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Discrimination learning and judgment bias in low birth weight pigs
Sanne Roelofs1,2,3, Floor A C Alferink1,4, Allyson F Ipema1,5
1Behaviour and Welfare Group, Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Animal Cognition
|May 4, 2019
Summary
Low birth weight (LBW) in pigs may cause mild cognitive impairment, as LBW piglets required more training. However, LBW did not affect emotional states, as shown by judgment bias and cortisol levels.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Neuroscience
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Low birth weight (LBW) is a known risk factor for cognitive and emotional impairments in humans.
- LBW is common in pigs, but its impact on their cognitive and emotional development is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of LBW on cognitive and emotional development in pigs.
- To assess if LBW pigs exhibit impaired judgment and emotional states compared to normal birth weight (NBW) pigs.
Main Methods:
- A judgment bias task was used to assess emotional states in 21 LBW and 21 NBW pigs.
- Pigs were trained to discriminate between auditory stimuli predicting positive or negative outcomes.
- Responses to ambiguous stimuli were analyzed to infer optimistic or pessimistic interpretations, indicative of emotional state.
Main Results:
- LBW pigs required significantly more training sessions to reach criterion performance, suggesting mild cognitive impairment.
- No significant differences in judgment bias were observed between LBW and NBW pigs.
- Salivary and hair cortisol concentrations were comparable between LBW and NBW groups, supporting similar emotional states.
Conclusions:
- LBW in pigs may lead to mild cognitive deficits.
- LBW does not appear to significantly impact emotional states or stress responses in pigs under the study conditions.
- Enriched housing and social grouping might have influenced the emotional outcomes observed in LBW pigs.
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