Behavioural and physiological correlates of impulsivity in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Wright, Hannah; Mills, Daniel S.; Pollux, Petra M.J.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.09.019

Cited by 97 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Moreover, a different study reported that high impulsivity is linked to lower levels of serotonin and dopamine in dogs, a phenomenon which has previously been reported in humans (Wright et al 2012). In light of our findings of behavioral differences across contexts, it would be instructive to see whether the neurobiological data also reflect differences in depletion and chemical levels depending upon context.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

2013

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Across three experiments, we explored whether a dog's capacity for inhibitory control is stable or variable across decision-making contexts. In the social task, dogs were first exposed to the reputations of a stingy experimenter that never shared food and a generous experimenter who always shared food. In subsequent test trials, dogs were required to avoid approaching the stingy experimenter when this individual offered (but withheld) a higher-value reward than the generous experimenter did. In the A-not-B task, dogs were required to inhibit searching for food in a previously rewarded location after witnessing the food being moved from this location to a novel hiding place. In the cylinder task, dogs were required to resist approaching visible food directly (because it was behind a transparent barrier), in favor of a detour reaching response. Overall, dogs exhibited inhibitory control in all three tasks. However, individual scores were not correlated between tasks, suggesting that context has a large effect on dogs' behavior. This result mirrors studies of humans, which have highlighted intra-individual variation in inhibitory control as a function of the decision-making context. Lastly, we observed a correlation between a subject's age and performance on the cylinder task, corroborating previous observations of age-related decline in dogs' executive function.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

2013

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“…The term does not imply a diagnosis of pathological hyperactivity associated with impaired attention as in humans beings (Blum and others 2008, Wright and others 2012), and a lower level of activity might also be related to a lower motivation to play and seeking rewards in general.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there a link between treatments with exogenous corticosteroids and dog behaviour problems?

2016

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Possible side effects of exogenous corticosteroids have been described in both humans and laboratory animals, with recent studies highlighting this issue in dogs. In this paper the behaviour of 345 dogs drawn from the caseload of a behaviour clinic based in the north of Italy between February 2012 and November 2014 were analysed. Possible relationships between dogs that received treatment with corticosteroids versus dogs that received treatment with drugs other than corticosteroids and positive or negative affective states, aggression towards people, other behaviour problems apart from aggression, occurrence of severe bites, and prescription of psychoactive drugs were initially assessed using a Pearson's chi-squared test. Regression analysis was then performed in order to evaluate the best predictors of the investigated items. The goal of this retrospective survey was to investigate possible relationships between the affective states associated with the behavioural complaint of dogs and their previous history of treatment with corticosteroids. Results showed that a history of corticosteroid treatment was a significant predictor of a range of behaviour problems associated with negative affective state, but this result may be confounded by age-related effects.

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“…Delay discounting procedures have also been studied using other non-human animals such as pigeons, rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees and bonobos (for review see Vanderveldt, Oliveira, & Green, 2016), and dogs (e.g. Wright, Mills, & Pollux, 2012) with response types such as pecking response keys, pressing response levers, and depressing wooden panels, respectively. There is a large literature concerning differences in delay discounting across mice and rats due to genetic variations (for review of both human and animal literature see MacKillop, 2013), and drug exposure (for review see Setlow, Mendez, Mitchell, & Simon, 2009).…”

Section: Impulsive Behavior: Definition and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and impulsive behavior in drug addiction: A review of past research and future directions

Argyriou

Carron

et al. 2018

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

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Impulsive behavior is implicated in the initiation, maintenance, and relapse of drug-seeking behaviors involved in drug addiction. Research shows that changes in impulsive behavior across the lifespan contribute to drug use and addiction. The goal of this review is to examine existing research on the relationship between impulsive behavior and drug use across the lifespan and to recommend directions for future research. Three domains of impulsive behavior are explored in this review: impulsive behavior-related personality traits, delay discounting, and prepotent response inhibition. First, we present previous research on these three domains of impulsive behavior and drug use across developmental stages. Then, we discuss how changes in impulsive behavior across the lifespan are implicated in the progression of drug use and addiction. Finally, we discuss the relatively limited attention given to middle-to-older adults in the current literature, consider the validity of the measures used to assess impulsive behavior in middle-to-older adulthood, and suggest recommendations for future research.

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Behavioural and physiological correlates of impulsivity in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Cited by 97 publications

References 53 publications

Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

Context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs

Is there a link between treatments with exogenous corticosteroids and dog behaviour problems?

Age and impulsive behavior in drug addiction: A review of past research and future directions

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