scholarly journals Stability and individual variability of social attachment in imprinting

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien S. Lemaire ◽  
Daniele Rucco ◽  
Mathilde Josserand ◽  
Giorgio Vallortigara ◽  
Elisabetta Versace

AbstractFilial imprinting has become a model for understanding memory, learning and social behaviour in neonate animals. This mechanism allows the youngs of precocial bird species to learn the characteristics of conspicuous visual stimuli and display affiliative response to them. Although longer exposures to an object produce stronger preferences for it afterwards, this relation is not linear. Sometimes, chicks even prefer to approach novel rather than familiar objects. To date, little is known about how filial preferences develop across time. This study aimed to investigate filial preferences for familiar and novel imprinting objects over time. After hatching, chicks were individually placed in an arena where stimuli were displayed on two opposite screens. Using an automated setup, the duration of exposure and the type of stimuli were manipulated while the time spent at the imprinting stimulus was monitored across 6 days. We showed that prolonged exposure (3 days vs 1 day) to a stimulus produced robust filial imprinting preferences. Interestingly, with a shorter exposure (1 day), animals re-evaluated their filial preferences in functions of their spontaneous preferences and past experiences. Our study suggests that predispositions influence learning when the imprinting memories are not fully consolidated, driving animal preferences toward more predisposed stimuli.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien S. Lemaire ◽  
Daniele Rucco ◽  
Mathilde Josserand ◽  
Giorgio Vallortigara ◽  
Elisabetta Versace

AbstractFilial imprinting has become a model for understanding memory, learning and social behaviour in neonate animals. This fast attachment mechanism allows the young of precocial bird species to learn the characteristics of conspicuous visual stimuli and display affiliative response to them. Although more prolonged exposure to an object produces a stronger preference for it afterwards, this relation is not linear. Chicks can even prefer to approach novel rather than familiar objects at some stages of imprinting. The time course and stability of imprinting has just started to be investigated. To date, little is known about how filial preferences develop across time, due to the challenges in assessing individual performance. This study aimed to investigate filial preferences for familiar and novel imprinting objects over time. We have used an automated setup to track the behaviour of chicks continuously for subsequent days. After hatching, chicks were individually placed in an arena where stimuli were displayed on two opposite screens. The duration of exposure and the type of stimuli were manipulated while the time spent at the imprinting stimulus was monitored across six days. We showed that prolonged exposure (3 days vs 1 day) to a stimulus produced robust filial imprinting preferences. Interestingly, with a shorter exposure (1 day), animals re-evaluated their filial preferences in functions of their innate preferences and past experiences. Our study suggests that predispositions influence learning when the imprinting memories are not fully consolidated, driving animal preferences toward more predisposed stimuli.


1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (03) ◽  
pp. 371-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peretz Weiss ◽  
Hillel Halkin ◽  
Shlomo Almog

SummaryWithin-individual variation over time in the clearance (Cl) and effect (PT%) of warfarin, was measured in 25 inpatients (group I) studied after standard single or individualized split loading doses and 1-3 times (n = 16) 8-16 weeks later during maintenance. Mean Cl (2.5 α 0.9 ml/min) was similar in both phases but significant changes occurred in 6/16 patients, exceeding those expected from within-individual variation alone (defined by its 95% tolerance limits -24% to +62%). Initial PT% (21 α 5) was unaffected by dosing schedule, total or free plasma warfarin, varying between patients by only 18-24%. Mean initial and maintenance dose-PT% ratios (8.2 mg/d: 21% and 4.1 mg/d: 40%) were similar but significant changes in sensitivity to warfarin occurred in 4/16 patients. In group I and 64 other outpatients on maintenance therapy, between-individual variability was 36-52% for Cl and 49-56% for effect. PT% correlated best (r = 0.56) with free and total plasma warfarin but poorly with dose (r = 0.29), with only 30% of PT% variance explained at best, due to high between patient variability.Warfarin dose prediction whether based on extrapolation from initial effects to the maintenance phase, or on iterative methods not allowing for between- or within-patient variation in warfarin clearance or effect which may occur independently over time, have not improved on empirical therapy. This, due to the elements of biological variability as well as the intricacy of the warfarin - prothrombin complex interaction not captured by any kinetic-dynamic model used for prediction to date.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Acácio ◽  
Ralf H. E. Mullers ◽  
Aldina M. A. Franco ◽  
Frank J. Willems ◽  
Arjun Amar

AbstractAnimal movement is mainly determined by spatial and temporal changes in resource availability. For wetland specialists, the seasonal availability of surface water may be a major determinant of their movement patterns. This study is the first to examine the movements of Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex), an iconic and vulnerable bird species. Using GPS transmitters deployed on six immature and one adult Shoebills over a 5-year period, during which four immatures matured into adults, we analyse their home ranges and distances moved in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia. We relate their movements at the start of the rainy season (October to December) to changes in Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), a proxy for surface water. We show that Shoebills stay in the Bangweulu Wetlands all year round, moving less than 3 km per day on 81% of days. However, average annual home ranges were large, with high individual variability, but were similar between age classes. Immature and adult Shoebills responded differently to changes in surface water; sites that adults abandoned became drier, while sites abandoned by immatures became wetter. However, there were no differences in NDWI of areas used by Shoebills before abandonment and newly selected sites, suggesting that Shoebills select areas with similar surface water. We hypothesise that the different responses to changes in surface water by immature and adult Shoebills are related to age-specific optimal foraging conditions and fishing techniques. Our study highlights the need to understand the movements of Shoebills throughout their life cycle to design successful conservation actions for this emblematic, yet poorly known, species.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4pt2) ◽  
pp. 1305-1319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnna R. Swartz ◽  
K. Luan Phan ◽  
Mike Angstadt ◽  
Kate D. Fitzgerald ◽  
Christopher S. Monk

AbstractAnxiety disorders are associated with abnormalities in amygdala function and prefrontal cortex–amygdala connectivity. The majority of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have examined mean group differences in amygdala activation or connectivity in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders relative to controls, but emerging evidence suggests that abnormalities in amygdala function are dependent on the timing of the task and may vary across the course of a scanning session. The goal of the present study was to extend our knowledge of the dynamics of amygdala dysfunction by examining whether changes in amygdala activation and connectivity over scanning differ in pediatric anxiety disorder patients relative to typically developing controls during an emotion processing task. Examining changes in activation over time allows for a comparison of how brain function differs during initial exposure to novel stimuli versus more prolonged exposure. Participants included 34 anxiety disorder patients and 19 controls 7 to 19 years old. Participants performed an emotional face-matching task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, and the task was divided into thirds in order to examine change in activation over time. Results demonstrated that patients exhibited an abnormal pattern of amygdala activation characterized by an initially heightened amygdala response relative to controls at the beginning of scanning, followed by significant decreases in activation over time. In addition, controls evidenced greater context-modulated prefrontal cortex–amygdala connectivity during the beginning of scanning relative to patients. These results indicate that differences in emotion processing between the groups vary from initial exposure to novel stimuli relative to more prolonged exposure. Implications are discussed regarding how this pattern of neural activation may relate to altered early-occurring or anticipatory emotion-regulation strategies and maladaptive later-occurring strategies in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.


Janus Head ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-225
Author(s):  
Heather Fox ◽  

Katherine Anne Porter submitted a group of stories called “Legend and Memory” to The Atlantic Monthly in 1934, but instead of the reception she hoped for, The Atlantic Monthly responded with a request for significant revisions. These recommendations, as Porter adamantly explained, would change the collective meaning of the stories. And yet, Porter ultimately chose to concede, publishing the stories separately in other magazines before finally collecting them together again in The Leaning Tower and Other Stories (1944). Over the next twenty years, Porter would publish the stories (later called The Old Order stories) in two more collections— The Leaning Tower and Other Stories, The Old Order: Stories of the South from The Leaning Tower, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, and Flowering Judas and The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. Each time she chose not to edit individual stories but rearranged the order of the stories. Individually, each story is like a sketch, or one component of the protagonist Miranda’s construct of identity from the perspective of an adult looking backward and remembering as a child. And yet collectively, these stories reveal memory’s process of reconstruction and how the perspective of time transforms event through addition, elimination, and arrangement. Using text, correspondence, manuscripts, and cognitive research to examine the progression of Porter’s work on The Old Order stories in three collections over more than thirty years, “Representations of Truth: The Significance of Order in Katherine Anne Porter’s The Old Order Stories” traces the progressive ordering of these stories from their original submission to their final collection in The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1965). This essay argues that Porter’s rearrangements reflect a reconstructive process of memory. Over time, the reorganization of The Old Order stories demonstrate a shift in Miranda’s memories from a chronological positioning to a representational ordering, allowing Miranda to reexamine her perspective on past experiences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ducloy-Bouthors A S ◽  
◽  
Lassalle F ◽  
Gilliot S ◽  
Kyheng M ◽  
...  

ntroduction: Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH)-induced coagulopathy should be better explored. An innovative Simultaneous Generation of Thrombin and Plasmin Assay (SGTPA) was developed. Objective: To establish postpartum SGTPA references. Methods: Blood samples collected immediately after delivery (T0) and then 30, 60, 120 and 360 minutes later. Thrombin Generation (TG) and Plasmin Generation (PG) changes over time analyzed in 51 women after elective cesarean section without PPH and compared with Non-Pregnant (NP) women. The SGTPA variables’ correlations with fibrinogen levels, D-dimer levels and physiological blood loss were assessed in a mixed model. Results: 37 women were included. TG and PG were higher in the postpartum group than in the NP group. TG increased early and then remained stable (baseline TG Area Under the Curve (AUC) [95% Confidence Interval (CI)] = 41037 [36850-43537] nM.min). The fibrinogen level varied over time, along with TG (p<0.001). Plasmin generation increased from 30 to 120 minutes (AUC [95% CI]: 2104 [1437; 2613] nM.min), along with a change in the D-dimer level (p=0.018). The time to the plasmin peak and the time interval between the TG and PG peaks showed the greatest inter-individual variability at T0 and were associated with physiological volumes of blood loss during cesarean delivery. Conclusion: Reference SGTPA postpartum range was established. The SGTPA appears to be valuable for measuring TG and PG. TG and coagulation activation increased immediately after delivery, whereas PG and fibrinolysis increased later.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Reese ◽  
M Ladwig-Wiegard ◽  
L von Fersen ◽  
G Haase ◽  
H Will ◽  
...  

For over a century the practice of deflighting has taken place in zoological collections in order to ensure birds remain in open-topped enclosures. Over time, efforts have been made to improve or develop new (surgical) techniques, reduce risk of complications during deflighting and minimise stress and pain during the procedure. However, increased public interest in issues of animal welfare has coincided with a questioning of the practice of removing a birds ability to fly. The ensuing debate, which continues to progress among a variety of differing stakeholders, has led to various legislative adjustments across a number of countries. Despite significant legislation, the dialogue has been both subjective and highly emotive. A plethora of opinions exist as to why deflighting should be outlawed, why it is necessary, or how it has the potential to improve a birds living conditions. However, most are based on assumption or issues unrelated to welfare. To the authors knowledge, to date, no scientific data have been published on the welfare implications of deflighting for the commonly deflighted bird species, such as waterfowl, flamingos (Phoenicopteridae), pelicans (Pelecanidae), storks (Ciconiidae), cranes (Gruidae) and herons (Ardeidae). The aim of this study is to present an overview of the relevance of deflighting to zoo husbandry, the species primarily affected, the techniques currently in use, the legality in differing countries and the extent of scientific knowledge as regards potential ethological and welfare concerns. An urgent need for evidence-based studies is highlighted, to further inform this practice at a species-specific level.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Flores ◽  
Mario Penna ◽  
John C Wingfield ◽  
Elfego Cuevas ◽  
Rodrigo A Vásquez ◽  
...  

Abstract Repeated exposure to traffic noise may be perceived as a succession of stressors, and therefore, noisy urban environments could lead to a state of chronic stress. In developing animals, glucocorticoids can have organizational effects on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in addition to the classic activation effects, so evaluating the effect of traffic noise during development is urgently needed. To our knowledge, to date six studies have investigated the effects of traffic noise on baseline corticosterone (CORT) and/or the stress response in birds during development; however, these studies were performed in nestling (altricial species), where confounding factors (e.g. communication between nestlings and parents) could mask the real impact of traffic noise on stress. In this study, we evaluated the effect of traffic noise (traffic noise group vs. rural noise group) on baseline levels of CORT and stress responses in chicks of a precocial bird species, the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Because CORT can also decrease glutathione (GSH) levels (antioxidant and neurotransmitter/modulator), secondly by means of path analysis we investigated whether the strength of the association between CORT levels, GSH levels and tonic immobility (TI) varied in relation to treatment. We observed (i) similar baseline levels of CORT in both groups, (ii) a trend toward higher stress response in the traffic noise group (P = 0.08), (iii) similar TI duration in both groups, (iv) higher GSH levels in the traffic noise group and (v) differences in the strength and sign of the associations in relation to the treatment (traffic vs. rural). We conclude that the acoustic environment perceived during development has implications for physiology and behaviour; as more research is done on this topic, the need for sustainable urban planning will become clearer.


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