predominantly genes known to be involved in signal transduction. Changes in the expression of eighty-one genes were observed four hours after learning a new colour, and the majority of these were upregulated and related to transcription and translation, which suggests that the building of new proteins may be the predominant activity four hours after training. Several of the genes identified in this study (e.g. Rab10, Shank1 and Arhgap44) are interesting candidates for further investigation of the molecular mechanisms of long-term memory formation. Our data demonstrate the dynamic gene expression changes after associative colour learning and identify genes involved in each transcriptional wave, which will be useful for future studies of gene regulation in learning and long-term memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Songkun Su
- College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
| | - Clint J Perry
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Maurice R Elphick
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Lars Chittka
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
- Institute for Advanced Study, Wallotstrasse 19, D-14193, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eirik Søvik
- Department of Science and Mathematics, Volda University College, 6100, Volda, Norway
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73
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Resource forecasting: Differential effects of glucose taste and ingestion on delay discounting and self-control. Appetite 2017; 121:101-110. [PMID: 29127026 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We tested a novel hypothesis that glucose taste acts as a signal for resource acquisition, motivating preference for immediate rewards while actual glucose ingestion prompts resource conservation, promoting future-orientated self-regulation. In Study 1, participants were engaged in a delay-discounting task and a grip-control task before and after a beverage intervention (glucose drink, water drink, or glucose mouth-rinse). Glucose ingestion decreased delay discounting, making larger-and-later rewards more attractive. In contrast, glucose rinse increased delay discounting. Water ingestion had none of the effects. In the grip-control task, only glucose ingestion improved the performance. Study 2 using fMRI revealed that glucose rinse and glucose ingestion resulted in distinct brain activational patterns. Compared to glucose rinse, glucose ingestion deactivated a few brain regions (e.g., the anterior cingulate gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus) that are previously shown to be more active when making more difficult intertemporal choices, suggesting that glucose ingestion eases the process of making intertemporal choice. In sum, our behavioral and neuroimaging findings together suggest a dual signaling role of glucose sensation and ingestion in regulating delay discounting and self-control.
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74
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Bellegarde LGA, Erhard HW, Weiss A, Boissy A, Haskell MJ. Valence of Facial Cues Influences Sheep Learning in a Visual Discrimination Task. Front Vet Sci 2017; 4:188. [PMID: 29164143 PMCID: PMC5681486 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2017.00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Sheep are one of the most studied farm species in terms of their ability to process information from faces, but little is known about their face-based emotion recognition abilities. We investigated (a) whether sheep could use images of sheep faces taken in situation of varying valence as cues in a simultaneous discrimination task and (b) whether the valence of the situation affects their learning performance. To accomplish this, we photographed faces of sheep in three situations inducing emotional states of neutral (ruminating in the home pen) or negative valence (social isolation or aggressive interaction). Sheep (n = 35) first had to learn a discrimination task with colored cards. Animals that reached the learning criterion (n = 16) were then presented with pairs of images of the face of a single individual taken in the neutral situation and in one of the negative situations. Finally, sheep had to generalize what they had learned to new pairs of images of faces taken in the same situation, but of a different conspecific. All sheep that learned the discrimination task with colored cards reached the learning criterion with images of faces. Sheep that had to associate a negative image with a food reward learned faster than sheep that had to associate a neutral image with a reward. With the exception of sheep from the aggression-rewarded group, sheep generalized this discrimination to images of faces of different individuals. Our results suggest that sheep can perceive the emotional valence displayed on faces of conspecifics and that this valence affects learning processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucille G A Bellegarde
- Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, Scotland.,UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France.,School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Hans W Erhard
- UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France
| | - Alexander Weiss
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
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75
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Kamhi JF, Arganda S, Moreau CS, Traniello JFA. Origins of Aminergic Regulation of Behavior in Complex Insect Social Systems. Front Syst Neurosci 2017; 11:74. [PMID: 29066958 PMCID: PMC5641352 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2017.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuromodulators are conserved across insect taxa, but how biogenic amines and their receptors in ancestral solitary forms have been co-opted to control behaviors in derived socially complex species is largely unknown. Here we explore patterns associated with the functions of octopamine (OA), serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) in solitary ancestral insects and their derived functions in eusocial ants, bees, wasps and termites. Synthesizing current findings that reveal potential ancestral roles of monoamines in insects, we identify physiological processes and conserved behaviors under aminergic control, consider how biogenic amines may have evolved to modulate complex social behavior, and present focal research areas that warrant further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Frances Kamhi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sara Arganda
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Corrie S. Moreau
- Department of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - James F. A. Traniello
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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76
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Liu K, Yu J, Zhao J, Zhou Y, Xiong N, Xu J, Wang T, Bell RL, Qing H, Lin Z. AZI23'UTR Is a New SLC6A3 Downregulator Associated with an Epistatic Protection Against Substance Use Disorders. Mol Neurobiol 2017; 55:5611-5622. [PMID: 28983843 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-017-0781-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Regulated activity of SLC6A3, which encodes the human dopamine transporter (DAT), contributes to diseases such as substance abuse disorders (SUDs); however, the exact transcription mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we used a common genetic variant of the gene, intron 1 DNP1B sequence, as bait to screen and clone a new transcriptional activity, AZI23'UTR, for SLC6A3. AZI23'UTR is a 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the human 5-Azacytidine Induced 2 gene (AZI2) but appeared to be transcribed independently of AZI2. Found to be present in both human cell nuclei and dopamine neurons, this RNA was shown to downregulate promoter activity through a variant-dependent mechanism in vitro. Both reduced RNA density ratio of AZI23'UTR/AZI2 and increased DAT mRNA levels were found in ethanol-naive alcohol-preferring rats. Secondary analysis of dbGaP GWAS datasets (Genome-Wide Association Studies based on the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes) revealed significant interactions between regions upstream of AZI23'UTR and SLC6A3 in SUDs. Jointly, our data suggest that AZI23'UTR confers variant-dependent transcriptional regulation of SLC6A3, a potential risk factor for SUDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kefu Liu
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA.,School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jinlong Yu
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Juan Zhao
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA.,School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yanhong Zhou
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Nian Xiong
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA.,Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Jie Xu
- Department of Computer Information Systems, Bentley University, Waltham, MA, 02452, USA
| | - Tao Wang
- Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Richard L Bell
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Hong Qing
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Zhicheng Lin
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurogenomics, Division of Basic Neuroscience, Mailman Neuroscience Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02478, USA.
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77
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Baracchi D, Lihoreau M, Giurfa M. Do Insects Have Emotions? Some Insights from Bumble Bees. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:157. [PMID: 28878636 PMCID: PMC5572325 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While our conceptual understanding of emotions is largely based on human subjective experiences, research in comparative cognition has shown growing interest in the existence and identification of "emotion-like" states in non-human animals. There is still ongoing debate about the nature of emotions in animals (especially invertebrates), and certainly their existence and the existence of certain expressive behaviors displaying internal emotional states raise a number of exciting and challenging questions. Interestingly, at least superficially, insects (bees and flies) seem to fulfill the basic requirements of emotional behavior. Yet, recent works go a step further by adopting terminologies and interpretational frameworks that could have been considered as crude anthropocentrism and that now seem acceptable in the scientific literature on invertebrate behavior and cognition. This change in paradigm requires, therefore, that the question of emotions in invertebrates is reconsidered from a cautious perspective and with parsimonious explanations. Here we review and discuss this controversial topic based on the recent finding that bumblebees experience positive emotions while experiencing unexpected sucrose rewards, but also incorporating a broader survey of recent literature in which similar claims have been done for other invertebrates. We maintain that caution is warranted before attributing emotion-like states to honey bees and bumble bees as some experimental caveats may undermine definitive conclusions. We suggest that interpreting many of these findings in terms of motivational drives may be less anthropocentrically biased and more cautious, at least until more careful experiments warrant the use of an emotion-related terminology.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Baracchi
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of ToulouseToulouse, France.,Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, Université Paris 13Paris, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of ToulouseToulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of ToulouseToulouse, France
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78
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79
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Jones S, Paul ES, Dayan P, Robinson ESJ, Mendl M. Pavlovian influences on learning differ between rats and mice in a counter-balanced Go/NoGo judgement bias task. Behav Brain Res 2017; 331:214-224. [PMID: 28549647 PMCID: PMC5480777 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Judgement bias tests of animal affect and hence welfare assume that the animal's responses to ambiguous stimuli, which may herald positive or negative outcomes, are under instrumental control and reflect 'optimism' or 'pessimism' about what will happen. However, Pavlovian control favours responses (e.g. approach or withdrawal) according to the valence associated with a stimulus, rather than the anticipated response outcomes. Typically, positive contexts promote action and approach whilst negative contexts promote inhibition or withdrawal. The prevalence of Go-for-reward (Go-pos) and NoGo-to-avoid-punishment (NoGo-neg) judgement bias tasks reflects this Pavlovian influence. A Pavlovian increase or decrease in activity or vigour has also been argued to accompany positive or negative affective states, and this may interfere with instrumental Go or NoGo decisions under ambiguity based on anticipated decision outcomes. One approach to these issues is to develop counter-balanced Go-pos/NoGo-neg and Go-neg/NoGo-pos tasks. Here we implement such tasks in Sprague Dawley rats and C57BL/6J mice using food and air-puff as decision outcomes. We find striking species/strain differences with rats achieving criterion performance on the Go-pos/NoGo-neg task but failing to learn the Go-neg/NoGo-pos task, in line with predictions, whilst mice do exactly the opposite. Pavlovian predispositions may thus differ between species, for example reflecting foraging and predation ecology and/or baseline activity rates. Learning failures are restricted to cues predicting a negative outcome; use of a more powerful air-puff stimulus may thus allow implementation of a fully counter-balanced task. Rats and mice achieve criterion faster than in comparable automated tasks and also show the expected generalisation of responses across ambiguous tones. A fully counter-balanced task thus offers a potentially rapidly implemented and automated method for assessing animal welfare, identifying welfare problems and areas for welfare improvement and 3Rs Refinement, and assessing the effectiveness of refinements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Jones
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Elizabeth S Paul
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Peter Dayan
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, UK
| | - Emma S J Robinson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Michael Mendl
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, UK.
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80
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Dunlap AS, Papaj DR, Dornhaus A. Sampling and tracking a changing environment: persistence and reward in the foraging decisions of bumblebees. Interface Focus 2017; 7:20160149. [PMID: 28479985 PMCID: PMC5413896 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2016.0149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of when to collect new information and how to apply that information is central to much of behaviour. Theory suggests that the value of collecting information, or sampling, depends on environmental persistence and on the relative costs of making wrong decisions. However, empirical tests of how these variables interact are lacking. We tested whether bumblebee foraging decisions are indeed influenced by these two factors. We gave bees repeated choices between a resource providing a steady, mediocre reward and a resource fluctuating between a low reward and a high reward. In this paradigm, we manipulated environmental persistence by changing how long the quality of a fluctuating resource remained stable at one reward level. We manipulated the costs of decision errors by changing the relative values of the available rewards. Bees sampled the fluctuating resource more frequently when it changed quality more frequently, indicating that they measured environmental persistence and reacted to it as predicted by theory. Bees showed surprisingly suboptimal tracking, not reliably choosing the currently best resource except when the fluctuating resource was very persistent and the potential rewards high. While bees modify their choices in response to different levels of change and potential rewards, they do not always do so according to optimality predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimee S. Dunlap
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daniel R. Papaj
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Anna Dornhaus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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81
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Abstract
Pretest sucrose affects a dopamine-modulated response of bumblebees to an ambiguous cue to reward as well as a response to a simulated attack (Perry, Baciadonna, & Chittka, Science, 353(6307), 1529-1531, 2016). The contribution of the study lies in opening the door to research on the inner experience of insects, the learning and motivational mechanisms of their behavior, and the evolutionary analysis of emotions.
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82
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Mendl
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK.
| | - Elizabeth S Paul
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK
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83
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Glucose-specific signaling effects on delay discounting in intertemporal choice. Physiol Behav 2017; 169:195-201. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 11/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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84
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Bacqué-Cazenave J, Cattaert D, Delbecque JP, Fossat P. Social harassment induces anxiety-like behaviour in crayfish. Sci Rep 2017; 7:39935. [PMID: 28045136 PMCID: PMC5206779 DOI: 10.1038/srep39935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions leading to dominance hierarchies often elicit psychological disorders in mammals including harassment and anxiety. Here, we demonstrate that this sequence also occurs in an invertebrate, the crayfish Procambarus clarkii. When placed in the restricted space of an aquarium, crayfish dyads generally fight until one of the opponents suddenly escapes, thereafter clearly expressing a submissive behaviour. Nevertheless, the winner frequently keeps on displaying excessive aggressive acts, having deleterious consequences in losers and interpreted as harassment behaviour. We indeed observed that, contrary to winners, losers expressed anxiety-like behaviour (ALB) in correlation with the stress intensity they suffered during the harassment period mainly. Injections of an anxiolytic abolished ALB, confirming its homology with anxiety. A serotonin (5-HT) antagonist had the same effect, suggesting a role for 5-HT, whose brain concentrations increased much more in losers than in winners. Our findings suggest that the bases of harassment and of its anxiogenic consequences have emerged very early during evolution, and emphasize crayfish as an unexpected but potentially fruitful model for the study of these social disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Bacqué-Cazenave
- INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, 146 Rue Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Daniel Cattaert
- INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, 146 Rue Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Jean-Paul Delbecque
- INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, 146 Rue Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Pascal Fossat
- INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, 146 Rue Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France
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Aonuma H, Kaneda M, Hatakeyama D, Watanabe T, Lukowiak K, Ito E. Relationship between the grades of a learned aversive-feeding response and the dopamine contents in Lymnaea. Biol Open 2016; 5:1869-1873. [PMID: 27815244 PMCID: PMC5200912 DOI: 10.1242/bio.021634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The pond snail Lymnaea learns conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and remembers not to respond to food substances that initially cause a feeding response. The possible relationship between how well snails learn to follow taste-aversion training and brain dopamine contents is not known. We examined this relationship and found the following: first, snails in the act of eating just before the commencement of CTA training were poor learners and had the highest dopamine contents in the brain; second, snails which had an ad libitum access to food, but were not eating just before training, were average learners and had lower dopamine contents; third, snails food-deprived for one day before training were the best learners and had significantly lower contents of dopamine compared to the previous two cohorts. There was a negative correlation between the CTA grades and the brain dopamine contents in these three cohorts. Fourth, snails food-deprived for five days before training were poor learners and had higher dopamine contents. Thus, severe hunger increased the dopamine content in the brain. Because dopamine functions as a reward transmitter, CTA in the severely deprived snails (i.e. the fourth cohort) was thought to be mitigated by a high dopamine content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Aonuma
- Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0811, Japan.,CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi 332-0012, Japan
| | - Mugiho Kaneda
- Laboratory of Functional Biology, Kagawa School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Sanuki 769-2193, Japan
| | - Dai Hatakeyama
- Laboratory of Functional Biology, Kagawa School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Sanuki 769-2193, Japan
| | - Takayuki Watanabe
- Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0811, Japan
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
| | - Etsuro Ito
- Laboratory of Functional Biology, Kagawa School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Sanuki 769-2193, Japan .,Department of Biology, Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
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