53 research outputs found
Aggressive behaviours in higher vertebrates, particularly in the domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
Unlike rhythmic activities such as feeding and reproduction, aggressive behaviour is triggered
mainly by external stimuli and relational factors. The function of aggressive behaviour is to increase
or maintain a certain distance between individuals, whether they belong to the same species or not.
However, in social species forming permanent cohesive groups, aggressive behaviour may jeopardise
this cohesion. Various regulatory mechanisms appeared during evolution: on the one hand, a gradation
of the intensity of aggressive expression based on the animal’s motivation and on the protagonist’s
response, and on the other hand, the development of submissive behaviour which, unlike
avoidance and flight, provides an adapted response to aggression while staying close by. Both mechanisms
reduce the negative effects of aggression on the group’s cohesion. In carnivores such as Canis
familiaris, a distinction should be made between aggression and predation, as they have opposite
functions, i.e. maintaining distance or capturing, respectively. This distinction is corroborated by other
parameters, such as the nature of the signals displayed, the presence or absence of an appetitive phase,
and the cerebral structures involved. Given the unique interspecies relationship existing between man
and dog, canine aggressive behaviour must be controlled with greater care than if it was directed
solely at fellow members of the same species. To limit the expression and adverse effects of aggressive
behaviour, the dog’s individual emotional characteristics and some selected genetic traits must
be taken into account.À la différence de
comportements cycliques comme les comportements alimentaire et reproducteur, les
comportements d'agression sont essentiellement de nature réactionnelle et relationnelle. Ils
ont pour fonction la mise Ă distance ou le maintien d'une distance entre des individus
appartenant ou non à la même espèce. Ils se manifestent par des signaux de communication
permettant de moduler l'expression de la motivation agressive en fonction de la réponse du
protagoniste. Chez les espèces sociales qui forment des groupes permanents et cohérents, les
comportements d'agression sont susceptibles de mettre en danger cette cohésion. Différents
mécanismes régulateurs se sont installés au cours de l'évolution. Il s'agit d'une part,
d'une gradation des manifestations agressives, permettant de moduler leur intensité en
fonction de la motivation de l'individu et de la réponse du partenaire, et d'autre part, de
la mise en place de comportements de soumission qui, contrairement aux comportements
d'évitement et de fuite, permettent de répondre de manière adaptée aux comportements
agressifs d'un congénère, tout en se maintenant à proximité. Ces deux mécanismes permettent
de réduire les effets négatifs de l'agression sur la cohésion des groupes. Chez les
carnivores comme le chien, Canis familiaris, il faut distinguer l'agression et la prédation,
ces deux comportements ayant une fonction opposée: mise à distance d'une part et capture
d'autre part. D'autres arguments en relation avec les signaux émis, la présence ou l'absence
d'une phase appétitive, et avec les structures cérébrales impliquées, viennent conforter la
nécessité de cette distinction. Dans le contexte de la relation interspécifique homme-chien,
fait exceptionnel dans le règne animal, les comportements d'agression du chien doivent être
encore plus étroitement canalisés que dans un contexte social intraspécifique. La prise en
compte des caractéristiques émotionnelles individuelles du chien et de certains traits
héritables au cours de la sélection des races devrait permettre d'en limiter l'expression et
les effets délétères
Ethology contributes to the study of behavioural disorders
Ethology, the «biology of behaviour», is a fundamental scientific field. It analyses the interaction
between an animal, including man, and its environment. Ethology is closely related to other scientific
disciplines, such as physiology, endocrinology, neurobiology, and cognitive sciences. The teaching
of ethology is based on peer-reviewed papers published in specialist scientific journals, such as
Animal Behaviour, Journal of Comparative Psychology, Journal of Ethology, Applied Animal Behaviour
Science and Animal Welfare. Ethology is used as a basis for the study of behavioural disorders in domestic
animals. Clinical observations must, in return, contribute to opening new areas of research, more
specifically focused on the way of life of pets and its dysfunctions.L'éthologie, la « biologie du
comportement », est une discipline scientifique fondamentale. Elle analyse l'interaction
entre un animal, y compris l'homme, et le milieu dans lequel il est placé. Cette discipline
est étroitement liée à d'autres disciplines scientifiques comme la physiologie,
l'endocrinologie, la neurobiologie, les sciences cognitives. L'enseignement de l'Ă©thologie
s'appuie sur les travaux scientifiques publiés dans les revues internationales spécialisées
telles que Animal Behaviour, Journal of Comparative Psychology, Ethology ou Applied Animal
Behaviour Science et Animal Welfare.... L'Ă©thologie sert de fondement Ă l'approche des
troubles du comportement des animaux domestiques. Les observations cliniques doivent, en
retour, contribuer à ouvrir de nouvelles voies de recherches centrées plus spécifiquement
sur le mode de vie des animaux de compagnie et ses dysfonctionnements
Ethology, from naturalist anecdotes to the quantitative and experimental analysis of behaviour
Ethology has its roots in the observations of naturalists from Aristotle to the 19th century. It is also anchored
in the studies of 19th century comparative psychologists, especially those defending the experimental
method. Ethology refutes an approach solely based on a stimulus-response (S-R) link obtained in a laboratory
by an experimenter.
The founders of ethology focus on the phylogenetically inherited aspect of behaviours and their trigger
mechanisms. Based on his study of the functional aspect of behaviours through observations and
experiments in natural environments, Tinbergen defines ethology as the « biology of behaviour »,
a scientific, quantitative and analytical discipline. Since its creation, ethology has invested new research
fields through interactions with other scientific domains. Current studies focus on a wide variety of
animal species, and raise a large number of questions, especially in the area of cognition.L'Ă©thologie trouve son origine
dans les observations des naturalistes de l'antiquité jusqu'au 19e siècle. Elle s'ancre
aussi dans les travaux des psychologues comparatistes du 19e siècle, notamment ceux qui
prônent la méthode expérimentale. L'éthologie s'oppose à une approche reposant uniquement
sur un lien stimulus-réponse, établi au laboratoire par un expérimentateur. Ses fondateurs
mettent l'accent sur l'aspect phylogénétiquement hérité des comportements et de leurs
mĂ©canismes de dĂ©clenchement. Tinbergen, en Ă©tudiant l'aspect fonctionnel des comportements Ă
partir d'observations et d'expérimentations en milieu naturel, définit l'éthologie comme la
« biologie du comportement », discipline scientifique, quantitative et analytique. Depuis sa
fondation, l'Ă©thologie a investi de nouveaux champs d'investigation dans un dialogue avec
d'autres disciplines scientifiques. La recherche actuelle en Ă©thologie porte sur une grande
diversité d'espèces animales et amène à une variété de questions, notamment dans le domaine
de la cognition
Individual Recognition in Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus): Evidence from 2D-Images of Heads from Different Breeds
BACKGROUND: In order to maintain cohesion of groups, social animals need to process social information efficiently. Visual individual recognition, which is distinguished from mere visual discrimination, has been studied in only few mammalian species. In addition, most previous studies used either a small number of subjects or a few various views as test stimuli. Dairy cattle, as a domestic species allow the testing of a good sample size and provide a large variety of test stimuli due to the morphological diversity of breeds. Hence cattle are a suitable model for studying individual visual recognition. This study demonstrates that cattle display visual individual recognition and shows the effect of both familiarity and coat diversity in discrimination. [br/]METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We tested whether 8 Prim'Holstein heifers could recognize 2D-images of heads of one cow (face, profiles, (3/4) views) from those of other cows. Experiments were based on a simultaneous discrimination paradigm through instrumental conditioning using food rewards. In Experiment 1, all images represented familiar cows (belonging to the same social group) from the Prim'Holstein breed. In Experiments 2, 3 and 4, images were from unfamiliar (unknown) individuals either from the same breed or other breeds. All heifers displayed individual recognition of familiar and unfamiliar individuals from their own breed. Subjects reached criterion sooner when recognizing a familiar individual than when recognizing an unfamiliar one (Exp 1: 3.1+/-0.7 vs. Exp 2: 5.2+/-1.2 sessions; Z = 1.99, N = 8, P = 0.046). In addition almost all subjects recognized unknown individuals from different breeds, however with greater difficulty. [br/]
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrated that cattle have efficient individual recognition based on categorization capacities. Social familiarity improved their performance. The recognition of individuals with very different coat characteristics from the subjects was the most difficult task. These results call for studies exploring the mechanisms involved in face recognition allowing interspecies comparisons, including humans
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Testing the arousal hypothesis of neonatal imitation in infant rhesus macaques
Neonatal imitation is the matching of (often facial) gestures by newborn infants. Some studies suggest that performance of facial gestures is due to general arousal, which may produce false positives on neonatal imitation assessments. Here we examine whether arousal is linked to facial gesturing in newborn infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We tested 163 infants in a neonatal imitation paradigm in their first postnatal week and analyzed their lipsmacking gestures (a rapid opening and closing of the mouth), tongue protrusion gestures, and yawn responses (a measure of arousal). Arousal increased during dynamic stimulus presentation compared to the static baseline across all conditions, and arousal was higher in the facial gestures conditions than the nonsocial control condition. However, even after controlling for arousal, we found a condition-specific increase in facial gestures in infants who matched lipsmacking and tongue protrusion gestures. Thus, we found no support for the arousal hypothesis. Consistent with reports in human newborns, imitators’ propensity to match facial gestures is based on abilities that go beyond mere arousal. We discuss optimal testing conditions to minimize potentially confounding effects of arousal on measurements of neonatal imitation
Alain Boissy, Min-Ha Pham-Delegue et Claude Baudoin (coordinateurs), Éthologie appliquée : Comportements animaux et humains, questions de société, Éditions Quae, Versailles, 2009
Deputte Bertrand. Alain Boissy, Min-Ha Pham-Delegue et Claude Baudoin (coordinateurs), Éthologie appliquée : Comportements animaux et humains, questions de société, Éditions Quae, Versailles, 2009. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 164 n°1, 2011. pp. 80-81
Toréer sans la mort ? Par Jocelyne Porcher et Carlos Pereira (coordinateurs) Éditions Quae, Versailles, 2011
Deputte Bertrand L. Toréer sans la mort ? Par Jocelyne Porcher et Carlos Pereira (coordinateurs) Éditions Quae, Versailles, 2011. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 166 n°1, 2013. pp. 86-87
Éthologie et cognition : le cas des primates
Ethology and Cognition : the case of primate ethology
There are two major boundaries within cognitive sciences ; 1-the anthropocentric definition of the concept of cognition which would prevent accepting that animals other than man have a cognition ; 2-the large gap between neurobiology, at the molecular or cellular level, at one end and psychology at the other end. Ethology is the study of the behavior of living beings considered as entities. This implies taking into account not only the motor outputs, the behaviors, but also, implicitly or explicitly, the related neural and endocrinological events. Ethology also implies studying the behavior within a phylogenetic frame. It is argued that this could help to fill the gap between neurobiology and psychology. In addition the study of cognition could be considered as having brought closer the field of ethology and that of comparative psychology. In this paper several domains of ethology related to the two cognitive concepts of representation and intentionality are examined, especially in nonhuman primates. These domains are spatial memory, vocal communication including the concept of "inferential communication", social cognition and still anecdotic examples of deception. Ethologists consider cognition not only within an evolution of cognitive processes but also that cognition is modulated by internal variables such as hormonal ones.Les sciences de la cognition sont marquées par deux clivages, 1-la connotation anthropocentrée du concept de cognition, qui refuserait toute cognition au reste du monde animal et 2-le fossé entre neurobiologie, à l'échelle moléculaire et cellulaire, d'une part et la psychologie, d'autre part. L'éthologie étudie la vie de relation des êtres vivants pris comme entités, c'est-à -dire en prenant en compte, implicitement ou explicitement, notamment, leur physiologie nerveuse et hormonale. Cette approche du comportement, à laquelle s'ajoute une perspective évolutionniste, permet, en ce qui concerne l'étude de la cognition, de combler le fossé entre neurobiologie et psychologie. En outre l'étude de la cognition est considérée comme ayant rapproché l'éthologie et la psychologie comparée. Plusieurs domaines de l'éthologie en rapport avec les deux concepts cognitivistes de représentation et d'intentionatlité sont abordés, particulièrement chez les primates ; ce sont notamment la mémoire spatiale, la communication vocale avec le concept de "communication inférentielle", la cognition sociale et les exemples, encore anecdotiques, de "feintes". L'éthologie place la cognition dans une évolution des processus cognitifs mais considère aussi sa modulation par des variables hormonales, notamment.Deputte Bertrand L. Éthologie et cognition : le cas des primates. In: Intellectica. Revue de l'Association pour la Recherche Cognitive, n°16, 1993/1. Biologie et cognition. pp. 21-44
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