scholarly journals Are Behavioral Tests Capable of Measuring Positive Affective States in Growing Pigs?

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Krugmann ◽  
Farina Warnken ◽  
Joachim Krieter ◽  
Irena Czycholl
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Behavioral Tests ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Fattening Pigs

This study examined whether the human approach test (HAT) or novel object test (NOT), which are considered as suitable tests for assessing the level of fear or anxiety in animals, are suitable to detect a positive affective state in 297 fattening pigs from three different farms. The investigated farms consisted of a barren (farm 1, n = 160) and an enriched (farm 2, n = 106; farm 3, n = 31) husbandry. Each pig was subjected three times to the HAT and NOT during fattening (at the start, middle, and end of fattening). The pigs housed in the barren environment showed quicker approach latencies than the enriched-housed pigs (HAT: farm 1: 7.4 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 57.1 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 58.3 ± 1.3 s (end of fattening); NOT: farm 1: 4.5 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 23.0 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 9.0 ± 1.2 s (end of fattening)). The same pattern of behavior was observed for the duration of contacts in the HAT but not in the NOT (HAT: farm 1: 83.8 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 6.3 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 7.6 ± 1.3 s (end of fattening)). However, due to controversially discussed literature, it is difficult to conclude whether the described differences in the pigs’ behavior between the two housing systems might indicate useful indicators to detect their affective state.

scholarly journals Investigation of influence of growing pigs’ positive affective state on behavioral and physiological parameters using structural equation modeling

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja L Krugmann ◽  
Farina J Mieloch ◽  
Joachim Krieter ◽  
Irena Czycholl
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Body Language ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Behavioral Tests ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Fattening Pigs

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the primarily positive affective state of fattening pigs influences various behavioral and physiological parameters such as the pigs’ playing behavior, way of behaving in behavioral tests, body language signals, or diameter, and astroglia cell numbers of hippocampi, salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) content, or salivary protein composition. Additionally, the suitability of the variables mentioned was examined to assess the pigs’ positive affective state in practice, which still constitutes a latent variable not itself measurable. For this, a dataset including behavioral and physiological data of 60 fattening pigs from 3 different farms with different housing systems was analyzed by the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. A hierarchical component model (HCM) was used including the pigs’ positive affective state as a higher-order component (HOC) and the behavioral and physiological parameters as lower-order components (LOC). Playing behavior, body language signals, and behavioral tests were revealed, in this order, to be most influenced by the pigs’ positive affective state since these resulted in the corresponding path coefficients (PC) of PC = 0.83, PC = 0.79, and PC = 0.62, respectively. Additionally moderate and weak R2-values occurred for the endogenous latent variables playing behavior (R2 = 69.8%), body language signals (R2 = 62.7%), and behavioral tests (R2 = 39.5%). Furthermore, the indicator of the “locomotor play” showed the highest indicator reliability (IR) (IR = 0.85) to estimate the latent variable of pigs’ positive affective state. The results of the present study supplement the comprehension and assessment of the pigs’ positive affective state in general.

scholarly journals Evaluation of miRNA as Biomarkers of Emotional Valence in Pigs

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2054
Author(s):  
Laura Marsh ◽  
Mark R. Hutchinson ◽  
Clive McLaughlan ◽  
Stefan T. Musolino ◽  
Michelle L. Hebart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Large White ◽  
Judgment Bias ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
The Brain

The ability to assess the welfare of animals is dependent on our ability to accurately determine their emotional (affective) state, with particular emphasis being placed on the identification of positive emotions. The challenge remains that current physiological and behavioral indices are either unable to distinguish between positive and negative emotional states, or they are simply not suitable for a production environment. Therefore, the development of novel measures of animal emotion is a necessity. Here we investigated the efficacy of microRNA (miRNA) in the brain and blood as biomarkers of emotional state in the pig. Female Large White × Landrace pigs (n = 24) were selected at weaning and trained to perform a judgment bias test (JBT), before being exposed for 5 weeks to either enriched (n = 12) or barren housing (n = 12) conditions. Pigs were tested on the JBT once prior to treatment, and immediately following treatment. MiRNA and neurotransmitters were analyzed in blood and brain tissue after euthanasia. Treatment had no effect on the outcomes of the JBT. There was also no effect of treatment on miRNA expression in blood or the brain (FDR p > 0.05). However, pigs exposed to enriched housing had elevated dopamine within the striatum compared to pigs in barren housing (p = 0.02). The results imply that either (a) miRNAs are not likely to be valid biomarkers of a positive affective state, at least under the type of conditions employed in this study, or (b) that the study design used to modify affective state was not able to create differential affective states, and therefore establish the validity of miRNA as biomarkers.

Effect of Midazolam on Propofol-induced Positive Affective State Assessed by Place Conditioning in Rats 

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure Pain ◽  
Philippe Oberling ◽  
Guy Sandner ◽  
Georges Di Scala
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Place Preference ◽  
The Other ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Place Conditioning ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Subsequent Choice ◽  
Experimental Cage ◽  
Recovery From Anesthesia

Background The effect of either midazolam or the combination of midazolam and propofol on the affective state was assessed in rats at subanesthetic doses and at recovery from anesthesia. Methods The putative drug(s)-induced affective states were repeatedly paired with one of two distinguishable compartments of an experimental cage, whereas the vehicle(s)-induced effect was repeatedly paired with the other compartment. During a subsequent choice test for one compartment over the other, the rats' preference for the drug(s)-paired compartment over the vehicle(s)-paired compartment is indicative of a pleasant state induced by the drug(s). In experiment 1, rats were conditioned with different doses of midazolam either at subanesthetic states or at recovery from anesthesia. In experiment 2, groups of rats were conditioned with different combinations of midazolam and propofol either at subanesthetic states or at recovery from anesthesia induced jointly by midazolam (10 mg/kg) and propofol (60 mg/kg). Experiment 3 was conducted in the same way as experiment 2, except that midazolam was paired with both compartments. In addition, these groups were tested not only in an undrugged state but also in a drugged (with midazolam) state. Results In experiment 1, rats exhibited a place preference for the environment previously associated with midazolam, at subanesthetic and anesthetic doses. Experiment 2 showed that a propofol-induced place preference was found to be dose-dependently suppressed by midazolam. Experiment 3 replicated the findings of experiment 2 and extended them to the mechanism by which midazolam blocked a propofol-induced place preference. Conclusions Midazolam administered before propofol blocked the expression of a propofol-induced pleasant state.

Facing Our Feelings

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise M. Stevens ◽  
Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Mood State ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Entertainment Media ◽  
Mood Management ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Media Choices ◽  
Management Behaviors

According to mood management theory, individuals are hedonically motivated to select media content that facilitates a positive mood state, which at its core, suggests a desire to escape from—to avoid—affective states that are not positive. In efforts to explain when individuals might make non-hedonic media choices, two studies examined individuals’ coping tendencies and current affect, among other measures, before making a media content choice. Results showed that mood management was most predictive for people who were naturally inclined to cope with stressors using avoidance tactics. Those who were less inclined to engage in avoidance coping strategies did not appear compelled to escape from, that is, improve, their low positive affective state with “happy” media. Findings are discussed in terms of situating mood management behaviors within the larger context of coping strategies. Implications of this research include the furtherance of entertainment theory and technology innovation with regard to tailoring one’s entertainment media diet.

scholarly journals A break from the pups: The effects of loft access on the welfare of lactating laboratory rats

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253020
Author(s):  
Anna S. Ratuski ◽  
Daniel M. Weary
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Measured Time ◽  
Anticipatory Behavior ◽  
Time Away ◽  
Negative Affective State

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) bred for research are typically confined with their litters until weaning, but will spend time away from pups when given the opportunity. We aimed to assess how dam welfare is affected by the ability to escape from their pups. Rat dams (n = 16) were housed in cages either with or without an elevated loft. We measured time dams spent in lofts, time spent nursing, and affective states using elevated plus maze and anticipatory behavior testing. We predicted that 1) dams housed with lofts would use them increasingly as pups aged, 2) dams without a loft would spend more time passively nursing (i.e. initiated by pups rather than the dam) and more total time nursing as pups aged, and 3) dams housed with lofts would show evidence of a more positive affective state. Dams housed with lofts spent more time in the loft with increasing pup age; dams spent on average (mean ± SE) 27 ± 5% of their time in the loft when pups were 1 wk old, increasing to 52 ± 5% of their time at 3 wks. When pups were 3 wks old, dams with lofts spent less time passively nursing (10 ± 2% of total time, compared to 27 ± 4% for dams without a loft) and less time nursing overall (36 ± 4% of time versus 59 ± 2% for dams without a loft). Rats without loft access showed increased anticipatory behavior potentially indicative of negative affective state (24.5±1.8 behaviors per minute in wk 3 compared to 18.8±1.0 in wk 1). These findings indicate that rat dams in laboratories choose to spend time away from their pups when provided the opportunity, particularly later in lactation; an inability to do so is associated with increased passive nursing and negative affect.

scholarly journals Behavior and Welfare of Undocked Heavy Pigs Raised in Buildings with Different Ventilation Systems

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2338
Author(s):  
Marika Vitali ◽  
Enrica Santolini ◽  
Marco Bovo ◽  
Patrizia Tassinari ◽  
Daniele Torreggiani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Mechanically Ventilated ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Fattening Pigs ◽  
Ventilation Systems

The present study aimed to evaluate animal welfare of pigs from the same farm, raised with two ventilation systems. The study involved 60 pens of fattening pigs, raised in two buildings: one naturally ventilated (NV) and the other mechanically ventilated (MV). Pigs were assessed on three observation days: at 40 kg (T1), 100 kg (T2), and 160 kg (T3) of live weight. Animal-based measures were used such as qualitative behavioral analysis (QBA), behavioral measures (BMs), and lesion and health measures (LHMs). Housing conditions (HCs) measured at each observation day were the number of pigs per pen, space allowance, temperature, light, and CO2. The association study was performed using a general linear model and analysis of variance. Ventilation effect was analyzed by performing computational fluid dynamics. Results showed that overall pigs raised in the MV were in a more positive affective state. Despite that, with hot temperatures, the higher occurrence of pig soiling indicated heat stress in pigs and consequent welfare impairment. The higher frequency of pigs showing dog sitting behavior at T2 and T3 suggest welfare worsening in the last phases of fattening. The study concludes that ventilation system influences animal behavior and overall animal welfare, especially during the warmer season.

scholarly journals Towards estimating affective states in Virtual Reality based on behavioral data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Holzwarth ◽  
Johannes Schneider ◽  
Joshua Handali ◽  
Joy Gisler ◽  
Christian Hirt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
User Study ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Physical Demand ◽  
Perceived Performance ◽  
Sequential Administration ◽  
Better Than

AbstractInferring users’ perceptions of Virtual Environments (VEs) is essential for Virtual Reality (VR) research. Traditionally, this is achieved through assessing users’ affective states before and after being exposed to a VE, based on standardized, self-assessment questionnaires. The main disadvantage of questionnaires is their sequential administration, i.e., a user’s affective state is measured asynchronously to its generation within the VE. A synchronous measurement of users’ affective states would be highly favorable, e.g., in the context of adaptive systems. Drawing from nonverbal behavior research, we argue that behavioral measures could be a powerful approach to assess users’ affective states in VR. In this paper, we contribute by providing methods and measures evaluated in a user study involving 42 participants to assess a users’ affective states by measuring head movements during VR exposure. We show that head yaw significantly correlates with presence, mental and physical demand, perceived performance, and system usability. We also exploit the identified relationships for two practical tasks that are based on head yaw: (1) predicting a user’s affective state, and (2) detecting manipulated questionnaire answers, i.e., answers that are possibly non-truthful. We found that affective states can be predicted significantly better than a naive estimate for mental demand, physical demand, perceived performance, and usability. Further, manipulated or non-truthful answers can also be estimated significantly better than by a naive approach. These findings mark an initial step in the development of novel methods to assess user perception of VEs.

scholarly journals The Interpretation of E-Motions in Faces and Bodies Derived from Static Artworks by Individuals with High Functioning Autistic Spectrum

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Maria Elisa Della-Torre ◽  
Daniele Zavagno ◽  
Rossana Actis-Grosso
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Dynamic Component ◽  
Specific Emotion ◽  
Similar Range

E-motions are defined as those affective states the expressions of which—conveyed either by static faces or body posture—embody a dynamic component and, consequently, convey a higher sense of dynamicity than other emotional expressions. An experiment is presented, aimed at testing whether e-motions are perceived as such also by individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which have been associated with impairments in emotion recognition and in motion perception. To this aim we replicate with ASD individuals a study, originally conducted with typically developed individuals (TDs), in which we showed to both ASD and TD participants 14 bodiless heads and 14 headless bodies taken from eleven static artworks and four drawings. The Experiment was divided into two sessions. In Session 1 participants were asked to freely associate each stimulus to an emotion or an affective state (Task 1, option A); if they were unable to find a specific emotion, the experimenter showed them a list of eight possible emotions (words) and asked them to choose one from such list, that best described the affective state portrayed in the image (Task 1, option B). After their choice, they were asked to rate the intensity of the perceived emotion on a seven point Likert scale (Task 2). In Session 2 participants were requested to evaluate the degree of dynamicity conveyed by each stimulus on a 7 point Likert scale. Results showed that ASDs and TDs shared a similar range of verbal expressions defining emotions; however, ASDs (i) showed an impairment in the ability to spontaneously assign an emotion to a headless body, and (ii) they more frequently used terms denoting negative emotions (for both faces and bodies) as compared to neutral emotions, which in turn were more frequently used by TDs. No difference emerged between the two groups for positive emotions, with happiness being the emotion better recognized in both faces and in bodies. Although overall there are no significant differences between the two groups with respect to the emotions assigned to the images and the degree of perceived dynamicity, the interaction Artwork x Group showed that for some images ASDs assigned a different value than TDs to perceived dynamicity. Moreover, two images were interpreted by ASDs as conveying completely different emotions than those perceived by TDs. Results are discussed in light of the ability of ASDs to resolve ambiguity, and of possible different cognitive styles characterizing the aesthetical/emotional experience.

scholarly journals Effects of Classroom Activities on Affective State—A Comparison of Third and Fifth Graders

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fartoukh ◽  
Lucile Chanquoy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Educational Psychology ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Fifth Graders ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
School Day

<p>We analysed the influence of classroom activities on children’s affective states. Children perform many different activities in the course of an ordinary school day, some of which may trigger changes in their affective state and thus in the availability of their cognitive resources and their degree of motivation. To observe the effects of two such activities (listening to a text and performing a dictation) on affective state, according to grade, we asked 39 third graders and 40 fifth graders to specify their affective state at several points in the day. Results showed that this state varied from one activity to another, and was also dependent on grade level. Third graders differed from fifth graders in the feelings elicited by the activities. The possible implications of these findings for the field of educational psychology and children’s academic performance are discussed.</p>

scholarly journals The Effect of Human–Horse Interactions on Equine Behaviour, Physiology, and Welfare: A Scoping Review

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2782
Author(s):  
Katherine Jennifer Kelly ◽  
Laurie Anne McDuffee ◽  
Kimberly Mears
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Permanent Effect ◽  
Equine Welfare ◽  
Equine Industry ◽  
Negative Affective State

Human–horse interactions (HHIs) are diverse and prominent in the equine industry. Stakeholders have an invested interest in making sure that HHIs are humane. Assessment of equine welfare goes beyond physical health and includes assessment of the emotional state of the animal. HHIs can have a permanent effect on human–horse relationships, thereby influencing welfare. Therefore, an understanding of the horse’s affective state during HHIs is necessary. A scoping review was conducted to: (1) map current practices related to the measurement of HHIs; (2) explore the known effects of HHIs on horse behaviour and physiology; and (3) clarify the connection between HHIs and equine welfare. A total of 45 articles were included in this review. Studies that used both physiological and behavioural measures of equine response to human interactions accounted for 42% of the included studies. A further 31% exclusively used physiological measures and 27% used behavioural observation. Current evidence of equine welfare during HHIs is minimal and largely based on the absence of a negative affective state during imposed interactions. Broadening the scope of methods to evaluate a positive affective state and standardization of methodology to assess these states would improve the overall understanding of the horse’s welfare during HHIs.

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