Subject: Cognition

Apis mellifera welfare: definition and future directions

Formato Giovanni, Giannottu Elena, Roncoroni Cristina, Lorenzi Valentina, Brajon Giovanni

Published in 2024

Synthesis describing the essential role played the Apis mellifera bee in pollination and Adaptation of the animal to the environment and as a biomarker for environmental quality. Although they are often overlooked in terms of welfare, honey bees could be included in the five-domain model, which would recognize their capacity for emotional and the importance of defining and promoting practices to improve their welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Insects

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Biodiversity, Consciousness, Pain, Education, Environment, Welfare indicators, Memory

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Towards a task to assess boredom-like states in pigs-Stimulus validation as a basis

Hintze S, Heigl H, Winckler C

Published in 2024

Scientific study to measure pig approach and avoidance responses to stimuli with different valence (positive, ambiguous, negative) in order to distinguish between boredom, depression and apathy. The results show that the valence of the stimuli and the age of the animals influence these responses.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Housing

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Dog-human vocal interactions match dogs' sensory-motor tuning

Eloïse C. Déaux, Théophane Piette, Florence Gaunet, Thierry Legou, Luc Arnal, Anne-Lise Giraud

Published in 2024

Scientific article reporting that dogs' response to human speech is tuned to a slower rhythm than humans. To improve the effectiveness of communication with dogs, humans should, and do, slow their speech rate.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Vocalisation

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The complex affective and cognitive capacities of rats

Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal

Published in 2024

Article demonstrating that rats are not only able to feel fear, pain and anxiety, but are also capable of empathy. They show prosocial behaviors, helping fellow rats in distress, suggesting that they are capable of imagining the needs of others.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Rodents

Keywords:Learning, training, Consciousness, Memory, Cognitive processes

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Review: Rethinking environmental enrichment as providing opportunities to acquire information

I. Veissier, C. Lesimple, V. Brunet, L. Aubé, R. Botreau

Published in 2024

Scientific overview exploring environmental enrichment, designed to improve the welfare and cognitive abilities of animals in captivity. Enrichment provides animals with the means to acquire information by interacting with their environment, thereby promoting adaptation. This approach suggests that complex and varied environments are more enriching than simply prolonging exposure to stimuli, even if the former are neutral or slightly negative.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Learning, training, Living environment

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The odour of an unfamiliar stressed or relaxed person affects dogs' responses to a cognitive bias test

Z. Parr-Cortes, C. T. Müller, L. Talas, M. Mendl, C. Guest, N. J. Rooney

Published in 2024

Scientific article confirming that dogs can discriminate between human odors emitted during positive or negative emotions with no other cues. The results also show that olfactory signals of human stress affect dogs' behaviors when approaching a bowl of food placed in an ambiguous location and may affect their learning.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords: Cognitive processes, Consciousness, Memory, Human-animal relationships,Learning, training

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Horses can learn to identify joy and sadness against other basic emotions from human facial expressions

Plotine Jardat, Zoé Menard-Peroy, Céline Parias, Fabrice Reigner, Ludovic Calandreau, Léa Lansade

Published in 2024

Scientific paper showing that horses are able to distinguish the facial expressions of joy or sadness humans. This discovery adds to our understanding of the cognitive processing of human facial expressions by horses.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Cognitive processes, Consciousness, Memory, Human-animal relationships,Learning, training

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Equine Wellness: How Horses See Color

Michael Hipp, Victoria Doulgerakis

Published in 2024

Article describing horses' visual spectrum, their color preferences and the impact of environmental color choices on their welfare. 

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords : Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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Conscience et douleur chez les insectes

GIS FC3R

Published in 2024

Article on the status of current scientific knowledge concerning consciousness and pain in insects, summarizing the definitions of each, the evidence for their presence in insects and the knowledge gaps that prevent a definitive conclusion to be reached, also outlining the current scientific debate on the issue.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Insects

Keywords: Consciousness, Pain

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Sixty Years of Tinbergen's Four Questions and Their Continued Relevance to Applied Behaviour and Welfare Research in Zoo Animals: A Commentary

Robert Kelly, Paul Rose

Published in 2024

Scientific article illustrating how ethologist Tinbergen's four questions - based on the causality, ontogeny, phylogeny and function of animal behaviors - can help zoo animal research in areas such as sentience, welfare, conservation and species management.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Biodiversity, Population management, Living environment, Evolutionary processes, Behavioural disorders

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