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Crump A, Jenkins K, Bethell EJ, Ferris CP, Arnott G. Pasture access and eye temperature in dairy cows. J APPL ANIM WELF SCI 2024; 27:234-242. [PMID: 35416093 DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2022.2063020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Pasture access can benefit dairy cows' behavior, health, and welfare, but herds are increasingly housed indoors full-time. Recent infrared thermal-imaging (thermography) studies suggest that higher eye temperatures may be a physiological indicator of chronic stress. We, therefore, hypothesized that, compared to cows with pasture access, cows housed indoors full-time would have higher eye temperatures. In a two-phase crossover experiment, 29 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows experienced 18 days of overnight pasture access and 18 days of full-time indoor housing. We measured each animal's eye temperature 16 times (eight/phase). During Phase One, cows with pasture access had higher eye temperatures than cows housed indoors full-time (contrary to our hypothesis). However, during Phase Two, cows with pasture access had lower eye temperatures than cows housed indoors full-time. It is, therefore, unclear whether eye temperature reflected disparities in dairy cow welfare between different housing treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Crump
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Kirsty Jenkins
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Emily J Bethell
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Conrad P Ferris
- Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Hillsborough, UK
| | - Gareth Arnott
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
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Howarth ERI, Szott ID, Witham CL, Wilding CS, Bethell EJ. Genetic polymorphisms in the serotonin, dopamine and opioid pathways influence social attention in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288108. [PMID: 37531334 PMCID: PMC10395878 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Behaviour has a significant heritable component; however, unpicking the variants of interest in the neural circuits and molecular pathways that underpin these has proven difficult. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between known and new candidate genes from identified pathways and key behaviours for survival in 109 adult rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Eight genes involved in emotion were analysed for variation at a total of nine loci. Genetic data were then correlated with cognitive and observational measures of behaviour associated with wellbeing and survival using MCMC-based Bayesian GLMM in R, to account for relatedness within the macaque population. For four loci the variants genotyped were length polymorphisms (SLC6A4 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter length-polymorphic repeat (5-HTTLPR), SLC6A4 STin polymorphism, Tryptophan 5-hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) and Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA)) whilst for the other five (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A), Dopamine Receptor D4 (DRD4), Oxytocin receptor (OXTR), Arginine vasopressin receptor 1A (AVPR1a), Opioid receptor mu(μ) 1 (OPRM1)) SNPs were analysed. STin genotype, DRD4 haplotype and OXTR haplotype were significantly associated with the cognitive and observational measures of behaviour associated with wellbeing and survival. Genotype for 5-HTTLPR, STin and AVPR1a, and haplotype for HTR2A, DRD4 and OXTR were significantly associated with the duration of behaviours including fear and anxiety. Understanding the biological underpinnings of individual variation in negative emotion (e.g., fear and anxiety), together with their impact on social behaviour (e.g., social attention including vigilance for threat) has application for managing primate populations in the wild and captivity, as well as potential translational application for understanding of the genetic basis of emotions in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmeline R. I. Howarth
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester, United Kingdom
| | - Isabelle D. Szott
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Claire L. Witham
- Centre for Macaques, Harwell Institute, Medical Research Council, Salisbury, United Kingdom
| | - Craig S. Wilding
- Biodiversity and Conservation Group, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Emily J. Bethell
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Wilson VAD, Bethell EJ, Nawroth C. Editorial: Using gaze to study social knowledge: current challenges and future directions. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1225626. [PMID: 37384194 PMCID: PMC10294710 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1225626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A. D. Wilson
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Emily J. Bethell
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Christian Nawroth
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany
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Wilson VAD, Bethell EJ, Nawroth C. The use of gaze to study cognition: limitations, solutions, and applications to animal welfare. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1147278. [PMID: 37205074 PMCID: PMC10185774 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1147278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of gaze responses, typically using looking time paradigms, has become a popular approach to improving our understanding of cognitive processes in non-verbal individuals. Our interpretation of data derived from these paradigms, however, is constrained by how we conceptually and methodologically approach these problems. In this perspective paper, we outline the application of gaze studies in comparative cognitive and behavioral research and highlight current limitations in the interpretation of commonly used paradigms. Further, we propose potential solutions, including improvements to current experimental approaches, as well as broad-scale benefits of technology and collaboration. Finally, we outline the potential benefits of studying gaze responses from an animal welfare perspective. We advocate the implementation of these proposals across the field of animal behavior and cognition to aid experimental validity, and further advance our knowledge on a variety of cognitive processes and welfare outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A. D. Wilson
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Vanessa A. D. Wilson,
| | - Emily J. Bethell
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Christian Nawroth
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany
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Cassidy LC, Bethell EJ, Brockhausen RR, Boretius S, Treue S, Pfefferle D. The Dot-Probe Attention Bias Task as a Method to Assess Psychological Well-Being after Anesthesia: A Study with Adult Female Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Eur Surg Res 2023; 64:37-53. [PMID: 34915502 PMCID: PMC9909723 DOI: 10.1159/000521440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the impact routine research and laboratory procedures have on animals is crucial to improving their well-being and to the success and reproducibility of the research they are involved in. Cognitive measures of welfare offer insight into animals' internal psychological state, but require validation. Attention bias - the tendency to attend to one type of information over another - is a cognitive phenomenon documented in humans and animals that is known to be modulated by affective state (i.e., emotions). Hence, changes in attention bias may offer researchers a deeper perspective of their animals' psychological well-being. The dot-probe task is an established method for quantifying attention bias in humans (by measuring reaction time to a dot-probe replacing pairs of stimuli), but has yet to be validated in animals. We developed a dot-probe task for long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to determine if the task can detect changes in attention bias following anesthesia, a context known to modulate attention and trigger physiological arousal in macaques. Our task included the following features: stimulus pairs of threatening and neutral facial expressions of conspecifics and their scrambled counterparts, two stimuli durations (100 and 1,000 ms), and counterbalancing of the dot-probe's position on the touchscreen (left and right) and location relative to the threatening stimulus. We tested 8 group-housed adult females on different days relative to being anesthetized (baseline and 1-, 3-, 7-, and 14-days after). At baseline, monkeys were vigilant to threatening content when stimulus pairs were presented for 100 ms, but not 1,000 ms. On the day immediately following anesthesia, we found evidence that attention bias changed to an avoidance of threatening content. Attention bias returned to threat vigilance by the third day postanesthesia and remained so up to the last day of testing (14-days after anesthesia). We also found that attention bias was independent of the type of stimuli pair (i.e., whole face vs. scrambled counterparts), suggesting that the scrambled stimuli retained aspects of the original stimuli. Nevertheless, whole faces were more salient to the monkeys as responses to these trials were generally slower than to scrambled stimulus pairs. Overall, our study suggests it is feasible to detect changes in attention bias following anesthesia using the dot-probe task in nonhuman primates. Our results also reveal important aspects of stimulus preparation and experimental design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren C Cassidy
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Emily J Bethell
- Liverpool John Moores University, Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool, UK
- Liverpool John Moores University, Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, Liverpool, UK
| | - Ralf R Brockhausen
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Susann Boretius
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Dana Pfefferle
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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Bethell EJ, Khan W, Hussain A. A deep transfer learning model for head pose estimation in rhesus macaques during cognitive tasks: towards a nonrestraint noninvasive 3Rs approach. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Eccles GR, Bethell EJ, Greggor AL, Mettke-Hofmann C. Individual Variation in Dietary Wariness Is Predicted by Head Color in a Specialist Feeder, the Gouldian Finch. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.772812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Shifts in resource availability due to environmental change are increasingly confronting animals with unfamiliar food types. Species that can rapidly accept new food types may be better adapted to ecological change. Intuitively, dietary generalists are expected to accept new food types when resources change, while dietary specialists would be more averse to adopting novel food. However, most studies investigating changes in dietary breadth focus on generalist species and do not delve into potential individual predictors of dietary wariness and the social factors modulating these responses. We investigated dietary wariness in the Gouldian finch, a dietary specialist, that is expected to avoid novel food. This species occurs in two main head colors (red, black), which signal personality in other contexts. We measured their initial neophobic responses (approach attempts before first feed and latency to first feed) and willingness to incorporate novel food into their diet (frequency of feeding on novel food after first feed). Birds were tested in same-sex pairs in same and different head color pairings balanced across experiments 1 and 2. Familiar and novel food (familiar food dyed) were presented simultaneously across 5 days for 3 h, each. Gouldian finches fed on the familiar food first demonstrating food neophobia, and these latencies were repeatable. Birds made more approach attempts before feeding on novel than familiar food, particularly red-headed birds in experiment 1 and when partnered with a black-headed bird. Individuals consistently differed in their rate of incorporation of novel food, with clear differences between head colors; red-headed birds increased their feeding visits to novel food across experimentation equaling their familiar food intake by day five, while black-headed birds continually favored familiar food. Results suggest consistent among individual differences in response to novel food with red-headed birds being adventurous consumers and black-headed birds dietary conservatives. The differences in food acceptance aligned with responses to novel environments on the individual level (found in an earlier study) providing individuals with an adaptive combination of novelty responses across contexts in line with potential differences in movement patterns. Taken together, these novelty responses could aid in population persistence when faced with environmental changes.
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Howarth ER, Kemp C, Thatcher HR, Szott ID, Farningham D, Witham CL, Holmes A, Semple S, Bethell EJ. Developing and validating attention bias tools for assessing trait and state affect in animals: A worked example with Macaca mulatta. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Abstract
Emotions encompass cognitive and behavioural responses to reward and punishment. Using contests as a case-study, we propose that short-term emotions underpin animals' assessments, decision-making and behaviour. Equating contest assessments to emotional 'appraisals', we describe how contestants appraise more than resource value and outcome probability. These appraisals elicit the cognition, drive and neurophysiology that governs aggressive behaviour. We discuss how recent contest outcomes induce long-term moods, which impact subsequent contest behaviour. Finally, we distinguish between integral (objectively relevant) and incidental (objectively irrelevant) emotions and moods (affective states). Unlike existing ecological models, our approach predicts that incidental events influence contest dynamics, and that contests become incidental influences themselves, potentially causing maladaptive decision-making. As affective states cross contexts, a more holistic ethology (incorporating emotions and moods) would illuminate animal cognition and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Crump
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.,Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | - Emily J Bethell
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
| | - Ryan Earley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, USA
| | - Victoria E Lee
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Scotland's Rural College, UK
| | - Michael Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Lucy Oldham
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Scotland's Rural College, UK
| | - Simon P Turner
- Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Scotland's Rural College, UK
| | - Gareth Arnott
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
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Mettke-Hofmann C, Eccles GR, Greggor AL, Bethell EJ. Cognition in a Changing World: Red-Headed Gouldian Finches Enter Spatially Unfamiliar Habitats More Readily Than Do Black-Headed Birds. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.498347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Abstract
Microplastics (plastics < 5 mm) are a potential threat to marine biodiversity. However, the effects of microplastic pollution on animal behaviour and cognition are poorly understood. We used shell selection in common European hermit crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) as a model to test whether microplastic exposure impacts the essential survival behaviours of contacting, investigating and entering an optimal shell. We kept 64 female hermit crabs in tanks containing either polyethylene spheres (n = 35) or no plastic (n = 29) for 5 days. We then transferred subjects into suboptimal shells and placed them in an observation tank with an optimal alternative shell. Plastic-exposed hermit crabs showed impaired shell selection: they were less likely than controls to contact optimal shells or enter them. They also took longer to contact and enter the optimal shell. Plastic exposure did not affect time spent investigating the optimal shell. These results indicate that microplastics impair cognition (information-gathering and processing), disrupting an essential survival behaviour in hermit crabs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Crump
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | - Charlotte Mullens
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | - Emily J Bethell
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
| | - Eoghan M Cunningham
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | - Gareth Arnott
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, UK
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Bethell EJ. PR special section. Workshop: Cognitive affective biases - from mechanisms to disease symptoms. Tomaszowice, Kraków, Poland, May 13-17, 2019. Pharmacol Rep 2020; 71:1308-1316. [PMID: 32002852 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharep.2019.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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13
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Crump A, Jenkins K, Bethell EJ, Ferris CP, Kabboush H, O’Connell NE, Weller J, Arnott G. Is the grass half-full? Investigating optimism as a welfare indicator for dairy cows with and without pasture-access. Pharmacol Rep 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharep.2019.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Bethell EJ, Cassidy LC, Brockhausen RR, Pfefferle D. Toward a Standardized Test of Fearful Temperament in Primates: A Sensitive Alternative to the Human Intruder Task for Laboratory-Housed Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta). Front Psychol 2019; 10:1051. [PMID: 31139115 PMCID: PMC6527799 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Standardized and sensitive tests to assess differences in temperament among primates housed in captivity are essential for monitoring welfare and improving science outcomes through reduced noise in data. Fearful temperament in primates has traditionally been assessed using the Human Intruder Test (HIT) in which duration of bodily freeze in response to approach by an unknown human is measured. The HIT is susceptible to variation between facilities in execution, interpretation of data and could be stressful for animals with more fearful temperaments. We tested the applicability of a touch-screen task with putatively negative stimuli as a more standardizable and sensitive tool for measuring fearful temperament in laboratory primates. Seventeen adult male rhesus macaques were assessed for fearfulness using the HIT. They were then tested on a touch-screen task designed to measure two behavioral indices of fearfulness: behavioral inhibition and response-slowing. We predicted monkeys assessed as having more fearful temperament in the HIT, would show the greatest degree of behavioral inhibition and response-slowing to negative pictures in the touch-screen task. In Study 1, monkeys were rewarded with juice for touching gray squares on the screen (control trials). On test trials a picture of an unknown male conspecific face with direct-gaze (signaling threat) was shown. Monkeys were less likely to touch direct-gaze faces than control trials, indicating behavioral inhibition to threat. Behavioral inhibition was greatest amongst monkeys scored with most fearful temperament in the HIT. This primary result indicates the touch-screen task may be sensitive to a more subtle form of the bodily freeze behavior measured using the HIT. In Study 2, we tested whether these findings generalized to other classes of putatively negative stimuli; monkeys were shown pictures of the human intruder and objects associated with veterinary and husbandry procedures, interspersed with control trials (gray squares). There was no evidence of behavioral inhibition in Study 2. There was some evidence for response-slowing, which was greater for pictures of objects than pictures of the human intruder, and occurred independently of fearfulness in the HIT. We propose touch-screen tasks provide a more standardized and sensitive approach for assessing fearful temperament in laboratory primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J. Bethell
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Biological Anthropology Research Centre, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren C. Cassidy
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Behavior and Cognition, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center–University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ralf R. Brockhausen
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dana Pfefferle
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center–University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Cronin KA, Bethell EJ, Jacobson SL, Egelkamp C, Hopper LM. Evaluating mood changes in response to anthropogenic noise with a response-slowing task in three species of zoo-housed primates. AB&C 2018. [DOI: 10.26451/abc.05.02.03.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
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Bethell EJ, Dean L, Smith A, Bearder SK. Celebrating 50 years of the Primate Society of Great Britain. Evol Anthropol 2018; 27:74-77. [PMID: 29575403 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Bethell
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool
| | - Lewis Dean
- General Secretary, Primate Society of Great Britain
| | - Andrew Smith
- Department of Biology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
| | - Simon K Bearder
- Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Dept. Anthropology, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
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18
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Kemp C, Thatcher H, Farningham D, Witham C, MacLarnon A, Holmes A, Semple S, Bethell EJ. A protocol for training group-housed rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta) to cooperate with husbandry and research procedures using positive reinforcement. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2017; 197:90-100. [PMID: 29200543 PMCID: PMC5678497 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
There has been increased recognition of the 3Rs in laboratory animal management over the last decade, including improvements in animal handling and housing. For example, positive reinforcement is now more widely used to encourage primates to cooperate with husbandry procedures, and improved enclosure design allows housing in social groups with opportunity to escape and avoid other primates and humans. Both practices have become gold standards in captive primate care resulting in improved health and behavioural outcomes. However, training individuals and social housing may be perceived as incompatible, and so it is important to share protocols, their outcomes and suggestions for planning and improvements for future uptake. Here we present a protocol with link to video for training rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) housed in single-male - multi-female breeding groups to sit at individual stations in the social enclosure. Our aim was that the monkeys could take part in welfare-related cognitive assessments without the need for removal from the group or interference by group members. To do this we required most individuals in a group to sit by individual stations at the same time. Most of the training was conducted by a single trainer with occasional assistance from a second trainer depending on availability. We successfully trained 61/65 monkeys housed in groups of up to nine adults (plus infants and juveniles) to sit by their individual stationing tools for >30 s. Males successfully trained on average within 30 min (2 training sessions); females trained on average in 1 h 52 min ± 13min (7.44 sessions), with rank (high, mid, low) affecting the number of sessions required. On average, dominant females trained in 1 h 26 min ± 16 min (5.7 sessions), mid ranked females in 1 h 52 min ± 20min (7.45 sessions), and subordinate females took 2 h 44 min ± 36 min (10.9 sessions). Age, group size, reproductive status, temperament, and early maternal separation did not influence the number of sessions a monkey required to reach criterion. We hope this protocol will be useful for facilities worldwide looking to house their animals in naturalistic social groups without impacting on animal husbandry and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caralyn Kemp
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Harriet Thatcher
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, L3 3AF, UK
| | - David Farningham
- Medical Research Council Harwell Unit, Centre for Macaques, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ, UK
| | - Claire Witham
- Medical Research Council Harwell Unit, Centre for Macaques, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ, UK
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Ann MacLarnon
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, SW15 4JD, UK
| | - Amanda Holmes
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, SW15 4JD, UK
| | - Stuart Semple
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, SW15 4JD, UK
| | - Emily J. Bethell
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, L3 3AF, UK
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Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated the influence of parenting on the development of children’s empathy. However, few studies have considered the impact of parents on empathy in adulthood, specific components of empathy, or the importance of parent and child biological sex. In the present study, 226 participants (71 men) completed online versions of the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker et al. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10 1979), Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163–175 2004), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85 1980). Paternal care and overprotection influenced affective empathy in men, whilst maternal overprotection predicted affective empathy in women. Further, maternal care related to cognitive empathy in men, whilst none of the parental care variables related to cognitive empathy in women. Findings are discussed in relation to sex differences in childhood parenting experiences on adult cognitive and affective empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna T. Lyons
- School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Bedford Street South, Liverpool, L69 7ZA UK
| | - Gayle Brewer
- University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England
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Bethell EJ, Holmes A, MacLarnon A, Semple S. Emotion Evaluation and Response Slowing in a Non-Human Primate: New Directions for Cognitive Bias Measures of Animal Emotion? Behav Sci (Basel) 2016; 6:bs6010002. [PMID: 26761035 PMCID: PMC4810036 DOI: 10.3390/bs6010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The cognitive bias model of animal welfare assessment is informed by studies with humans demonstrating that the interaction between emotion and cognition can be detected using laboratory tasks. A limitation of cognitive bias tasks is the amount of training required by animals prior to testing. A potential solution is to use biologically relevant stimuli that trigger innate emotional responses. Here; we develop a new method to assess emotion in rhesus macaques; informed by paradigms used with humans: emotional Stroop; visual cueing and; in particular; response slowing. In humans; performance on a simple cognitive task can become impaired when emotional distractor content is displayed. Importantly; responses become slower in anxious individuals in the presence of mild threat; a pattern not seen in non-anxious individuals; who are able to effectively process and disengage from the distractor. Here; we present a proof-of-concept study; demonstrating that rhesus macaques show slowing of responses in a simple touch-screen task when emotional content is introduced; but only when they had recently experienced a presumably stressful veterinary inspection. Our results indicate the presence of a subtle “cognitive freeze” response; the measurement of which may provide a means of identifying negative shifts in emotion in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Bethell
- Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, James Parsons Building, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
| | - Amanda Holmes
- Centre for Research in Cognition, Emotion and Interaction, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK.
| | - Ann MacLarnon
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK.
| | - Stuart Semple
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK.
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Bethell EJ. Correction to: A "How-To" Guide for Designing Judgment Bias Studies to Assess Captive Animal Welfare. J APPL ANIM WELF SCI 2015; 19:99. [PMID: 26709630 DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2015.1115710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Bethell EJ, Koyama NF. Happy hamsters? Enrichment induces positive judgement bias for mildly (but not truly) ambiguous cues to reward and punishment in Mesocricetus auratus. R Soc Open Sci 2015; 2:140399. [PMID: 26587255 PMCID: PMC4632568 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Recent developments in the study of animal cognition and emotion have resulted in the 'judgement bias' model of animal welfare. Judgement biases describe the way in which changes in affective state are characterized by changes in information processing. In humans, anxiety and depression are characterized by increased expectation of negative events and negative interpretation of ambiguous information. Positive wellbeing is associated with enhanced expectation of positive outcomes and more positive interpretation of ambiguous information. Mood-congruent judgement biases for ambiguous information have been demonstrated in a range of animal species, with large variation in the way tests are administered and in the robustness of analyses. We highlight and address some issues using a laboratory species not previously tested: the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). Hamsters were tested using a spatial judgement go/no-go task in enriched and unenriched housing. We included a number of controls and additional behavioural tests and applied a robust analytical approach using linear mixed effects models. Hamsters approached the ambiguous cues significantly more often when enriched than unenriched. There was no effect of enrichment on responses to the middle cue. We discuss these findings in light of mechanisms underlying processing cues to reward, punishment and true ambiguity, and the implications for the welfare of laboratory hamsters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J. Bethell
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
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Richards A, Holmes A, Pell PJ, Bethell EJ. Adapting effects of emotional expression in anxiety: Evidence for an enhanced Late Positive Potential. Soc Neurosci 2013; 8:650-64. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2013.854273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Jonason PK, Lyons M, Bethell EJ, Ross R. Different routes to limited empathy in the sexes: Examining the links between the Dark Triad and empathy. Personality and Individual Differences 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent work on non-human primates indicates that the allocation of social attention is mediated by characteristics of the attending animal, such as social status and genotype, as well as by the value of the target to which attention is directed. Studies of humans indicate that an individual's emotion state also plays a crucial role in mediating their social attention; for example, individuals look for longer towards aggressive faces when they are feeling more anxious, and this bias leads to increased negative arousal and distraction from other ongoing tasks. To our knowledge, no studies have tested for an effect of emotion state on allocation of social attention in any non-human species. METHODOLOGY We presented captive adult male rhesus macaques with pairs of adult male conspecific face images - one with an aggressive expression, one with a neutral expression - and recorded gaze towards these images. Each animal was tested twice, once during a putatively stressful condition (i.e. following a veterinary health check), and once during a neutral (or potentially positive) condition (i.e. a period of environmental enrichment). Initial analyses revealed that behavioural indicators of anxiety and stress were significantly higher after the health check than during enrichment, indicating that the former caused a negative shift in emotional state. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS The macaques showed initial vigilance for aggressive faces across both conditions, but subsequent responses differed between conditions. Following the health check, initial vigilance was followed by rapid and sustained avoidance of aggressive faces. By contrast, during the period of enrichment, the macaques showed sustained attention towards the same aggressive faces. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE These data provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that shifts in emotion state mediate social attention towards and away from facial cues of emotion in a non-human animal. This work provides novel insights into the evolution of emotion-attention interactions in humans, and mechanisms of social behaviour in non-human primates, and may have important implications for understanding animal psychological wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Bethell
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom.
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Bethell EJ, Holmes A, Maclarnon A, Semple S. Cognitive bias in a non-human primate: husbandry procedures influence cognitive indicators of psychological well-being in captive rhesus macaques. Anim Welf 2012. [DOI: 10.7120/09627286.21.2.185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Abstract
Gaze cues are used as an index of social cognition in primates, yet the sensitivity to different forms of gaze, and consequently the cues required to test gaze-following abilities remain understudied. Whereas the eye is attributed special signal value in humans, the camouflaged ocular morphology of non-human primates has led to the consensus that head orientation may be a more salient cue. This study presents the first documentation of the surface eye movements of the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, in order to determine the behavioral forms of eye-gaze and their saliency as signals, document their functional variation, and address the signal value of the eyes distinct from head orientation. Movements of the eye were identified as Scan (continuous movement), Glance (a single movement <1 sec), or Fixate (no movement). Scans, glances, and fixations were reliably detected by humans during live observation and from video (Cohen's kappa over 0.70) and, therefore, are likely also to be detected by conspecifics. Eye-gaze comprised a nonunitary measure of visual attention, reflecting the attentional task demands of different activities. Specifically, chimpanzees spent significantly more time scanning while feeding and resting, than grooming, F(2,28) = 10.23, P<0.001, and spent significantly more time fixating while grooming, than feeding or resting, F(2,28) = 7.52, P<0.01. Further, eye-gaze was often incongruent with head movement, varying significantly with the form of eye-gaze: incongruence was found during 12-21% of fixations, during 42-49% of scans, and during 70-100% of glances, F(2,16) = 30.17, P<0.001. These findings provide the basis for discrimination of the adaptive significance of gaze-processing abilities with emphasis on sensitivity to eye-gaze distinct from head orientation. If we are to continue exploring gaze-processing abilities in primates, then we need greater consideration of the precise nature of the signals themselves. Here we present evidence for special consideration of the eyes as a salient signal in P. troglodytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Bethell
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK.
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Bethell EJ, Waller BM. Altruism or cooperation in captive chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes? Folia Primatol (Basel) 2005; 76:242-4. [PMID: 16088194 DOI: 10.1159/000086028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2004] [Accepted: 11/25/2004] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Bethell
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Human & Life Sciences, Roehampton University, Whiteland's College West Hill, London, UK.
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