Neurophysiological assessment of animal welfare

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 2370 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Tilbrook ◽  
C. R. Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Pork Industry ◽  
Conscious Animal ◽  
Neurophysiological Assessment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Brain

Livestock industries such as the pork industry are striving to continuously improve the welfare of animals. Inherent to the success of this is the ability to rigorously assess the welfare of animals in the field. While much progress has been made towards the development of methodology to assess the welfare of animals, there have been major challenges to establishing practical and definitive procedures to assess the welfare of animals. These include, but are not limited to, establishing a universally accepted definition of animal welfare and the choice of measures that are taken from the animal to assess its welfare. Measures of biological functioning and affective (emotional) state of the animal have been common, but there have been many limitations in terms of practical application. Some of the reasons for this include the choice of physiological measures, which are often restrictive in providing information about welfare, affective measures being restricted to specific behavioural measures and the biological-functioning and affective-states approaches being undertaken in isolation. Biological and affective functioning are integrated and controlled by the brain. Many of the regions of the brain involved in the regulation of biological and emotional functioning have been identified. Furthermore, there is considerable knowledge about the roles and interactions among the neurophysiological systems in these brain regions. We propose a strategy to use this knowledge to develop procedures to assess animal welfare. The initial phase is to identify the neural pathways that regulate the physiological and emotional processes that allow animals to adapt and cope. The next phase is to determine the activity of these pathways in conscious animals in the field. This requires the identification of biomarkers of specific neuronal activity that can be measured in the conscious animal in the field. Emerging technologies are offering promise in the identification of such biomarkers and some of these are already applicable to the pig. There is now the opportunity to apply this strategy within the pork industry to assess the welfare of pigs throughout the value chain.

scholarly journals Dance on the Brain: Enhancing Intra- and Inter-Brain Synchrony

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C. Basso ◽  
Medha K. Satyal ◽  
Rachel Rugh
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Interpersonal Coordination ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Dance Pedagogy ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Fundamental Movement Patterns ◽  
The Brain

Dance has traditionally been viewed from a Eurocentric perspective as a mode of self-expression that involves the human body moving through space, performed for the purposes of art, and viewed by an audience. In this Hypothesis and Theory article, we synthesize findings from anthropology, sociology, psychology, dance pedagogy, and neuroscience to propose The Synchronicity Hypothesis of Dance, which states that humans dance to enhance both intra- and inter-brain synchrony. We outline a neurocentric definition of dance, which suggests that dance involves neurobehavioral processes in seven distinct areas including sensory, motor, cognitive, social, emotional, rhythmic, and creative. We explore The Synchronicity Hypothesis of Dance through several avenues. First, we examine evolutionary theories of dance, which suggest that dance drives interpersonal coordination. Second, we examine fundamental movement patterns, which emerge throughout development and are omnipresent across cultures of the world. Third, we examine how each of the seven neurobehaviors increases intra- and inter-brain synchrony. Fourth, we examine the neuroimaging literature on dance to identify the brain regions most involved in and affected by dance. The findings presented here support our hypothesis that we engage in dance for the purpose of intrinsic reward, which as a result of dance-induced increases in neural synchrony, leads to enhanced interpersonal coordination. This hypothesis suggests that dance may be helpful to repattern oscillatory activity, leading to clinical improvements in autism spectrum disorder and other disorders with oscillatory activity impairments. Finally, we offer suggestions for future directions and discuss the idea that our consciousness can be redefined not just as an individual process but as a shared experience that we can positively influence by dancing together.

scholarly journals How context alters value: Price information recruits the brain’s valuation and affective regulation system for shaping experienced taste pleasantness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liane Schmidt ◽  
Vasilisa Skvortsova ◽  
Claus Kullen ◽  
Bernd Weber ◽  
Hilke Plassmann
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
Taste Quality ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Placebo Analgesia ◽  
Multilevel Mediation ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Informational Cues ◽  
Anterior Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
The Brain

SUMMARYInformational cues such as the price of a wine can trigger expectations about its taste quality and thereby modulate the sensory experience on a reported and neural level. Yet it is unclear how the brain translates such expectations into sensory pleasantness. We used multilevel mediation analysis of neural and behavioral data obtained in participants who tasted identical wines cued with different prices. We found that the brain's valuation system (BVS) in concert with the anterior prefrontal cortex explained the effect of price cues on taste pleasantness ratings. The sensitivity of the BVS to rewards outside the taste domain moderated the strength of these effects. Moreover, brain mediators of price cue effects overlapped with brain regions previously found to be involved in placebo analgesia. These findings provide novel evidence for the fundamental role that neural pathways linked to motivation and affective regulation play for the effect of informational cues on sensory experiences.

scholarly journals PhenoWorld: addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda J Castelhano-Carlos ◽  
Vera Baumans ◽  
Nuno Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Affective States ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
International Regulations ◽  
The Brain

The use of animals is essential in biomedical research. The laboratory environment where the animals are housed has a major impact on them throughout their lives and influences the outcome of animal experiments. Therefore, there has been an increased effort in the refinement of laboratory housing conditions which is explicitly reflected in international regulations and recommendations. Since housing conditions affect behaviour and brain function as well as well-being, the validation of an animal model or paradigm to study the brain and central nervous system disorders is not complete without an evaluation of its implication on animal welfare. Here we discuss several aspects of animal welfare, comparing groups of six rats living in the PhenoWorld (PhW), a recently developed and validated paradigm for studying rodent behaviour, with standard-housed animals (in cages of six rats or pair-housed). In this study we present new data on home-cage behaviour showing that PhW animals have a clearer circadian pattern of sleep and social interaction. We conclude that, by promoting good basic health and functioning, together with the performance of natural behaviours, and maintaining animals’ control over some of their environment but still keeping some physical and social challenges, the PhW stimulates positive affective states and higher motivation in rats, which might contribute to an increased welfare for animals living in the PhW.

scholarly journals The Role of Iconic Gestures in Speech Comprehension: An Overview of Various Methodologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra G. Kandana Arachchige ◽  
Isabelle Simoes Loureiro ◽  
Wivine Blekic ◽  
Mandy Rossignol ◽  
Laurent Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Iconic Gesture ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Brain

Iconic gesture-speech integration is a relatively recent field of investigation with numerous researchers studying its various aspects. The results obtained are just as diverse. The definition of iconic gestures is often overlooked in the interpretations of results. Furthermore, while most behavioral studies have demonstrated an advantage of bimodal presentation, brain activity studies show a diversity of results regarding the brain regions involved in the processing of this integration. Clinical studies also yield mixed results, some suggesting parallel processing channels, others a unique and integrated channel. This review aims to draw attention to the methodological variations in research on iconic gesture-speech integration and how they impact conclusions regarding the underlying phenomena. It will also attempt to draw together the findings from other relevant research and suggest potential areas for further investigation in order to better understand processes at play during speech integration process.

scholarly journals 60 YEARS OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY: Redefining neuroendocrinology: stress, sex and cognitive and emotional regulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 226 (2) ◽  
pp. T67-T83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce S McEwen ◽  
Jason D Gray ◽  
Carla Nasca
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Hormone Receptors ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Steroid Hormone Receptors ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Central Organ ◽  
The Brain

The discovery of steroid hormone receptors in brain regions that mediate every aspect of brain function has broadened the definition of ‘neuroendocrinology’ to include the reciprocal communication between the brain and the body via hormonal and neural pathways. The brain is the central organ of stress and adaptation to stress because it perceives and determines what is threatening, as well as the behavioral and physiological responses to the stressor. The adult and developing brain possess remarkable structural and functional plasticity in response to stress, including neuronal replacement, dendritic remodeling, and synapse turnover. Stress causes an imbalance of neural circuitry subserving cognition, decision-making, anxiety and mood that can alter expression of those behaviors and behavioral states. This imbalance, in turn, affects systemic physiology via neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and metabolic mediators. In the short term, as for increased fearful vigilance and anxiety in a threatening environment, these changes may be adaptive. But, if the danger passes and the behavioral state persists along with the changes in neural circuitry, such maladaptation may need intervention with a combination of pharmacological and behavioral therapies, as is the case for chronic anxiety and depression. There are important sex differences in the brain responses to stressors that are in urgent need of further exploration. Moreover, adverse early-life experience, interacting with alleles of certain genes, produce lasting effects on brain and body over the life-course via epigenetic mechanisms. While prevention is most important, the plasticity of the brain gives hope for therapies that take into consideration brain–body interactions.

An Introduction to the Brain

2020 ◽  
pp. 54-95
Author(s):  
Frederick L. Coolidge
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Cell ◽  
Neural Transmission ◽  
Cell Building ◽  
Regional Location ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Human Brains ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Universe

This chapter emphasizes that human brains are the most complicated animate or inanimate system in the universe. It begins with a discussion of the definition of life and consciousness and the transition from life to consciousness. It is proposed that consciousness began with the ability to learn associatively (classical and operant conditioning) during the Cambrian period. There is a discussion of the four cell-building principles of the brain: cell proliferation, cell differentiation, cell migration, and programmed cell death. The multiple naming systems for the brain are presented: (1) Brodmann’s areas, (2) presumed function, (3) people’s names (4) regional location, (5) location and nature of the structure, and (6) gross anatomical name. The chapter reviews the four major brain lobes and their functions. It covers major structures of the limbic system and emphasizes the functional role of the brain’s fasciculi, the major connections for neural transmission, which reflects the concerted evolution of various brain regions.

scholarly journals Olfactory Learning in Drosophila

Physiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 338-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Germain U. Busto ◽  
Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval ◽  
Ronald L. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Olfactory Learning ◽  
Mushroom Bodies ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Olfactory Information ◽  
Appetitive Stimuli ◽  
The Brain

Studies of olfactory learning in Drosophila have provided key insights into the brain mechanisms underlying learning and memory. One type of olfactory learning, olfactory classical conditioning, consists of learning the contingency between an odor with an aversive or appetitive stimulus. This conditioning requires the activity of molecules that can integrate the two types of sensory information, the odorant as the conditioned stimulus and the aversive or appetitive stimulus as the unconditioned stimulus, in brain regions where the neural pathways for the two stimuli intersect. Compelling data indicate that a particular form of adenylyl cyclase functions as a molecular integrator of the sensory information in the mushroom body neurons. The neuronal pathway carrying the olfactory information from the antennal lobes to the mushroom body is well described. Accumulating data now show that some dopaminergic neurons provide information about aversive stimuli and octopaminergic neurons about appetitive stimuli to the mushroom body neurons. Inhibitory inputs from the GABAergic system appear to gate olfactory information to the mushroom bodies and thus control the ability to learn about odors. Emerging data obtained by functional imaging procedures indicate that distinct memory traces form in different brain regions and correlate with different phases of memory. The results from these and other experiments also indicate that cross talk between mushroom bodies and several other brain regions is critical for memory formation.

scholarly journals Nasal oxytocin for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and pain: achieving meaningful brain concentrations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Yeomans ◽  
Leah R. Hanson ◽  
Dean S. Carson ◽  
Brendan J. Tunstall ◽  
Mary R. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Intranasal Delivery ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Gamma Counting ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThere is evidence of the therapeutic potential of intranasal oxytocin for the treatment of pain and various psychiatric disorders, however, there is scant evidence that oxytocin reaches the brain. We quantified the concentration and distribution pattern of [125I]-radiolabeled oxytocin in the brains and peripheral tissues of rats after intranasal delivery using gamma counting and autoradiography, respectively. Radiolabel was detected in high concentrations in the trigeminal and olfactory nerves as well as in brain regions along their trajectories. Considerable concentrations were observed in the blood, however, relatively low levels of radiolabel were measured in peripheral tissues. The addition of a mucoadhesive did not enhance brain concentrations. These results provide support for intranasal OT reaching the brain via the olfactory and trigeminal neural pathways. These findings will inform the design and interpretation of clinical studies with intranasal oxytocin.

Application of Scanning Electron Microscopy to Medical Research

1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 12-13
Author(s):  
J. D. Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Prosthetic Heart Valve ◽  
School Of Medicine ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Mechanism Of Failure ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Scanning Electron

When the transmission electron microscope was commercially introduced a few years ago, it was heralded as one of the most significant aids to medical research of the century. It continues to occupy that niche; however, the scanning electron microscope is gaining rapidly in relative importance as it fills the gap between conventional optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.IBM Boulder is conducting three major programs in cooperation with the Colorado School of Medicine. These are the study of the mechanism of failure of the prosthetic heart valve, the study of the ultrastructure of lung tissue, and the definition of the function of the cilia of the ventricular ependyma of the brain.

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