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

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.

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

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.

Chronic Ethanol Exposures Leads to a Negative Affective State in Female Rats That Is Accompanied by a Paradoxical Decrease in Ventral Hippocampus Excitability

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) differentially impacts men and women and a growing body of evidence points to sex-dependent adaptations in a number of brain regions. In a prior study, we explored the effect of a chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) model of AUD on neuronal and molecular adaptations in the dorsal and ventral domains of the hippocampus (dHC and vHC, respectively) in male rats. We found the vHC to be particularly sensitive to CIE, showing an increase in neuronal excitability and synaptic proteins associated with augmented excitation. These findings were accompanied by a CIE-dependent increase in anxiety-like behaviors. To explore sex-dependent adaptations in the hippocampus, we conducted a similar study in female rats. CIE-treated female rats showed a relatively modest increase in anxiety-like behaviors along with a robust increase in depressive-like measures. Despite both sexes showing clear evidence of a negative affective state following CIE, the vHC of females showed a decrease, rather than an increase, in neuronal excitability. In line with the reduced sensitivity to neural adaptations in the dHC of male rats, we were unable to identify any functional changes in the dHC of females. The functional changes of the vHC in female rats could not be explained by altered expression levels of a number of proteins typically associated with changes in neuronal excitability. Taken together, these findings point to sex as a major factor in CIE-dependent hippocampal adaptations that should be explored further to better understand possible gender differences in the etiology and treatment of AUD.

Conditioned place preference reveals tonic pain in Octopus

Tonic pain is an ongoing, negative affective state arising from tissue damage or inflammation (1). Because pain is aversive and its relief is innately rewarding, mammals learn to avoid a context in which pain is experienced, and prefer one where pain relief occurs(2, 3). It is generally accepted that vertebrate animals experience pain(4), however, there is currently no compelling evidence that pain occurs in any invertebrate(5). Here we show that octopuses exhibit tonic pain behavior after subcutaneous injection of dilute acetic acid. In conditioned place preference assays, octopuses avoid contexts in which pain was experienced, prefer a location in which they experienced tonic pain relief, and show no conditioned preference in pain’s absence. Octopuses are thus the first invertebrate shown to experience pain.One sentence summaryA cognitive test demonstrating the emotional component of pain in mammals reveals the first example of pain in any invertebrate.

Exploring the motivation of affect management in fostering social media engagement and related insights for branding

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an affect-based perspective to explain levels of social media engagement. Design/methodology/approach This study uses face-to-face long interviews and online observation of the Facebook profiles of respondents over an eight-month period. Findings Social media engagement varies depending on a user’s current and desired affective state. When individuals are in a low to moderately aroused negative affective state (such as feeling bored or upset), individuals tend to spend time passively consuming content: the lowest level of engagement. In a low to moderately aroused positive mood state (such as happiness), users both passively consume and actively participate with relevant content by liking and commenting on existing content. When users are in a highly aroused positive affective state, the propensity to create original content is greater, reflecting the highest level of engagement. When users are in a highly aroused negative affective state (such as being angry at a brand), users are motivated to vent on social media to manage the mood. Conversely, when users are in a highly aroused negative affective state related to personal trauma, the avoidance of engagement on social media is evident. Practical implications Brands can increase the likelihood of consumers creating positive consumer–brand stories offline and online by priming consumer affect. Originality/value This study explores how a desired affective state motivates varying levels of user engagement with different types of content on social media.

Pair-bonding influences affective state in a monogamous fish species

In humans, affective states are a key component in pair-bonding, particularly in the early stage of a relationship. Pairing with a high-quality partner elicits positive affective states which, in turn, validate and reinforce the mate choice. Affective states thus strongly affect pair stability and future reproductive success. We propose generalizing the link between affective states and pair-bonding to encompass other monogamous species exhibiting biparental care, chiefly where the reproductive success of the pair critically depends on the coordination between partners. The convict cichlid Amatitlania siquia is a monogamous fish species that forms long-lasting pairs with strong cooperation between parents for parental care. In this species, we showed that females paired with their non-preferred male had lower reproductive success than those paired with their preferred male. We then transposed the judgement bias paradigm, previously used in other animal species, to assess objectively affective states in fishes. Females that were assigned their non-preferred partner exhibited pessimistic bias, which indicates a negative affective state. By contrast, females that were assigned their preferred partner did not exhibit changes in their affective state. Our results highlight that the influence of pair-bonding on affective states is not human-specific and can also be observed in non-human species.

Filing for Moral Bankruptcy: An Examination of How Affect and Empathy Predict Moral Competence

What does being moral mean? On one hand people may justify mercy killing as sparing omeone’s suffering, but on the other hand they are still, in-fact, taking another’s life. According to Lind’s theory of moral competence (2008), it is based on consistent utilization of moral principles. Although common sense tells us that people’s affective states and levels of empathy may explain the differences, there is little direct evidence. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by examining the relative contribution of empathy and affective state to moral competence. Results of the study revealed that although perspective taking and negative affective state were both significant predictors of moral competence, perspective taking was a stronger contributor. This suggests that the next time you deliberate over a moral dilemma (e.g., euthanasia), you should try understanding another person’s perspective rather than feeling empathy to make the best moral judgment.