Evolution of the neural basis of consciousness: a bird–mammal comparison

Butler, Ann B.; Manger, Paul R.; Lindahl, B. I. B.; Århem, Peter

doi:10.1002/bies.20280

Cited by 47 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Processing of exteroreceptor-generated impulses in particular subcortical regulatory structures and in related regions of the cerebral cortex therefore contributes to the expression and conscious experience of these affects. Importantly, such processing appears to be common to all higher animals, including mammals and birds (Butler et al 2005;Panksepp 2005;Panksepp et al 2011).…”

Section: Situation-related Motivational Affectsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhancing animal welfare by creating opportunities for positive affective engagement

Mellor

2014

New Zealand Veterinary Journal

118

171

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In line with an increasing emphasis on promoting positive welfare states in animals, this review extends previous accounts of how recent affective neuroscience observations may be used to identify and then to encourage animals to engage in reward-motivated behaviours. The terms affective states or affects are used to mean the subjective experiences, feelings or emotions that may motivate animals to behave in goal-directed ways and which may accompany success or failure to achieve those goals. These motivational affects may be positive, experienced as rewarding or pleasurable, or negative, experienced as aversive or punishing. There are two overall types: homeostasis-related negative affects that reflect an animal's internal physiological state, and situation-related positive or negative affects that reflect an animal's perception of its external circumstances. The major emphasis is on positive situation-related affects, in particular those that are potentially associated with exploration, feeding and animal-to-animal affiliative behaviours. The review introduces the new concept of positive affective engagement which represents the experience animals may have when they actively respond to motivations to engage in rewarding behaviours, and it incorporates all associated affects that are positive. For example, it would represent a state of engaged aliveness that may attend an animal's goal-directed, energised exploration of and interactions with a stimulus-rich environment. It also represents some states of equally energised, highly focused predatory stalking by carnivores or the focused and engaged foraging by herbivores when they are grazing in natural environments where food sources are abundant. Positive affective engagement may also be anticipated to accompany some aspects of reciprocated affiliative interactions between animals, the dedicated maternal nurturing and care of young, the joyfulness of rough-and-tumble play, and the eroticism and orgasmic pleasures of sexual activity. It is argued that highlighting the genetically pre-programmed, affectively positive impulses to engage in reward-motivated activities such as these, and the positive affects that may attend different facets of the process, draws attention to a wider spectrum of welfare enhancing experiences than has hitherto been considered to be important to animals. These neuroscience-supported observations strengthen many prior inferences made from predominantly behaviour-based investigations of animals' preferences, aversions and priorities, the associated development of successful environmental enrichments and the inclusion of these, where practicable, in more recent codes of practice or welfare.

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Section: Situation-related Motivational Affectsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhancing animal welfare by creating opportunities for positive affective engagement

Mellor

2014

New Zealand Veterinary Journal

118

171

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“…Avian brains possess structures analogous to those necessary for consciousness in mammals [10]. Reviews of behavioral indices and brain physiology and anatomy have led to the conclusion that some level of consciousness is present in birds [2,10,11].…”

Section: The Avian Brain and Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of insensibility used to determine effective stunning and killing of poultry

Erasmus¹,

Turner

Widowski³

2010

Journal of Applied Poultry Research

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Primary Audience: Producers, Researchers SUMMARYThe ability to assess the level of unconsciousness (insensibility) in poultry is important on farms and in abattoirs, where the effectiveness of stunning and slaughter needs to be ascertained. Moreover, knowledge of the most reliable indicators of insensibility is essential to producers and researchers responsible for maintaining acceptable levels of poultry welfare. A problem with assessing insensibility in poultry is that no single method is appropriate under all circumstances, and some methods are not practical in field situations. Several measures have been recommended and used to evaluate insensibility in poultry, including brain stem reflexes, such as the corneal reflex, and spinal reflexes, such as the pain withdrawal reflex. This review examines specific advantages and disadvantages of measures that have been used to assess insensibility in studies of killing methods, and provides an overview of recommended signs of effective stunning and slaughter. The measures that are used to monitor the state of insensibility in birds during anesthesia are also examined to provide additional practical means for assessing loss of consciousness in the field. In general, the absence of brain stem and spinal reflexes provides reliable evidence of insensibility after stunning and euthanasia procedures. Although the onset of neuromuscular spasms (convulsions) does not necessarily indicate insensibility, the complete cessation of neuromuscular spasms appears to be associated with brain death. Further research is necessary to validate these measures and other indicators, such as the absence of neck muscle tension and jaw tone, as reliable indicators of complete insensibility.

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“…The highest 5-HT 1A receptor density was detected in the HI, which is one of the pseudolayers of the avian Wulst. Pseudolayers are nuclear structures that do not display the laminar organization of the mammalian cerebral cortex where columns have an orthogonal position to laminae (Medina and Reiner, 2000;Butler et al, 2005). HI receives visual input from the Gld and is also part of the thalamofugal system (Güntürkün and Hahmann, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding sites in the brain of the pigeon (Columba livia)

et al. 2012

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Serotonin (5-HT) is a modulatory neurotransmitter that is involved in a variety of physiological and behavioral functions. In mammals, dysfunction of the serotonergic system has been linked to various diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and eating disorders (Müller et al., 2007;Michelsen et al., 2008;Remington, 2008;Terry et al., 2008;Akimova et al., 2009;Polter and Li, 2010). In addition, growing evidence found in many species indicates that 5-HT modulates learning and memory (Jacobs and Azmitia, 1992;Winsauer et al., 1996; Meneses, 1999;Clarke et al., 2004; Meneses and PerezGarcia, 2007;Müller et al., 2007;Bert et al., 2008;Gasbarri et al., 2008;González-Burgos and Feria-Velasco, 2008;Sitaraman et al., 2008;Sambeth et al., 2009;Bari et al., 2010).Serotonin binds to multiple receptors (Hoyer et al., 2002;Green, 2006), which are widely distributed throughout the brain (Chalmers and Watson, 1991;Baumgarten and Grozdanovic, 1995;Barnes and Sharp, 1999;Riad et al., 2000). One of the most prominent is the 5-HT 1A receptor, which was first cloned and described by Fargin et al. (1988). The 5-HT 1A receptor belongs to the G protein coupled receptor superfamily and binds to a Gi/o protein (Innis and Aghajanian, 1987;Polter and Li, 2010). It displays a high affinity for 5-HT and occurs both pre-and postsynaptically (Hall et al., 1985;van Wijngaarden et al., 1990;Riad et al., 2000). As somatodendritic autoreceptors, 5-HT 1A receptors modulate the activity of 5-HT neurons, whereas they modify neuronal activity in terminal areas as postsynaptic receptors (Müller et al., 2007).The distribution of 5-HT 1A receptors in the brain has been investigated by several methods in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans. Thereby, a high correlation between receptor binding with [3H]-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([ 3 H]-8-OH-DPAT) and 5-HT 1A mRNA densities has been shown (Chalmers and Watson, 1991;Pompeiano et al., 1992). High 5-HT 1A receptor densities were detected in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei and in areas of the limbic system such as the hippocampus, the lateral septum, the amygdala, as well as the entorhinal and cingulate cortices Zilles et al., 1985Zilles et al., , 2000Palacios et al., 1990;Yilmazer-Hanke et al., 2003). Moderate binding was detected in the olfactory bulb, the thalamus, hypothalamus, and several brain stem nuclei as well as neocortical areas. Low levels, or no binding, were reported in the basal ganglia and cerebellum (Gozlan et al., 1983;Marcinkiewicz et al., 1984;Zilles et al., 1985Zilles et al., , 2000Hall et al., 1997;Vergé et al., 1986;Albert et al., 1990;Palacios et al., 1990;Pompeiano et al., 1992;Khawaja, 1995; Kia et al., 1996a,b;Farde et al., 1997;Raurich et al., 1999;Hume et al., 2001;Maeda et al., 2001;Geyer et al., 2005;Palchaudhuri and Flügge, 2005;Eickhoff et al., 2007;Topic et al., 2007). 5-HT 1A receptors play a role in executive functions, anxiety related behavior, learning and reinforcement, feeding behavior, and locomotor activity (Zilles et al., 2...

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Evolution of the neural basis of consciousness: a bird–mammal comparison

Cited by 47 publications

References 91 publications

Enhancing animal welfare by creating opportunities for positive affective engagement

Enhancing animal welfare by creating opportunities for positive affective engagement

Measures of insensibility used to determine effective stunning and killing of poultry

Serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding sites in the brain of the pigeon (Columba livia)

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