Effects of auditory and visual stimuli on glucose metabolism in Holstein dairy cattle

Abstract

BackgroundStandardization of the intravenous glucose tolerance test (ivGTT) in cattle has received little attention despite its widespread use to monitor glucose metabolism. The impact of management practices including several sensorial stimuli on test responses has not yet been described in young cattle. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of noise exposure, and visual food stimuli in combination with physical restraint on ivGTT and insulin traits in Holstein cattle. A total of 108 ivGTT (6 tests per animal) were performed in bulls (n = 6), steers (n = 6), and heifers (n = 6) aged 312 to 344 days. The main parameters analyzed for glucose and insulin included: basal concentration (G0, Ins0), maximum concentration (GMAX, InsMAX), and final concentration at 63 min (G63, Ins63), glucose and insulin area under the curve (GAUC, InsAUC), and glucose half-life time (GHLT). Noise stimuli were induced by playing rock music at approximately 90 dB either before (NI) or immediately after glucose injection (NII). Visual food stimuli were induced by feeding the neighboring animals while the tested animal was restrained in a headlock.ResultsAlmost all glucose and insulin traits were affected by gender (P< 0.05) whereas the factor with least impact on ivGTT was NI. InsMAX and InsAUC were affected (P < 0.002) by all factors analyzed. GHLT and G63 were affected by gender and noise with higher values in bulls when compared to steers and heifers. Furthermore, InsAUC and InsMAX values derived from NII significantly differed in bulls when compared to steers and heifers. Significantly higher values for G0 (P < 0.001), InsMAX (P < 0.001) and InsAUC (P = 0.001) were observed when exposed to the visual food stimulus whereas GMAX (P = 0.02) and GAUC (P = 0.04) decreased. Higher Ins63 values were observed in bulls exposed to the visual food stimulus when compared to heifers.ConclusionsShort-term exposure to noise and visual food stimuli might lead to variations in glucose metabolism and insulin secretion which emphasizes the necessity to avoid practices involving auditory or visual stimuli prior to or during the conduction of an ivGTT.

The Effect of Music on Livestock: Cattle, Poultry and Pigs

“…On the other hand, rock music produced the opposite effect in cows. Apart from reducing milk yields, it also caused elevated levels of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) in blood plasma and, at 90 dB, disrupted glucose metabolism and insulin secretion [ 74 , 76 ]. Similar effects have been observed for African Percussion Music—which employs polyrhythm, rattles, iron gongs, sticks, calabashes and marimba (in addition to LDH, this genre also prompts elevated levels of globulins and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase in blood plasma)—Latin American music, and, according to JiaJia et al (2015), even folk music (most likely of Chinese origin, given the country of publication and the nationality of the authors) [ 74 , 77 , 78 ].…”

Selected Acoustic Frequencies Have a Positive Impact on Behavioural and Physiological Welfare Indicators in Thoroughbred Racehorses

“…However, few studies went beyond measuring heart rate and respiration rate variables in terms of physiological measures, but the playback of ‘Vivaldi Four Seasons’ music to chicken has been associated with lower corticosterone and increased weight gain [ 84 ]. Fast rhythm music of rock or metal types seems to invariably induce avoidance and opposite effects to slow rhythm music in humans and animals, ranging from decreased blood pressure in humans, metabolic problems in cattle, stress reactions in pigs to weight loss in chickens [ 79 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Cattle respond physiologically to different types of music [ 81 ] and milk yield may increase by up to 12.6% for Indian music [ 87 ].…”

“…Overall, when given the choice, animals prefer slow rhythms and classical or country music over rock and metal genres [ 7 ]. Playback of classical music was associated with a decreased number of stereotypic behaviors, less agitation, and more resting in cows, while rock and metal music had opposite effects in both cows and pigs [ 85 , 86 ]. Particular music types such as the above-mentioned ‘Mozart Sonata’ K.448 or K.525, ‘Vivaldi Four Seasons’ or Beethoven Symphonia n °9 have been particularly used in human and animal studies (‘Mozart effect‘: [ 94 , 95 , 96 ]), but why and how these music types may have an effect on mental and/or physical state remains poorly understood.…”

The Effects of Sounds and Music on Cells and Organisms: A Promising and Developing Area of Research

“…Today, we are discovering the numerous effects it has on the brain and on organic functions. It is used in a care approach (music therapy) (Behzadmehr et al 2020, Billar et al 2020, Buglione et al 2020, Bulut et al 2020, Çelebi et al 2020, Chai et al 2020a, b, Cimen et al 2020, Chan et al 2020, Dai et al 2020, Ernberg et al 2020, Gamboa et al 2020, Garcia Guerra et al 2020, Giordano et al 2020, Gogoularadja and Bakshi 2020, Guo et al 2020, Howlin and Rooney 2020, Johnson and Elkins 2020, Köhler et al 2020, Pérez-Eizaguirre and Vergara-Moragues 2020, Polascik et al 2021, Saraogi et al 2020, Usui et al 2020, Dunbar et al 2021, Yang et al 2021), but its influence on well-being goes beyond the human being (Sambraus and Hecker 1985, Hurnik and Johnson 1997, Kenison 2016, Bowman et al 2017, González-Grajales et al 2019, Kemp 2020). In fact, many studies have described the various effects of music on different organisms (Lemarquis 2009, 2021, Dhungana et al 2018, Exbrayat and Brun 2019, Mayoud and Lemarquis 2019, Pulcrano and di Porzio 2021.…”