Biology subjects

Jardat, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Jardat, P..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Cows visually discriminate and cross-modally recognise familiar and unfamiliar human faces in videos

Social recognition has been studied and demonstrated in many species. In domesticated species, the long evolutionary history shared with humans has led to investigations into their cognitive abilities towards humans, particularly regarding discrimination and recognition of humans. The present study investigated whether cows are capable of visual discrimination and cross-modal recognition of familiar and unfamiliar humans. Thirty-two cows were exposed to two tests: a visual preference test, during which two silent videos were shown simultaneously - each displaying either a familiar or an unfamiliar human face - and a cross-modal test, during which the videos were accompanied by either a congruent or incongruent voice. During the visual preference test, cows looked significantly longer at the video showing the unfamiliar person (p = 0.025). In the cross-modal test, they looked significantly longer at the video that was congruent with the voice being played (p = 0.021). These two results show that cows are able to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar individuals and form cross-modal representations of these people. Based on these results, future research should explore whether cows can adjust their behaviour depending on the person they are interacting with - a capacity that may reflect their agency in human-animal relationships.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Human emotional odours influence horses' behaviour and physiology

Olfaction is the most widespread sensory modality animals use to communicate, yet much remains to be discovered about its role. While most studies focused on intraspecific interactions and reproduction, new evidence suggests chemosignals may influence interspecific interactions and emotional communication. This study explores this possibility, investigating olfactory signals in emotional contagion from the example of human-horse interactions. Cotton pads carrying human odours from fear and joy contexts, or unused pads (control odour) were applied to 43 horses nostrils during fear tests (suddenness and novelty tests) and human interaction tests (grooming and approach tests). Principal component analysis showed that overall, when exposed to fear-related human odours, horses exhibited significantly heightened fear responses and reduced interaction with humans compared to joy-related and control odours. More precisely, when exposed to fear-related odours, horses touched the human less in the human approach test, gazed more at the novel object, and were more startled (startle intensity and maximum heart rate) by a sudden event. These results highlight the significance of chemosignals in interspecific interactions and provides insights into questions about the impact of domestication on emotional communication.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Characterisation of facial expressions and behaviours of horses in response to positive and negative emotional anticipation using network analysis

The welfare of an animal is closely linked to their emotional experiences, making it essential to identify reliable indicators of these emotions. This study aimed to identify behaviours and facial movements in horses experiencing contrasting emotional valence, triggered by the anticipation of a positive condition (going to pasture) or a negative condition (going alone to a novel environment). Twenty horses were daily trained to wait in a starting box before being exposed to these two conditions. After one week of positive training or negative training, we analysed horses behaviours, cortisol variations, and facial movements while they waited in their starting box. First, we confirmed that the two conditions induced contrasting emotional valence, as evidenced by the shorter time taken to approach in the positive condition compared to the negative, and by the higher maximal heart rate and cortisol variation in the negative condition. Then using the Equine Facial Action Coding System (EquiFACS) and network analysis (NetFACS) we revealed distinct behaviours and facial expression profiles. In positive anticipation, the horses exhibited a greater range of behaviours, including shaking their heads from side to side, stepping back, sniffing, and pawing at the ground. Additionally, two distinct facial expression profiles were identified as specific to positive and negative anticipation. In positive anticipation, the horses displayed a higher neck, accompanied by a greater frequency of half-blinks and mouth movements. Conversely, in negative anticipation, the horses exhibited a medium neck, with ears backward accompanied by more flattened ears and expressed more nostril movements. The findings highlight the importance of these indicators in characterising horses emotions and emphasise their significance for assessing equine welfare.

animal behavior and cognition↗