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Emotion evaluation and response slowing in a non-human primate: New directions for cognitive bias measures of animal emotion?

Behavioral Sciences, ISSN: 2076-328X, Vol: 6, Issue: 1, Page: 2
2016
  • 37
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 125
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 9
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    37
  • Captures
    125
  • Social Media
    9
    • Shares, Likes & Comments
      9
      • Facebook
        9

Article Description

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.

Bibliographic Details

Bethell, Emily J; Holmes, Amanda; MacLarnon, Ann; Semple, Stuart

MDPI AG

Agricultural and Biological Sciences; Social Sciences; Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; Psychology; Neuroscience

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