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Gainotti G. Mainly Visual Aspects of Emotional Laterality in Cognitively Developed and Highly Social Mammals-A Systematic Review. Brain Sci 2024; 14:52. [PMID: 38248267 PMCID: PMC10813540 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010052] [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: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Several studies have shown that emotions are asymmetrically represented in the human brain and have proposed three main models (the 'right hemisphere hypothesis', the 'approach-withdrawal hypothesis' and the 'valence hypothesis') that give different accounts of this emotional laterality. Furthermore, in recent years, many investigations have suggested that a similar emotional laterality may also exist in different animal taxa. However, results of a previous systematic review of emotional laterality in non-human primates have shown that some of these studies might be criticized from the methodological point of view and support only in part the hypothesis of a continuum in emotional laterality across vertebrates. The aim of the present review therefore consisted in trying to expand this survey to other cognitively developed and highly social mammals, focusing attention on mainly visual aspects of emotional laterality, in studies conducted on the animal categories of horses, elephants, dolphins and whales. The 35 studies included in the review took into account three aspects of mainly visual emotional laterality, namely: (a) visual asymmetries for positive/familiar vs. negative/novel stimuli; (b) lateral position preference in mother-offspring or other affiliative interactions; (c) lateral position preference in antagonistic interactions. In agreement with data obtained from human studies that have evaluated comprehension or expression of emotions at the facial or vocal level, these results suggest that a general but graded right-hemisphere prevalence in the processing of emotions can be found at the visual level in cognitively developed non-primate social mammals. Some methodological problems and some implications of these results for human psychopathology are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guido Gainotti
- Institute of Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy; ; Tel.: +39-06-30156435
- Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), 00168 Rome, Italy
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Hill HMM, Guarino S, Yeater D, White C, Kolodziej K, Ali SNS, Lamia S, Garcia E, Dear M, Halter ER, Bradley M. Cetacean responses to violation of expectation paradigm in a free-swim context. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:667-686. [PMID: 36333497 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01704-7] [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: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The investigation of individual responses to unexpected stimuli or outcomes provides insights into basic cognitive processes, such as mental representations, emotional states of surprise, and detections of anomalies. Three experiments using a violation of expectation paradigm were conducted with 12 belugas and 17 bottlenose dolphins in managed care to test two classes of stimuli (humans and objects) in manipulated sequences of familiar and unfamiliar humans (Study 1, trainers and strangers), familiar and unfamiliar objects (Study 2, typical enrichment devices and new objects), and finally objects and humans (Study 3). Gaze durations were assessed for each condition in a given study during free-swim contexts. The results supported previous findings that visual stimuli, regardless of class, were stimulating and intriguing for both belugas and bottlenose dolphins. Belugas were more likely to gaze longer at human and object stimuli and tended to gaze longer at unexpected experiences than control or expected experiences. Bottlenose dolphins showed similar trends except when objects were involved. Individual variability was present for both species with some individuals showing stronger patterns of responses for expected experiences than others. After 2 years of intermittent experiments, belugas and bottlenose dolphins in managed care maintained their curiosity about visual stimuli, for which they received no primary reinforcement. Investigating responses to unexpected stimuli with animals in managed care may provide insight into how these animals respond to biologically relevant conditions, such as boat presence, predators, and unfamiliar conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M Manitzas Hill
- Psychology Department, St. Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX, 78228, USA.
| | - Sara Guarino
- Psychology Department, St. Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX, 78228, USA
| | | | - Chris White
- SeaWorld of Texas, SeaWorld Parks, Inc, San Diego, USA
| | | | | | | | - Emily Garcia
- Psychology Department, St. Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX, 78228, USA
| | - Megan Dear
- Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA
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Henaut Y, Charles A, Delfour F. Cognition of the manatee: past research and future developments. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1049-1058. [PMID: 36002602 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01676-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we present a review of the current knowledge related to the cognitive abilities of the manatee, with a focus on the Antillean manatee in situ and ex situ. Following a biocentric approach, we consider the animals' ecology, perception and sociality and we introduce future perspectives on their cognition. Scientific literature on the cognitive abilities of Antillean manatees' is limited and mainly linked to medical training and veterinary manipulations. To perceive and to interact with their social and natural environment (e.g. social interactions, foraging and traveling), manatees use visual, acoustic and tactile modalities that may be involved in a large range of cognitive abilities. Research on stimuli perception in manatees is scarce; however, these animals demonstrate abilities to learn and appear to show long-term memory. For example, to mate and/or to forage manatees travel at medium and large geographical scales; without doubt their movements entail the use of a set of stimuli and learning processes. Furthermore, their social skills (e.g. social organization, tactile and acoustic communications) are also poorly understood although their social interactions appear to be more complex than previously thought. Finally, as for many animals, temperament/personality may play a key role during their interactions with conspecifics and the environment. These aspects on manatee behavior and cognition are important for management and conservation purposes and help us understand the evolution of these marine mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yann Henaut
- Laboratorio de Conducta Animal, GAIA-BIO, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Av. del Centenario Km. 5.5, C.P. 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
| | - Aviva Charles
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO, UMR 7204, CNRS, MNHN, Sorbonne-Université, MNHN), Paris, France
- ZooParc de Beauval and Beauval Nature, 41110, Saint Aignan, France
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Lilley MK, Ham JR, Miller MR, Kolodziej K, Hill HM. Investigation of lateralization of socio-sexual behavior in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Behav Processes 2022; 201:104718. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Hubená P, Horký P, Slavík O. Fish self-awareness: limits of current knowledge and theoretical expectations. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:447-461. [PMID: 34655023 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01566-5] [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: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Animal self-awareness is divided into three levels: bodily, social, and introspective self-awareness. Research has focused mainly on the introspection of so-called higher organisms such as mammals. Herein, we turn our attention to fish and provide opinions on their self-awareness based on a review of the scientific literature. Our specific aims are to discuss whether fish (A) could have a neural substrate supporting self-awareness and whether they display signs of (B) social and (C) introspective self-awareness. The present knowledge does not exclude the possibility that fish could have a simple neocortex or other structures that support certain higher cognitive processes, as the function of the primate cerebral cortex can be replaced by other neurological structures. Fish are known to display winner, loser, and audience effects, which could be interpreted as signs of social self-awareness. The audience effect may be explained not only by ethological cost and benefit theory but also by the concept of public self-awareness, which comes from human studies. The behavioural and neural manifestations of depression may be induced in fish under social subordination and may be viewed as certain awareness of a social status. The current findings on fish introspective self-awareness have been debated in the scientific community and, therefore, demand replication to provide more evidence. Further research is needed to verify the outlined ideas; however, the current knowledge indicates that fish are capable of certain higher cognitive processes, which raises questions and implications regarding ethics and welfare in fish-related research and husbandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavla Hubená
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 00, Suchdol, Czech Republic.
| | - Pavel Horký
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 00, Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Slavík
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 00, Suchdol, Czech Republic
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A short review on emotion processing: a lateralized network of neuronal networks. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:673-684. [PMID: 34216271 PMCID: PMC8844151 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02331-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Emotions are valenced mental responses and associated physiological reactions that occur spontaneously and automatically in response to internal or external stimuli, and can influence our behavior, and can themselves be modulated to a certain degree voluntarily or by external stimuli. They are subserved by large-scale integrated neuronal networks with epicenters in the amygdala and the hippocampus, and which overlap in the anterior cingulate cortex. Although emotion processing is accepted as being lateralized, the specific role of each hemisphere remains an issue of controversy, and two major hypotheses have been proposed. In the right-hemispheric dominance hypothesis, all emotions are thought to be processed in the right hemisphere, independent of their valence or of the emotional feeling being processed. In the valence lateralization hypothesis, the left is thought to be dominant for the processing of positively valenced stimuli, or of stimuli inducing approach behaviors, whereas negatively valenced stimuli, or stimuli inducing withdrawal behaviors, would be processed in the right hemisphere. More recent research points at the existence of multiple interrelated networks, each associated with the processing of a specific component of emotion generation, i.e., its generation, perception, and regulation. It has thus been proposed to move from hypotheses supporting an overall hemispheric specialization for emotion processing toward dynamic models incorporating multiple interrelated networks which do not necessarily share the same lateralization patterns.
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