During recent years, several studies have revealed that human-dog relationships are based on a well-established and complex bond. There is now evidence suggesting that the dog-human affectional bond can be characterized as an "attachment". The present study investigated possible association between the owners' attachment profile assessed throughout a new semi-projective test (the 9 Attachment Profile) and the owner-dog attachment bond evaluated using a modified version of those used in studying human infants: Ainsworth's "strange situation". The findings represented the first evidence for the presence of a correlation between the owners' attachment profile and the owner-dog attachment bond throughout procedure and behavioural analyses involving controlled observations.

During recent years, several studies have revealed that human-dog relationship are based on a well established and complex bond. There is now evidence suggesting that the dog-human affectional bond can be characterized as an "attachment". The present study investigated the influence of the owners' attachment profile assessed throughout a new semi-projective test (the 9 Attachment Profile) on the owner-dog attachment bond evaluated using a modified version of those used in studying human infants: Ainsworth's "strange situation". The findings represented the first evidence that owner's personality affected dog's behavior throughout procedure and behavioral analyses involving controlled observations

To investigate the perceptual mechanisms underlying conspecific vocal recognition in canine species, eighteen dogs were presented with playbacks of normal and reversed versions of typical dog vocalizations. Auditory perception was analysed using the head-turn paradigm, a non-invasive technique extensively employed to study hemispheric specializations for processing conspecific vocalizations in primates. The results revealed that dogs usually turn their heads with the right ear leading (left hemisphere activation) in response to the forward version of their typical calls, and with either no bias and the left ear leading (right hemisphere activation) in response to the reversed call versions. Overall, our findings suggest that temporal features are determinant auditory cues for call sound recognition in dogs, and support earlier findings of the role of the left hemisphere in the analyses of intraspecific communication.

Auditory lateralization in response to both conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations (dog vocalizations) was observed in 16 tabby cats (Felis catus). Six different vocalizations were used: cat “purring,” “meowing” and “growling” and dog typical vocalizations of “disturbance,” “isolation” and “play.” The head-orienting paradigm showed that cats turned their head with the right ear leading (left hemisphere activation) in response to their typical-species vocalization (“meow” and “purring”); on the other hand, a clear bias in the use of the left ear (right hemisphere activation) was observed in response to vocalizations eliciting intense emotion (dogs’ vocalizations of “disturbance” and “isolation”). Overall these findings suggest that auditory sensory domain seems to be lateralized also in cat species, stressing the role of the left hemisphere for intraspecific communication and of the right hemisphere in processing threatening and alarming stimuli.

Sex determination in juvenile Caretta caretta is difficult because of the lack of heteromorphic sex chromosome and the absence of dimorphic secondary traits. Up till now the most reliable method of gender determination is laparoscopy, that is an invasive and time consuming surgical technique. Testosterone or vitellogenin concentration are proposed as alternative methods but are still not satisfactory. We tried to predict sex of juvenile loggerhead during winter combining the evaluation of body size with the concentration of sexual steroid hormones and vitellogenin. Our results didn’t evidence any correlation between the variables analyzed confirming the general idea of laparoscopy as essential technique in juvenile Caretta caretta sex determination during winter.

Epinephrine and norepinephrine plasma levels were assessed in dogs in relation to paw preference following an immune challenge with rabies vaccine. The results showed that both catecholamines increased after the vaccine administration, confirming the main role of the sympathetic nervous system in the modulation activity between the brain and the immune system. Moreover, ambidextrous dogs showed a significantly higher increase of epinephrine levels 8 days after immunization with respect to right and left-pawed dogs, suggesting that the biological activity of this molecule could be key for a different immune response with regard to laterality.

To explore the possible role of the sympathetic nervous activity in the asymmetrical cross-talk between the brain and immune system, catecholamine (E, NE) plasma levels, IFN-y serum levels and antibodies production induced by rabies vaccine in dogs selected for their paw preference were measured. The results showed an association between the direction of behavioural lateralisation and both epinephrine levels and immune response in dogs. Different kinetic of epinephrine levels after immunization was observed in left-pawed dogs respect to both right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. The titers of anti-rabies antibodies were lower in left-pawed dogs than in right-pawed and ambidextrous dogs. Similarly, the IFN-y serum levels were lower in left-pawed dogs respect to the other two groups. Taking together, these findings showed that the left-pawed group appeared to be consistently the different group stressing the fundamental role played by the sympathetic nervous system as a mechanistic basis for the crosstalk between the brain and the immune system.

La presente monografia offre interessanti indicazioni sulla colonia e lo stato sanitario dei Chirotteri presenti nella grotta Sant’Angelo al Monte Raparo, sita nel territorio del comune di San Chirico Raparo (PZ), presso l’omonima abbazia basiliana. L’importanza della grotta, situata in un contesto ambientale di gran pregio nell’ambito del Parco Nazionale dell’Appennino Lucano, rende indispensabili misure di protezione del sito, finalizzate alla conservazione della colonia di pipistrelli insieme alla valorizzazione turistico-religiosa dell’abbazia.

Progressive weakness is a typical feature of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and is exacerbated in the benign mdx mouse model by in vivo treadmill exercise. We hypothesized a different threshold for functional adaptation of mdx muscles in response to the duration of the exercise protocol. In vivo weakness was confirmed by grip strength after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of exercise in mdx mice. Torque measurements revealed that exercise-related weakness in mdx mice correlated with the duration of the protocol, while wild-type (wt) mice were stronger. Twitch and tetanic forces of isolated diaphragm and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles, were lower in mdx compared to wt mice. In mdx, both muscle types exhibited greater weakness after a single exercise bout, but only in EDL after a long exercise protocol. As opposite to wt muscles, mdx EDL ones did not show any exercise-induced adaptations against eccentric contraction force drop. qRT-PCR analysis confirmed the maladaptation of genes involved in metabolic and structural remodeling, while damage-related genes remained significantly upregulated and angiogenesis impaired. Phosphorylated AMP kinase level increased only in exercised wt muscle. The severe histopathology and the high levels of muscular TGF-β1 and of plasma matrix metalloproteinase-9 confirmed the persistence of muscle damage in mdx mice. Then, dystrophic muscles showed a partial degree of functional adaptation to chronic exercise, although not sufficient to overcome weakness nor signs of damage. The improved understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying maladaptation of dystrophic muscle paves the way to a better managment of DMD patients.

Cortisol levels in hair samples were examined in fourteen domestic dogs and related to the dogs' responses to different acoustic stimuli. Stimuli were playbacks of species-typical vocalizations recorded during three different situations ("disturbance", "isolation" and "play" barks) and the sounds of a thunderstorm. Hair samples were collected at 9:00h and 17:00h two weeks after the behavioural tests. Results showed that behavioural reactivity to playback of the various stimuli correlates with cortisol levels in hair samples collected at 9:00h, and the same was the case for the separate measures of behaviour (i.e. hiding, running away, seeking attention from the tester, panting and lowering of the body posture). Hence, levels of cortisol in hair appear to reflect the dog's chronic state of emotional reactivity, or temperament.

Detour behaviour was investigated in attack-trained dogs faced with a "U"-shaped vertical barrier behind which a figurant (target) was located. Left-turners took less time to detour the barrier than right-turners. The most logical explanation for the lateral asymmetries observed in dogs' detour behaviour is to assume that they reflect preferential use of the right or the left eye in visual analysis of the target. Given that the lateral field of each eye of dogs projects mainly to the contralateral side of the brain, shorter latencies to solve the task observed in left-turners (right visual hemifield) with respect to right-turners (left visual hemifield) are consistent with specialisation of the left hemisphere in prey-catching behaviour. Overall our results supported previous evidence that cerebral lateralisation in vertebrates can directly affect visually guided motor responses and have practical implications for personnel involved in the selection of dogs trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work.

During feeding behaviour, dogs were suddenly presented with 2D stimuli depicting the silhouette of a dog, a cat or a snake simultaneously into the left and right visual hemifields. A bias to turn the head towards the left rather than the right side was observed with the cat and snake stimulus but not with the dog stimulus. Latencies to react following stimulus presentation were lower for left than for right head turning, whereas times needed to resume feeding behaviour were higher after left rather than after right head turning. When stimuli were presented only to the left or right visual hemifields, dogs proved to be more responsive to left side presentation, irrespective of the type of stimulus. However, cat and snake stimuli produced shorter latencies to react and longer times to resume feeding following left rather than right monocular visual hemifield presentation. Results demonstrate striking lateralization in dogs, with the right side of the brain more responsive to threatening and alarming stimuli. Possible implications for animal welfare are discussed.

A proliferation of literature has investigated the effect of road transport in farm animals (Stockman et al., 2013). In horses loading is a critical point of transportation, often causing injures both to horses or owners and wasting time (Ferguson and Rosalez Luis, 2001). Loading is considered a mental stress in horses (Waran and Cuddeford, 1995). Horses have to leave a familiar environment and herd. They often have a negative association with the truck: a long period of isolation, no possibility of escape, and racing or competition after unloading (Slater and Dymond, 2011). Studies on transport stress are adequate but those about only loading procedures are few and need replication (Shanahan, 2003). The aim of this work was to investigate the effects that loading, short isolation in the truck and unloading without a travel experience had on physiological and behavioral parameters after many repetitions. Fourteen Quarter Horses, accustomed to travel, homogeneous for live weight (500 ± 25 kg), body condition score (3 ± 0.25 arbitrary units; Martin-Rosset, 1990) and age (6 ± 1 years), were recruited in this study. Each animal was loaded into the truck, without any reinforcements or punishments, spent one minute inside (tied parallel to the direction of travel), unloaded and returned to its box stall. The experiment was repeated 12 times. All animals were tested on the same day once weekly over 12 weeks. The horses were examined at rest in their stalls (Time I), after loading (Time II) and after unloading (Time III). Each examination included the registration of heart rate (HR) by Heart Monitor (Polar) and respiratory rate (RR) by the observation of chest-wall movements. At Time I and III blood samples were collected by venopuncture to assess cortisol level, PCV and total protein. All phases were recorded by video camera to score the horse behavior. A group of ten persons marked the horses during loading, isolation and unloading applying a behavioral score (BS) from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (refusal to load). Maximal time for loading was set at 5 minutes.. General Linear Model analysis for repeated measures revealed differences in the HR and RR over the experimental period and in PCV and cortisol between rest and after unloading (Table 1). The BS was also significantly different among the different transport phases (loading (1.96±1.35) and unloading (1.79±0.78) vs short isolation (1.38±0.56); F=12.91; P<0.001). Our data confirmed that horses were under stress by loading into a truck. They released adrenaline that caused the significant increase of HR, RR and PCV. Cortisol level also showed an upward trend, which is typical after a stressful situation. We suggest that loading into the truck is still a fearful experience after 12 repetitions, so this event requires appropriate management even in horses well trained and accustomed to transport. Further studies are needed in this field to develop new methods of loading procedure to reduce stress and safeguard horses’ welfare.

Tellington method (T-Touch®) is usually practiced in equine field, with the goal to improve equine welfare and the relationship between rider and his horse. For our knowledge this is the first scientific work on this topic. The effects of T-Touch® on the behavior of 20 saddle horses (aged 6-18 years) were investigated; no subjects had previously experience with this technique. Horses were studied in 3 situations lasting 20 minutes each: T-Touch, massage/petting (M/P), resting (R). All phases were recorded by a video-camera. The frequency of following behaviors were scored: autogrooming, deep breathing, relaxing of the neck, kicking, pawing, licking/chewing, head tossing, biting and lateral/forward/ backward movements. The videos were analyzed by 10 persons, 5 Scientifics and 5 not, using a Behavioral Score (BS) from 1 (highly negative response) to 5 (highly positive response). GLM analyses for repeated measures revealed a significant main effect of the following behaviors: autogrooming F(2,38)=9.016, P&lt;0.01; deep breathing F(2,38)=4.01, P=0.02; neck relaxing F(2,38)=12.904, P&lt;0.01; F(2,38)=9.016, P&lt;0.01; kicking F(2,38)=3.301, P=0.04; pawing F(2,38)=4.594, P=0.01 and licking F(2,38)=3.715, P=0.03. Post-hoc analyses (Fisher’s Protected LSD) revealed that autogrooming and neck relaxing behaviors were higher during T-Touch than R (P&lt;0.01) and M/P (P&lt;0.05); in addition, pawing occurrence was higher during R respect to M/P (P&lt;0.05) while kicking frequency was higher during M/P respect to R (P&lt;0.05). Finally, the highest frequency of licking was achieved during R (P&lt;0.05) and the lowest frequency of deep breathing was measured during M/P (M/P vs T-Touch P&lt;0.01; M/P vs R P&lt;0.05). Regarding the BS, results clearly showed that horses appeared more relaxed during the T-Touch procedure respect to massage/petting (t(18)=7.742, P&lt;0.00). In general our results showed that T-Touch® was positively accepted by saddle horses without eliciting any aggressive behavioral responses. Further studies need to deeply understand the effects of T-Touch on endocrinal and physiological parameters too. Lay Persons Message During T-Touch horses didn’t show any aggressive behaviors and showed more relaxing of the neck, deep breathing and autogrooming compared with the petting and the resting situations, so this massage technique could improve equine welfare and rider-horse relationship.

Whether a mammal reproduces seasonally or continuously depends mostly on the environment and its effects on the endocrine pattern. Although the dog was the first species to have been domesticated, little information is available on the changes in reproduction that have occurred since. In this study, we evaluated whether environmental stimuli can act as modulators of male gonadal activity in the dog at the latitude of Bari (Italy). Therefore, for 1 year, serum and seminal testosterone (T) concentrations, together with seminal parameters, were recorded monthly and evaluated in relation to environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, and photoperiod. We found that, in temperate regions, the annual serum T profile is not affected by environmental conditions, whereas seminal T profile peaks in October and reaches its nadir in April. The percentage of progressive motile spermatozoa is also dependent on environmental cues. The results support the intuitive idea that recorded data require a proper analysis to be meaningful. In fact, we found that, in the dog, environmental changes appear to affect male gonadal physiology, and this is clear when recorded data are analyzed monthly; in contrast, pooling data into seasonal groups hides monthly environmental variations.

Little is known about the distribution and species composition of cetaceans in the Gulf of Taranto, central Mediterranean Sea. Available information is limited to stranding reports and to scant preliminary observations at sea. Cetacean sightings were recorded between April 2007 and October 2009 during 23 daily boat surveys, totalling 1728 km of navigation. Three cetacean species were encountered: striped dolphins (n = 41), Risso's dolphins (n = 5) and fin whales (n = 3). An additional sighting of a sperm whale group is reported. Encounter rates of striped dolphins were the highest, suggesting a regular occurrence in the study area. Risso's dolphins seemed to be predictably present in continental slope waters off the coast of Basilicata. Fin whales and striped dolphins, normally inhabiting deep pelagic waters offshore, were found in continental slope waters relatively close to the coast, possibly due to the particular bathymetry of the Gulf of Taranto and to oceanographic conditions that enhance local productivity. High human impact and worsening environmental conditions in the northern Gulf of Taranto raise concerns over the future of cetaceans living in these waters. This study expands previous knowledge and aims to stimulate research on whales and dolphins in what seems to be an important portion of their Mediterranean range.

Bioetica e professione veterinaria

Evidence for behavioural and brain lateralisation is now widespread among the animal kingdom. Handedness, i.e. the preferential use of one hand at the population level, is a prominent manifestation of brain lateralisation in humans; however, lateralisation of limb use (pawedness) occurs in several mammals including both feral and domestic horses. We investigated limb preferences in 14 Quarter Horse during different motor tasks (walking, stepping on and off a step, truck loading and unloading). Population lateralisation was observed in two tasks: horses preferentially used their left forelimb during truck loading and stepping off a step. The results also revealed that horses showed higher scores for anxious behaviours during truck loading suggesting that the use of the left forelimb in this task may reflect the main role of the right hemisphere in control of behaviour during stressful situation.

The influence of lateralization on 19 agility trained dogs (Canis familiaris) was investigated by scoring paw preference to hold a food object and relating it to performance during typical agility obstacles (jump/A-frame and weave poles). In addition, because recent behavioural studies reported that visual stimuli of emotional valence presented to one visual hemifield at a time affect visually guided motor responses in dogs, the possibility that the position of the owner respectively in the left and in the right canine visual hemifield might be associated with quality of performance during agility was considered. Dogs’ temperament was also measured by an owner-rated questionnaire. The most relevant finding was that agility trained dogs displayed longer latencies to complete the obstacles with the owner located in their left visual hemifield respect to the right. Interestingly, results showed that this phenomenon was significantly linked to both dogs' trainability and the strength of paw preference.

Lateralization in Horses, Equus Caballus, has been reported at both motor and sensory levels. Here we investigated left and right nostril use in 12 show jumper horses freely sniffing different emotive stimuli. Results revealed that during sniffing at adrenaline and oestrus mare urine stimuli, horses showed a clear right-nostril bias while just a tendency in the use of the right nostril was observed during sniffing at other odours (food, cotton swab, repellent). Sniffing at adrenaline and urine odours was also accompanied by increasing cardiac activity and behavioural reactivity strengthening the role of the right hemisphere in the analysis of intense emotion and sexual behavior.

Left-right asymmetries in behaviour associated with asymmetries in the brain are widespread in the animal kingdom, and the hypothesis has been put forward that they may be linked to animals’ social behaviour. Dogs show asymmetric tail wagging responses to different emotive stimuli - the outcome of different activation of left and right brain structures controlling tail movements to the right and left side of the body. A crucial question, however, is whether or not dogs detect this asymmetry. Here we report that dogs looking at moving video-images of conspecifics exhibiting prevalent left- or right- asymmetric tail wagging showed higher cardiac activity and higher scores of anxious behaviour when observing left- rather than right-biased tail wagging. The finding that dogs are sensitive to the asymmetric tail expressions of other dogs supports the hypothesis of a link between brain asymmetry and social behavior, and may prove useful to canine animal welfare theory and practice.

Lateralization in dogs, Canis familiaris, has been reported for paw usage and response to visual and acoustic stimuli. Surprisingly, however, no investigation of possible lateralization for the most relevant sensory domain of dogs, namely olfaction, has been carried out. Here we investigated left and right nostril use in dogs freely sniffing different emotive stimuli in unrestrained conditions. When sniffing novel nonaversive stimuli (food, lemon, vaginal secretion and cotton swab odours), dogs showed initial preferential use of the right nostril and then a shift towards use of the left nostril with repeated stimulus presentation. When sniffing arousal stimuli such as adrenaline and veterinary sweat odorants, dogs showed a consistent right nostril bias all over the series of stimulus presentations. Results suggest initial involvement of the right hemisphere in processing of novel stimuli followed by the left hemisphere taking charge of control of routine behaviour. Sustained right nostril response to arousal stimuli appears to be consistent with the idea that the sympathetic hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is mainly under the control of the right hemisphere. The implications of these findings for animal welfare are discussed. (C) 2011 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Apart from findings on both functional and motor asymmetries in captive aquatic mammals, only few studies have focused on lateralized behaviour of these species in the wild. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study we focused on lateralized visual behaviour by presenting wild striped dolphins with objects of different degrees of familiarity (fish, ball, toy). Surveys were conducted in the Gulf of Taranto, the northern Ionian Sea portion delimited by the Italian regions of Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia. After sighting striped dolphins from a research vessel, different stimuli were presented in a random order by a telescopic bar connected to the prow of the boat. The preferential use of the right/left monocular viewing during inspection of the stimuli was analysed. CONCLUSION: Results clearly showed a monocular viewing preference with respect to the type of the stimulus employed. Due to the complete decussation of the optical nerves in dolphin brain our results reflected a different specialization of brain hemispheres for visual scanning processes confirming that in this species different stimuli evoked different patterns of eye use. A preferential use of the right eye (left hemisphere) during visual inspection of unfamiliar targets was observed supporting the hypothesis that, in dolphins, the organization of the functional neural structures which reflected cerebral asymmetries for visual object recognition could have been subjected to a deviation from the evolutionary line of most terrestrial vertebrates.

In the present study we quantified volumetric brain asymmetries from computed tomography (CT) scans in 12 healthy dogs, using a semi-automated technique for assessing in vivo structure asymmetry. Volumetric assessment of asymmetrical cerebral lateral ventricle (ALV) was also investigated. Our results showed that seven dogs exhibited a right hemisphere significantly greater than the left, two dogs had a left-greater-than-right hemisphere asymmetry, and finally two dogs displayed no significant brain volumetric asymmetry. This right-biased hemispheric asymmetry supports data reported previously using post-mortem morphological studies in both dogs and other mammalian species.

This chapter shows how lateralisation of brain functions influences dog behaviour during several activities, including tail wagging and paw preference.Implications of these behavioural asymmetries on the different roles played by the two sides of a dog's brain are put forward, with examples from the main sensory domains (namely, olfaction, visual, and auditory); similarities with behavioural tests performed in other animal models (e.g., chicks, fish, non-human primates) are discussed.Overall, data confirms the presence of a complementary specialisation of brain hemispheres in canine species, with a left-hemispheric advantage for routine behaviours and for the perception of species-specific vocalisations, and with a right hemisphere specialisation in the analysis of arousal stimuli and novelty.Finally, the relationships between emotion, cognition, and lateralisation are discussed speculatively in the hope of finding new ways of measuring the affective states of dogs with direct implications for animal welfare and successful social communication.