Abstract

Assessing an animal's neuro-physiological and behavioural reaction to external stimuli simultaneously, continuously, and non-invasively is a major aim of applied animal welfare research to interpret a situation from the animal's perspective. The purpose of this study was to assess response of large animal (sheep) to 3 model situations with positive, intermediate and negative emotional valence. The following reactions of up to 19 sheep were recorded: brain acticity using functional near-infrared spectoscopy, facial expressions (ear postures and eye aperture), electrocardiogram, respiration rate, and electro-dermal activity. All variables were successfully recorded in the sheep and are promising to assess stress and well-being in sheep and potentially other large animals. The combination of several methods resulted in a comprehensive picture of the animals' reactions to environmental stimuli, initiating innovative animal research that combines neuroimaging, physiological monitoring and behavioural observations

Published in

Book title: Proceedings of measuring behavior 2010 : 7th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, August 24-27, 2010
ISBN: 978-90-74821-86-5
Publisher: Noldus Information Technology

Conference

Measuring Behaviour 2010, 7th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioural Research

Authors' information