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Heritier C, Riemer S, Gaschler R. The Power Is in the Word-Do Laypeople Interpret Descriptors of Dog Emotional States Correctly? Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3009. [PMID: 37835615 PMCID: PMC10571880 DOI: 10.3390/ani13193009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
A basic understanding of dog behaviour and emotion is relevant not only for professionals, such as veterinary personnel or dog trainers, but also for dog owners and for people with little contact with dogs. Information about dog behaviour and emotions is mostly conveyed verbally. This study explores whether definitions of dog behaviour and emotion are understood in such a way that they can be allocated to a descriptor (i.e., a label such as "fearful"), even by people with low background knowledge. If people can match descriptors to definitions, this suggests that the definitions are distinct enough and elicit mental representations of behaviour that can fit the label. Good agreement on the definitions is a prerequisite for the validity of the descriptors used; however, no study to date has tested this. A sample of 236 adults was asked to match descriptors of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) for veterinary and shelter situations to their correct definitions, e.g., the descriptor "fearful" to its definition "dog may try to flee, hide or freeze; ears back". Matching was substantially above chance; nonetheless, the mean proportion of correct responses was only 50% (SD ± 16.6%) for the veterinary QBA set and 33% (SD ± 14.3%) for the shelter QBA set. Performance in the matching task was positively correlated with measures of experience with dogs. Taken together, the results suggest that descriptor-definition pairs used to describe dog behaviour need to be clearly defined to avoid misinterpretations when teaching laypeople how to interpret canine behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Heritier
- Department of Psychology, FernUniversität Hagen, Universitätsstraße 47, 58097 Hagen, Germany
| | - Stefanie Riemer
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Robert Gaschler
- Department of Psychology, FernUniversität Hagen, Universitätsstraße 47, 58097 Hagen, Germany
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2
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Pelgrim MH, Espinosa J, Buchsbaum D. Head-mounted mobile eye-tracking in the domestic dog: A new method. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:1924-1941. [PMID: 35788974 PMCID: PMC9255465 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01907-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humans rely on dogs for countless tasks, ranging from companionship to highly specialized detection work. In their daily lives, dogs must navigate a human-built visual world, yet comparatively little is known about what dogs visually attend to as they move through their environment. Real-world eye-tracking, or head-mounted eye-tracking, allows participants to freely move through their environment, providing more naturalistic results about visual attention while interacting with objects and agents. In dogs, real-world eye-tracking has the potential to inform our understanding of cross-species cognitive abilities as well as working dog training; however, a robust and easily deployed head-mounted eye-tracking method for dogs has not previously been developed and tested. We present a novel method for real-world eye-tracking in dogs, using a simple head-mounted mobile apparatus mounted onto goggles designed for dogs. This new method, adapted from systems that are widely used in humans, allows for eye-tracking during more naturalistic behaviors, namely walking around and interacting with real-world stimuli, as well as reduced training time as compared to traditional stationary eye-tracking methods. We found that while completing a simple forced-choice treat finding task, dogs look primarily to the treat, and we demonstrated the accuracy of this method using alternative gaze-tracking methods. Additionally, eye-tracking revealed more fine-grained time course information and individual differences in looking patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline H Pelgrim
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer St, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada.
| | - Julia Espinosa
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Daphna Buchsbaum
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer St, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada
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3
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Park SY, Holmqvist K, Niehorster DC, Huber L, Virányi Z. How to improve data quality in dog eye tracking. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:1513-1536. [PMID: 35680764 PMCID: PMC10250523 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01788-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Pupil-corneal reflection (P-CR) eye tracking has gained a prominent role in studying dog visual cognition, despite methodological challenges that often lead to lower-quality data than when recording from humans. In the current study, we investigated if and how the morphology of dogs might interfere with tracking of P-CR systems, and to what extent such interference, possibly in combination with dog-unique eye-movement characteristics, may undermine data quality and affect eye-movement classification when processed through algorithms. For this aim, we have conducted an eye-tracking experiment with dogs and humans, and investigated incidences of tracking interference, compared how they blinked, and examined how differential quality of dog and human data affected the detection and classification of eye-movement events. Our results show that the morphology of dogs' face and eye can interfere with tracking methods of the systems, and dogs blink less often but their blinks are longer. Importantly, the lower quality of dog data lead to larger differences in how two different event detection algorithms classified fixations, indicating that the results of key dependent variables are more susceptible to choice of algorithm in dog than human data. Further, two measures of the Nyström & Holmqvist (Behavior Research Methods, 42(4), 188-204, 2010) algorithm showed that dog fixations are less stable and dog data have more trials with extreme levels of noise. Our findings call for analyses better adjusted to the characteristics of dog eye-tracking data, and our recommendations help future dog eye-tracking studies acquire quality data to enable robust comparisons of visual cognition between dogs and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon Young Park
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Kenneth Holmqvist
- Institute of Psychology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Torun, Poland
- Department of Psychology, Regensburg University, Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Computer Science and Informatics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Diederick C Niehorster
- Lund University Humanities Lab and Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Zsófia Virányi
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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4
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Sarfaty H, Ezra-Elia R, Kahane N, Sandalon S, Segev Y, Sebbag L. Standard and modified glabellar flap for medial canthus reconstruction following mass removal in three dogs and two cats. Vet Ophthalmol 2023; 26:121-127. [PMID: 36872290 DOI: 10.1111/vop.13070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To describe the surgical technique and clinical outcomes of the glabellar flap and its modification for the reconstruction of the medial canthus following resection of tumors in three dogs and two cats. METHODS Three dogs (7-, 7-, and 12.5-year-old mixed breeds) and two cats (10- and 14-year-old Domestic shorthair) presented with a 7-13 mm tumor affecting the eyelid and/or conjunctiva in the medial canthal region. Following en bloc mass excision, an inverted V-shaped skin incision was made in the glabellar region (i.e., the area between the eyebrows in humans). The apex of the inverted V-shaped flap was rotated in three cases, whereas a horizontal sliding movement was performed in the other two cases to better cover the surgical wound. The surgical flap was then trimmed to fit the surgical wound and sutured in place in two layers (subcutaneous and cutaneous). RESULTS Tumors were diagnosed as mast cell tumors (n = 3), amelanotic conjunctival melanoma (n = 1), and apocrine ductal adenoma (n = 1). No recurrence was noted in a follow-up time of 146 ± 84 days. Satisfactory cosmetic outcome with normal eyelids closure was achieved in all cases. Mild trichiasis was present in all patients and mild epiphora was noted in 2/5 patients, but there were no associated clinical signs such as discomfort or keratitis. CONCLUSIONS The glabellar flap was easy to perform and provided a good outcome in terms of cosmetic, eyelid function, and corneal health. Postoperative complications from trichiasis appear to be minimized by the presence of the third eyelid in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Lionel Sebbag
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
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5
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Visual perception of emotion cues in dogs: a critical review of methodologies. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:727-754. [PMID: 36870003 PMCID: PMC10066124 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01762-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Comparative studies of human-dog cognition have grown exponentially since the 2000's, but the focus on how dogs look at us (as well as other dogs) as social partners is a more recent phenomenon despite its importance to human-dog interactions. Here, we briefly summarise the current state of research in visual perception of emotion cues in dogs and why this area is important; we then critically review its most commonly used methods, by discussing conceptual and methodological challenges and associated limitations in depth; finally, we suggest some possible solutions and recommend best practice for future research. Typically, most studies in this field have concentrated on facial emotional cues, with full body information rarely considered. There are many challenges in the way studies are conceptually designed (e.g., use of non-naturalistic stimuli) and the way researchers incorporate biases (e.g., anthropomorphism) into experimental designs, which may lead to problematic conclusions. However, technological and scientific advances offer the opportunity to gather much more valid, objective, and systematic data in this rapidly expanding field of study. Solving conceptual and methodological challenges in the field of emotion perception research in dogs will not only be beneficial in improving research in dog-human interactions, but also within the comparative psychology area, in which dogs are an important model species to study evolutionary processes.
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Owners' Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13050820. [PMID: 36899676 PMCID: PMC10000035 DOI: 10.3390/ani13050820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The correct interpretation of an animal's emotional state is crucial for successful human-animal interaction. When studying dog and cat emotional expressions, a key source of information is the pet owner, given the extensive interactions they have had with their pets. In this online survey we asked 438 owners whether their dogs and/or cats could express 22 different primary and secondary emotions, and to indicate the behavioral cues they relied upon to identify those expressed emotions. Overall, more emotions were reported in dogs compared to cats, both from owners that owned just one species and those that owned both. Although owners reported a comparable set of sources of behavioral cues (e.g., body posture, facial expression, and head posture) for dogs and cats in expressing the same emotion, distinct combinations tended to be associated with specific emotions in both cats and dogs. Furthermore, the number of emotions reported by dog owners was positively correlated with their personal experience with dogs but negatively correlated with their professional experience. The number of emotions reported in cats was higher in cat-only households compared to those that also owned dogs. These results provide a fertile ground for further empirical investigation of the emotional expressions of dogs and cats, aimed at validating specific emotions in these species.
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7
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Huber L, Lonardo L, Völter CJ. Eye Tracking in Dogs: Achievements and Challenges. COMPARATIVE COGNITION & BEHAVIOR REVIEWS 2023; 18:33-58. [PMID: 39045221 PMCID: PMC7616291 DOI: 10.3819/ccbr.2023.180005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In this article, we review eye-tracking studies with dogs (Canis familiaris) with a threefold goal; we highlight the achievements in the field of canine perception and cognition using eye tracking, then discuss the challenges that arise in the application of a technology that has been developed in human psychophysics, and finally propose new avenues in dog eye-tracking research. For the first goal, we present studies that investigated dogs' perception of humans, mainly faces, but also hands, gaze, emotions, communicative signals, goal-directed movements, and social interactions, as well as the perception of animations representing possible and impossible physical processes and animacy cues. We then discuss the present challenges of eye tracking with dogs, like doubtful picture-object equivalence, extensive training, small sample sizes, difficult calibration, and artificial stimuli and settings. We suggest possible improvements and solutions for these problems in order to achieve better stimulus and data quality. Finally, we propose the use of dynamic stimuli, pupillometry, arrival time analyses, mobile eye tracking, and combinations with behavioral and neuroimaging methods to further advance canine research and open up new scientific fields in this highly dynamic branch of comparative cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludwig Huber
- Messerli Research Institute, Unit of Comparative Cognition, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna
| | - Lucrezia Lonardo
- Messerli Research Institute, Unit of Comparative Cognition, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna
| | - Christoph J Völter
- Messerli Research Institute, Unit of Comparative Cognition, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna
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8
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Epperlein T, Kovacs G, Oña LS, Amici F, Bräuer J. Context and prediction matter for the interpretation of social interactions across species. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277783. [PMID: 36477294 PMCID: PMC9728876 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Predictions about others' future actions are crucial during social interactions, in order to react optimally. Another way to assess such interactions is to define the social context of the situations explicitly and categorize them according to their affective content. Here we investigate how humans assess aggressive, playful and neutral interactions between members of three species: human children, dogs and macaques. We presented human participants with short video clips of real-life interactions of dyads of the three species and asked them either to categorize the context of the situation or to predict the outcome of the observed interaction. Participants performed above chance level in assessing social situations in humans, in dogs and in monkeys. How accurately participants predicted and categorized the situations depended both on the species and on the context. Contrary to our hypothesis, participants were not better at assessing aggressive situations than playful or neutral situations. Importantly, participants performed particularly poorly when assessing aggressive behaviour for dogs. Also, participants were not better at assessing social interactions of humans compared to those of other species. We discuss what mechanism humans use to assess social situations and to what extent this skill can also be found in other social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Epperlein
- DogStudies, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany,Department for General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Gyula Kovacs
- Department of Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Linda S. Oña
- Max Planck Research Group Naturalistic Social Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany,Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Juliane Bräuer
- DogStudies, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany,Department for General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany,* E-mail:
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9
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Narvekar HN, Narvekar HN. Canine-Assisted Therapy in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review. Eur J Integr Med 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eujim.2022.102112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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10
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Mota-Rojas D, Marcet-Rius M, Ogi A, Hernández-Ávalos I, Mariti C, Martínez-Burnes J, Mora-Medina P, Casas A, Domínguez A, Reyes B, Gazzano A. Current Advances in Assessment of Dog's Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:3334. [PMID: 34828066 PMCID: PMC8614696 DOI: 10.3390/ani11113334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals' facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids-wolves, for example-cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon-called "emotional contagion"-is triggered precisely by the dog's capacity to identify their owners' gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mota-Rojas
- Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico; (A.C.); (A.D.); (B.R.)
| | - Míriam Marcet-Rius
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare Department, IRSEA (Research Institute in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology), Quartier Salignan, 84400 Apt, France;
| | - Asahi Ogi
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (A.O.); (C.M.); (A.G.)
| | - Ismael Hernández-Ávalos
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Veterinary Anaesthesia, FESC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán Izcalli 54714, Mexico;
| | - Chiara Mariti
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (A.O.); (C.M.); (A.G.)
| | - Julio Martínez-Burnes
- Animal Health Group, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City 87000, Mexico;
| | - Patricia Mora-Medina
- Department of Livestock Science, FESC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán Izcalli 54714, Mexico;
| | - Alejandro Casas
- Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico; (A.C.); (A.D.); (B.R.)
| | - Adriana Domínguez
- Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico; (A.C.); (A.D.); (B.R.)
| | - Brenda Reyes
- Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico; (A.C.); (A.D.); (B.R.)
| | - Angelo Gazzano
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (A.O.); (C.M.); (A.G.)
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11
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Effects of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents with Eating Disorders: A Study Protocol for a Pilot Controlled Trial. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11102784. [PMID: 34679805 PMCID: PMC8532616 DOI: 10.3390/ani11102784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Animal-assisted therapies may lead to benefits in anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or quality of life. These variables are commonly present among patients with eating disorders. Thus, the current pilot study will aim to evaluate the effects of a dog-assisted therapy on the eating disorders symptoms, mental, psychosocial, and physical health, quality of life, and handgrip strength of adolescents suffering from eating disorders. Thirty-two patients will participate and 16 of them will receive the intervention while the other 16 will be the control group. Both groups will continue with their treatments prescribed at the hospital, but the experimental group will participate in a dog-assisted therapy program involving 7 sessions in 7 weeks. This will be the first study to examine the effects of dog-assisted therapy in this population. Significant improvements, in the primary and secondary outcomes, may be expected based on the known benefits of AAT on self-esteem, stress, and self-control in different populations. Finally, although the program is focused on the improvement of adolescents’ health, animal welfare will be a priority in this study. Abstract Background: Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance that alters food intake and it is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or reduced functional capacity and quality of life. Animal-assisted therapies (AAT) have shown benefits in these variables in children and adult populations. Thus, the present pilot study will aim to evaluate the effects of a dog-assisted therapy on the eating disorders symptoms, mental, psychosocial, and physical health, quality of life, and handgrip strength of adolescents suffering from eating disorders. Methods: The current pilot study will involve 32 patients, who will be assigned to a control or an experimental group. Intervention will be conducted once a week for seven weeks. Neither the experimental nor the control group will discontinue their usual care. The main outcome measures will be the eating disorder symptoms and the health-related quality of life measured with standardized questionnaires, while the secondary variables will be anxiety, depression, character, behavior, strength, and body mass. Conclusions: This pilot-controlled trial will be the first to evaluate the effects of dog-assisted therapy on the physical and mental health of adolescents with eating disorders. Significant improvements, in the primary and secondary outcomes, may be expected based on the known benefits of AAT on self-esteem, stress, and self-control in different populations. Finally, although the program is focused on the improvement of adolescents’ health, animal welfare will be a priority in this study.
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Schünemann B, Keller J, Rakoczy H, Behne T, Bräuer J. Dogs distinguish human intentional and unintentional action. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14967. [PMID: 34471153 PMCID: PMC8410798 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94374-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When dogs interact with humans, they often show appropriate reactions to human intentional action. But it is unclear from these everyday observations whether the dogs simply respond to the action outcomes or whether they are able to discriminate between different categories of actions. Are dogs able to distinguish intentional human actions from unintentional ones, even when the action outcomes are the same? We tested dogs' ability to discriminate these action categories by adapting the so-called "Unwilling vs. Unable" paradigm. This paradigm compares subjects' reactions to intentional and unintentional human behaviour. All dogs received three conditions: In the unwilling-condition, an experimenter intentionally withheld a reward from them. In the two unable-conditions, she unintentionally withheld the reward, either because she was clumsy or because she was physically prevented from giving the reward to the dog. Dogs clearly distinguished in their spontaneous behaviour between unwilling- and unable-conditions. This indicates that dogs indeed distinguish intentional actions from unintentional behaviour. We critically discuss our findings with regard to dogs' understanding of human intentional action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britta Schünemann
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Judith Keller
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hannes Rakoczy
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tanya Behne
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juliane Bräuer
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department for General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Am Steiger 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
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13
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Albuquerque N, Mills DS, Guo K, Wilkinson A, Resende B. Dogs can infer implicit information from human emotional expressions. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:231-240. [PMID: 34390430 PMCID: PMC8940826 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01544-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The ability to infer emotional states and their wider consequences requires the establishment of relationships between the emotional display and subsequent actions. These abilities, together with the use of emotional information from others in social decision making, are cognitively demanding and require inferential skills that extend beyond the immediate perception of the current behaviour of another individual. They may include predictions of the significance of the emotional states being expressed. These abilities were previously believed to be exclusive to primates. In this study, we presented adult domestic dogs with a social interaction between two unfamiliar people, which could be positive, negative or neutral. After passively witnessing the actors engaging silently with each other and with the environment, dogs were given the opportunity to approach a food resource that varied in accessibility. We found that the available emotional information was more relevant than the motivation of the actors (i.e. giving something or receiving something) in predicting the dogs' responses. Thus, dogs were able to access implicit information from the actors' emotional states and appropriately use the affective information to make context-dependent decisions. The findings demonstrate that a non-human animal can actively acquire information from emotional expressions, infer some form of emotional state and use this functionally to make decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Albuquerque
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. .,School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
| | - Daniel S Mills
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Kun Guo
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Anna Wilkinson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Briseida Resende
- Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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de Oliveira AR, Gozalo-Marcilla M, Ringer SK, Schauvliege S, Fonseca MW, Esteves Trindade PH, Prospero Puoli Filho JN, Luna SPL. Development and validation of the facial scale (FaceSed) to evaluate sedation in horses. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251909. [PMID: 34061878 PMCID: PMC8168851 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Although facial characteristics are used to estimate horse sedation, there are no studies measuring their reliability and validity. This randomised controlled, prospective, horizontal study aimed to validate a facial sedation scale for horses (FaceSed). Seven horses received detomidine infusion i.v. in low or high doses/rates alone (DL 2.5 μg/kg+6.25 μg/kg/h; DH 5 μg/kg+12.5 μg/kg/h) or combined with methadone (DLM and DHM, 0.2 mg/kg+0.05 mg/kg/h) for 120 min, or acepromazine boli i.v. in low (ACPL 0.02 mg/kg) or high doses (ACPH 0.09 mg/kg). Horses' faces were photographed at i) baseline, ii) peak, iii) intermediate, and iv) end of sedation. After randomisation of moments and treatments, photos were sent to four evaluators to assess the FaceSed items (ear position, orbital opening, relaxation of the lower and upper lip) twice, within a one-month interval. The intraclass correlation coefficient of intra- and interobserver reliability of FaceSed scores were good to very good (0.74-0.94) and moderate to very good (0.57-0.87), respectively. Criterion validity based on Spearman correlation between the FaceSed versus the numerical rating scale and head height above the ground were 0.92 and -0.75, respectively. All items and the FaceSed total score showed responsiveness (construct validity). According to the principal component analysis all FaceSed items had load factors >0.50 at the first dimension. The high internal consistency (Cronbach´s α = 0.83) indicated good intercorrelation among items. Item-total Spearman correlation was adequate (rho 0.3-0.73), indicating homogeneity of the scale. All items showed sensitivity (0.82-0.97) to detect sedation, however only orbital opening (0.79) and upper lip relaxation (0.82) were specific to detect absence of sedation. The limitations were that the facial expression was performed using photos, which do not represent the facial movement and the horses were docile, which may have reduced specificity. The FaceSed is a valid and reliable tool to assess tranquilisation and sedation in horses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Rodrigues de Oliveira
- Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Miguel Gozalo-Marcilla
- The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Simone Katja Ringer
- Department of Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Section Anaesthesiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stijn Schauvliege
- Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia of Domestic Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Mariana Werneck Fonseca
- Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pedro Henrique Esteves Trindade
- Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José Nicolau Prospero Puoli Filho
- Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Stelio Pacca Loureiro Luna
- Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
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15
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Andersen PH, Broomé S, Rashid M, Lundblad J, Ask K, Li Z, Hernlund E, Rhodin M, Kjellström H. Towards Machine Recognition of Facial Expressions of Pain in Horses. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:1643. [PMID: 34206077 PMCID: PMC8229776 DOI: 10.3390/ani11061643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Automated recognition of human facial expressions of pain and emotions is to a certain degree a solved problem, using approaches based on computer vision and machine learning. However, the application of such methods to horses has proven difficult. Major barriers are the lack of sufficiently large, annotated databases for horses and difficulties in obtaining correct classifications of pain because horses are non-verbal. This review describes our work to overcome these barriers, using two different approaches. One involves the use of a manual, but relatively objective, classification system for facial activity (Facial Action Coding System), where data are analyzed for pain expressions after coding using machine learning principles. We have devised tools that can aid manual labeling by identifying the faces and facial keypoints of horses. This approach provides promising results in the automated recognition of facial action units from images. The second approach, recurrent neural network end-to-end learning, requires less extraction of features and representations from the video but instead depends on large volumes of video data with ground truth. Our preliminary results suggest clearly that dynamics are important for pain recognition and show that combinations of recurrent neural networks can classify experimental pain in a small number of horses better than human raters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Haubro Andersen
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; (J.L.); (K.A.); (E.H.); (M.R.)
| | - Sofia Broomé
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE 100044 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.B.); (Z.L.)
| | - Maheen Rashid
- Department of Computer Science, University of California at Davis, California, CA 95616, USA;
| | - Johan Lundblad
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; (J.L.); (K.A.); (E.H.); (M.R.)
| | - Katrina Ask
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; (J.L.); (K.A.); (E.H.); (M.R.)
| | - Zhenghong Li
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE 100044 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.B.); (Z.L.)
- Department of Computer Science, Stony Brook University, New York, NY 11794, USA
| | - Elin Hernlund
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; (J.L.); (K.A.); (E.H.); (M.R.)
| | - Marie Rhodin
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden; (J.L.); (K.A.); (E.H.); (M.R.)
| | - Hedvig Kjellström
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE 100044 Stockholm, Sweden; (S.B.); (Z.L.)
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16
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Albuquerque N, Savalli C, Cabral F, Resende B. Do Emotional Cues Influence the Performance of Domestic Dogs in an Observational Learning Task? Front Psychol 2021; 12:615074. [PMID: 34093306 PMCID: PMC8172801 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.615074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Using social information is not indiscriminate and being able to choose what to copy and from whom to copy is critical. Dogs are able to learn socially, to recognize, and respond to dog as well as human emotional expressions, and to make reputation-like inferences based on how people behave towards their owner. Yet, the mechanisms dogs use for obtaining and utilizing social information are still to be fully understood, especially concerning whether emotional cues influence dogs’ social learning. Therefore, our main aim was to test the hypothesis that an emotionally charged (negative, positive, or neutral) interaction with the demonstrator of a “V” detour task prior to testing would affect subjects’ performance, by: (i) changing the value of the information provided by the demonstrator or (ii) changing the valence of the learning environment. Our experimental design consisted of three phases: pre-test (subjects were allowed to solve the task alone); emotional display (dogs watched the unfamiliar human behaving in either a positive, negative or neutral way towards their owner); test (demonstrator showed the task and subjects were allowed to move freely). Only dogs that failed in pre-test were considered for analysis (n = 46). We analyzed four dependent variables: success, time to solve the task, latency to reach the fence and matching the side of demonstration. For each, we used four models (GEEs and GLMMs) to investigate the effect of (1) demographic factors; (2) experimental design factors (including emotional group); (3) behavior of the dog; and (4) side chosen and matching. All models took into account all trials (random effect included) and the first trials only. Our findings corroborate previous studies of social learning, but present no evidence to sustain our hypothesis. We discuss the possibility of our stimuli not being salient enough in a task that involves highly motivating food and relies on long and highly distracting interval between phases. Nevertheless, these results represent an important contribution to the study of dog behavior and social cognition and pave the way for further investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Albuquerque
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carine Savalli
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Department of Public Policies and Collective Health, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Francisco Cabral
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Briseida Resende
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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17
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Correia-Caeiro C, Guo K, Mills D. Bodily emotional expressions are a primary source of information for dogs, but not for humans. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:267-279. [PMID: 33507407 PMCID: PMC8035094 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01471-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Dogs have remarkable abilities to synergise their behaviour with that of people, but how dogs read facial and bodily emotional cues in comparison to humans remains unclear. Both species share the same ecological niche, are highly social and expressive, making them an ideal comparative model for intra- and inter-species emotion perception. We compared eye-tracking data from unrestrained humans and dogs when viewing dynamic and naturalistic emotional expressions in humans and dogs. Dogs attended more to the body than the head of human and dog figures, unlike humans who focused more on the head of both species. Dogs and humans also showed a clear age effect that reduced head gaze. Our results indicate a species-specific evolutionary adaptation for emotion perception, which is only partly modified for heterospecific cues. These results have important implications for managing the risk associated with human-dog interactions, where expressive and perceptual differences are crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catia Correia-Caeiro
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan.
| | - Kun Guo
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Daniel Mills
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
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18
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Correia-Caeiro C, Holmes K, Miyabe-Nishiwaki T. Extending the MaqFACS to measure facial movement in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) reveals a wide repertoire potential. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245117. [PMID: 33411716 PMCID: PMC7790396 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial expressions are complex and subtle signals, central for communication and emotion in social mammals. Traditionally, facial expressions have been classified as a whole, disregarding small but relevant differences in displays. Even with the same morphological configuration different information can be conveyed depending on the species. Due to a hardwired processing of faces in the human brain, humans are quick to attribute emotion, but have difficulty in registering facial movement units. The well-known human FACS (Facial Action Coding System) is the gold standard for objectively measuring facial expressions, and can be adapted through anatomical investigation and functional homologies for cross-species systematic comparisons. Here we aimed at developing a FACS for Japanese macaques, following established FACS methodology: first, we considered the species' muscular facial plan; second, we ascertained functional homologies with other primate species; and finally, we categorised each independent facial movement into Action Units (AUs). Due to similarities in the rhesus and Japanese macaques' facial musculature, the MaqFACS (previously developed for rhesus macaques) was used as a basis to extend the FACS tool to Japanese macaques, while highlighting the morphological and appearance changes differences between the two species. We documented 19 AUs, 15 Action Descriptors (ADs) and 3 Ear Action Units (EAUs) in Japanese macaques, with all movements of MaqFACS found in Japanese macaques. New movements were also observed, indicating a slightly larger repertoire than in rhesus or Barbary macaques. Our work reported here of the MaqFACS extension for Japanese macaques, when used together with the MaqFACS, comprises a valuable objective tool for the systematic and standardised analysis of facial expressions in Japanese macaques. The MaqFACS extension for Japanese macaques will now allow the investigation of the evolution of communication and emotion in primates, as well as contribute to improving the welfare of individuals, particularly in captivity and laboratory settings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kathryn Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
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19
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Völter CJ, Karl S, Huber L. Dogs accurately track a moving object on a screen and anticipate its destination. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19832. [PMID: 33199751 PMCID: PMC7670446 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72506-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The prediction of upcoming events is of importance not only to humans and non-human primates but also to other animals that live in complex environments with lurking threats or moving prey. In this study, we examined motion tracking and anticipatory looking in dogs in two eye-tracking experiments. In Experiment 1, we presented pet dogs (N = 14) with a video depicting how two players threw a Frisbee back and forth multiple times. The horizontal movement of the Frisbee explained a substantial amount of variance of the dogs' horizontal eye movements. With increasing duration of the video, the dogs looked at the catcher before the Frisbee arrived. In Experiment 2, we showed the dogs (N = 12) the same video recording. This time, however, we froze and rewound parts of the video to examine how the dogs would react to surprising events (i.e., the Frisbee hovering in midair and reversing its direction). The Frisbee again captured the dogs' attention, particularly when the video was frozen and rewound for the first time. Additionally, the dogs looked faster at the catcher when the video moved forward compared to when it was rewound. We conclude that motion tracking and anticipatory looking paradigms provide promising tools for future cognitive research with canids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph J Völter
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Messerli Research Institute, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Sabrina Karl
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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20
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Burrows AM, Kaminski J, Waller BM, Omstead KM, Rogers-Vizena C, Mendelson B. Dog faces exhibit anatomical differences in comparison to other domestic animals. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020; 304:231-241. [PMID: 32969196 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne M Burrows
- Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Juliane Kaminski
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Bridget M Waller
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Kailey M Omstead
- Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Carolyn Rogers-Vizena
- Department of Plastic & Oral Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bryan Mendelson
- The Centre for Facial Plastic Surgery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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21
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Chowdhury B, van Staaden M, Huber R. Multivariate Analysis of Open Field Exploration Identifies Latent Spatial and Social Behavioral Axes in Domestic Dogs. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:125. [PMID: 32765233 PMCID: PMC7380173 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent methodological advances in studying large scale animal movements have let researchers gather rich datasets from behaving animals. Often collected in small sample sizes due to logistical constraints, these datasets are however, ideal for multivariate explorations into behavioral complexity. In behavioral studies of domestic dogs, although automated data loggers have recently seen increasing use, a comprehensive framework to identify complex behavioral axes is lacking. Dog behavioral studies frequently rely on subjective ratings, despite demonstrable evidence that these are insufficient for identifying behavioral variables. Taking advantage of dogs’ innate running abilities and readily available GPS data loggers, we extracted latitude-longitude coordinates from running dogs in a large field setup. By extracting multiple variables from each logged coordinate, we generated a complex dataset from limited numbers of dog runs. Individual variables were successful in classifying aerobic competence, social awareness, and different exploratory patterns of dogs. Multivariate analyses identified latent features in movement patterns of dogs which were primarily comprised of two behavioral axes: spatial acuity and social awareness. Individual dogs were then behaviorally classified into independent clusters through unsupervised learning. Interestingly, even though field dogs clustered primarily with each other in varying degrees of energetic exploration and handler focus, some house pets displayed moderately high exploration abilities as well. We expect our proof of principle quantitative pipeline to provide a robust framework for behavioral classification, generating case-control clusters based solely on complex behavioral axes, and greatly benefiting genetic association studies of dog behavior.
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