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This book examines the biological, especially the neural, substrates of affiliation and related social behaviors. Affiliation refers to social behaviors that bring individuals closer together. This includes such associations as attachment, parent-offspring interactions, pair-bonding, and the building of coalitions. Affiliations provide a social matrix within which other behaviors, including reproduction and aggression, may occur. While reproduction and aggression also reduce the distance between individuals, their expression is regulated in part by the positive social fabric of affiliative behavior.Until recently, researchers have paid little attention to the regulatory physiology and neural processes that subserve affiliative behaviors. The integrative approach in this book reflects the constructive interactions between those who study behavior in the context of natural history and evolution and those who study the nervous system.The book contains the partial proceedings of a conference of the same title held in Washington, DC, in 1996. The full proceedings was published as part of the Annals of the York Academy of Sciences.
Horses were first domesticated about 6,000 years ago on the vast Eurasian steppe extending from Mongolia to the Carpathian Mountains. Yet only in the last two decades have scientists begun to explore the specific mental capacities of these animals. Responding to a surge of interest in fields from ethology to comparative psychology and evolutionary biology, Michel-Antoine Leblanc presents an encyclopedic synthesis of scientific knowledge about equine behavior and cognition. The Mind of the Horse provides experts and enthusiasts alike with an up-to-date understanding of how horses perceive, think about, and adapt to their physical and social worlds. Much of what we know--or think we know--abou...
For over 25 years, primatologists have speculated that intelligence, at least in monkeys and apes, evolved as an adaptation to the complicated social milieu of hard-won friendships and bitterly contested rivalries. Yet the Balkanization of animal research has prevented us from studying the same problem in other large-brained, long-lived animals, such as hyenas and elephants, bats and sperm whales. Social complexity turns out to be widespread indeed. For example, in many animal societies one individual's innovation, such as tool use or a hunting technique, may spread within the group, thus creating a distinct culture. As this collection of studies on a wide range of species shows, animals dev...
State-of-the-art research on brain asymmetry, explained from molecular to clinical levels.
Equine Welfare in Clinical Practice: How and Why Behavior and Welfare Assessments Belong in Your Practice reviews the current psychological, behavioral, and welfare knowledge equine veterinarians should have and discusses how such knowledge may be incorporated into clinical practices. It covers such topics as practical welfare assessment, fear-free practices, and how horses learn (both good and bad habits). Each topic is intended to provide both practical and pertinent science-based information for equine practitioners and their clients. Written by international experts, this book explores the physical, psychological, and behavioral factors contributing to equine welfare. It discusses curren...
Behavior is shaped by both genetics and experience--nature and nurture. This book synthesizes research from behavioral genetics and animal and veterinary science, bridging the gap between these fields. The objective is to show that principles of behavioral genetics have practical applications to agricultural and companion animals. The continuing domestication of animals is a complex process whose myriad impacts on animal behavior are commonly under-appreciated. Genetic factors play a significant role in both species-specific behaviors and behavioral differences exhibited by individuals in the same species. Leading authorities explore the impact of increased intensities of selection on domest...
Since the late 1990s there has been a substantial increase in horse behavior genetics research. This chapter reviews recent work in molecular genetics, pre-and postnatal effects on behavior, the relationship between hair whorls and temperament, and lateralization in the nervous system. These factors are critical to understanding individual differences. Advancements in molecular genetics have identified genes associated with novelty seeking and gaited horse traits. Foal “imprint” training procedures are reviewed, and a gentle method for training foals is presented. Finding appropriate methods for reducing fearfulness in horses has important practical implications. High hair whorls are associated with reactivity, but differences are less apparent in calm breeds. Behavioral asymmetry is a fundamental feature of animal brains. Left-eye systems control avoidance behavior and right-eye systems control approach behaviors. An understanding of the cognitive and perceptual abilities is necessary to ensure horses receive proper training, handling, management, and care.
As a testament to the scope of Peter MacNeilage’s scholarly work across his 40 year career, contributions to this tribute volume represent a broad spectrum of the seminal issues addressed by phonetic and evolutionary science over a number of years. Approaches to the problems raised by attempting to understand these fundamental topics are illustrated in the broad diversity of paradigms represented in the volume. This diversity in itself is a tribute to the breadth of scholarly questions pursued by MacNeilage across his career. Chapters are arranged around five thematic areas. Two themes, Evolutionary Perspectives on Speech Production and Acquisition of Speech, reflect the major thrust of Pe...
After a long period where it has been conceived as iconoclastic and almost forbidden, the question of language origins is now at the centre of a rich debate, confronting acute proposals and original theories. Most importantly, the debate is nourished by a large set of experimental data from disciplines surrounding language. The editors of the present book have gathered researchers from various fields, with the common objective of taking as seriously as possible the search for "continuities" from non-human primate vocal and gestural communication systems to human speech and language, in a multidisciplinary perspective combining ethology, neuroscience, developmental psychology and linguistics, as well as computer science and robotics. New data and theoretical elaborations on the emergence of referential communication and language are debated here by some of the most creative scientists in the world.
Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists, Sixth Edition is a fully updated revision of this popular, classic text offering a thorough understanding of the normal behavior of domestic animals. Provides a complete understanding of the normal behavior of domestic animals Covers dogs, cats, horses, pigs, sheep, cattle, and goats Describes all key aspects of animal behavior, with images to support the concepts Revised and updated to cover the latest thinking, with enhanced coverage of behavioral genetics, animal cognition, and learning Includes access to a companion website with review questions and answers and the figures from the book in PowerPoint