Sheep (Ovis aries) training protocol for voluntary awake and unrestrained structural brain MRI acquisitions.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive technique that requires the participant to be completely motionless. To date, MRI in awake and unrestrained animals has only been achieved with humans and dogs. For other species, alternative techniques such as anesthesia, restraint and/or sedation have been necessary. Anatomical and functional MRI studies with sheep have only been conducted under general anesthesia. This ensures the absence of movement and allows relatively long MRI experiments but it removes the non-invasive nature of the MRI technique (i.e., IV injections, intubation). Anesthesia can also be detrimental to health, disrupt neurovascular coupling, and does not permit the study of higher-level cognition. Here, we present a proof-of-concept that sheep can be trained to perform a series of tasks, enabling them to voluntarily participate in MRI sessions without anesthesia or restraint. We describe a step-by-step training protocol based on positive reinforcement (food and praise) that could be used as a basis for future neuroimaging research in sheep. This protocol details the two successive phases required for sheep to successfully achieve MRI acquisitions of their brain. By providing structural brain MRI images from six out of ten sheep, we demonstrate the feasibility of our training protocol. This innovative training protocol paves the way for the possibility of conducting animal welfare-friendly functional MRI studies with sheep to investigate ovine cognition.

Measuring salivary mesotocin in birds - Seasonal differences in ravens' peripheral mesotocin levels.

Oxytocin is involved in a broad array of social behaviours. While saliva has been used regularly to investigate the role of oxytocin in social behaviour of mammal species, so far, to our knowledge, no-one has tried to measure its homolog, mesotocin, in birds' saliva. Therefore, in this study we measured salivary mesotocin in common ravens (Corvus corax), and subsequently explored its link to three aspects of raven sociality. We trained ravens (n = 13) to voluntarily provide saliva samples and analysed salivary mesotocin with a commercial oxytocin enzyme-immunoassay kit, also suitable for mesotocin. After testing parallelism and recovery, we investigated the effect of bonding status, sex and season on mesotocin levels. We found that mesotocin was significantly more likely to be detected in samples taken during the breeding season (spring) than during the mating season (winter). In those samples in which mesotocin was detected, concentrations were also significantly higher during the breeding than during the mating season. In contrast, bonding status and sex were not found to relate to mesotocin detectability and concentrations. The seasonal differences in mesotocin correspond to behavioral patterns known to be associated with mesotocin/oxytocin, with ravens showing much more aggression during the mating season while being more tolerant of conspecifics in the breeding season. We show for the first time that saliva samples can be useful for the non-invasive determination of hormone levels in birds. However, the rate of successfully analysed samples was very low, and collection and analysis methods will benefit from further improvements.

ANIMAL TRAINING AND ACUPUNCTURE IN A BENGAL TIGER ( PANTHERA TIGRIS TIGRIS) WITH HIND LIMB PARAPARESIS.

An 18-yr-old, captive-born male Bengal tiger ( Panthera tigris tigris) presented a 1-yr history of chronic and progressive paraparesis in both hind limbs. Lateral and hind limb radiographs were revealed normal except for severe spondylosis deformans, forming a bony bridge between the last lumbar and the first sacral vertebra and disc mineralization between the second and third lumbar vertebra. Medical therapies were instituted, including corticosteroids, hydroacupuncture and electroacupuncture. Animal training allowed veterinarians to perform acupuncture safely without having to anesthetize the animal. Animal training made intensive treatment possible. Neither corticosteroids nor hydroacupuncture alone provided much clinical improvement. The tiger reacted positively after electroacupuncture was performed. The tiger began showing clinical improvement after three electroacupuncture treatments and could eventually walk on all four limbs at the end of the treatment.

CATOS (Computer Aided Training/Observing System): Automating animal observation and training.

In animal behavioral biology, an automated observing/training system may be useful for several reasons: (a) continuous observation of animals for documentation of specific, irregular events, (b) long-term intensive training of animals in preparation for behavioral experiments, (c) elimination of potential cues and biases induced by humans during training and testing. Here, we describe an open-source-based system named CATOS (Computer Aided Training/Observing System) developed for such situations. There are several notable features in this system. CATOS is flexible and low cost because it is based on free open-source software libraries, common hardware parts, and open-system electronics based on Arduino. Automated video condensation is applied, leading to significantly reduced video data storage compared to the total active hours of the system. A data-viewing utility program helps a user browse recorded data quickly and more efficiently. With these features, CATOS has the potential to be applied to many different animal species in various environments such as laboratories, zoos, or even private homes. Also, an animal's free access to the device without constraint, and a gamified learning process, enhance the animal's welfare and enriches their environment. As a proof of concept, the system was built and tested with two different species. Initially, the system was tested for approximately 10 months with a domesticated cat. The cat was successfully and fully automatically trained to discriminate three different spoken words. Then, in order to test the system's adaptability to other species and hardware components, we used it to train a laboratory rat for 3 weeks.

Advancing Behavior Analysis in Zoos and Aquariums.

Zoos, aquariums, and other captive animal facilities offer promising opportunities to advance the science and practice of behavior analysis. Zoos and aquariums are necessarily concerned with the health and well-being of their charges and are held to a high standard by their supporters (visitors, members, and donors), organized critics, and the media. Zoos and aquariums offer unique venues for teaching and research and a locus for expanding the footprint of behavior analysis. In North America, Europe, and the UK, formal agreements between zoos, aquariums, and university graduate departments have been operating successfully for decades. To expand on this model, it will be necessary to help zoo and aquarium managers throughout the world to recognize the value of behavior analysis in the delivery of essential animal health and welfare services. Academic institutions, administrators, and invested faculty should consider the utility of training students to meet the growing needs of applied behavior analysis in zoos and aquariums and other animal facilities such as primate research centers, sanctuaries, and rescue centers.

Phonosurgery training using Japanese deer larynx.

OBJECTIVE: To develop phonosurgery skills, surgical training of the actual larynx is essential. In our institution, the Japanese deer (Cervus Nippon aplodontids) larynx is used in phonosurgery training. This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences between the Japanese deer and human larynx and to demonstrate their utility in vocal surgery practice. METHODS: A comparative study was conducted using 30 Japanese deer larynges and 51 human donor larynges, evaluating the overall framework, dimensions, and angle of the thyroid cartilage, vocal cord length, and location of the arytenoid cartilage muscular process. The changes and movements of the vocal folds during contraction and relaxation of each internal laryngeal muscle were also visually analyzed. RESULTS: The larynx size of Japanese deer is intermediate between that of human males and females. The adduction and abduction of the vocal folds induced by contraction of the posterior and lateral cricoarytenoid muscles, as well as the extension of the vocal folds induced by contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, behaved in the same manner as in the human larynx. CONCLUSION: The morphology of the Japanese deer larynx is similar to that of the human larynx, making it suitable for use in dissection and surgical practice. Owing to the recent animal damage problem and the popularity of gibier cuisine, large quantities of Japanese deer larynx are available at low prices. We believe that the Japanese deer larynx is the most appropriate animal for phonosurgery training so far.

Zoo Visitors' Most-Liked Aspects of Elephant Encounters and Related Perceptions of Animals' Emotions and Welfare States: A Pragmatic Approach.

Zoos strive to provide excellent welfare for resident animals, including those belonging to endangered species involved in captive breeding programs while addressing visitors' concerns regarding the ethics of captivity. Zoos also rely on income and support from visitors to provide exceptional care for their animal residents. It is essential, therefore, that zoos consider how visitors perceive their animals' well-being, including physical and psychological welfare. This pragmatic, qualitative research explores the aspects of training-focused enrichment activities provided for a resident herd of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) that visitors liked/disliked, and it assesses perceptions of the animals' emotions and welfare. Data were collected via surveys following live encounters at Zoo Tampa, Florida (USA). Reflexive Thematic Analysis generated key themes related to visitors' most/least-liked aspects of the encounters, including proximity, elephant-caregiver relationships (ECRs), educational content, and teaching/learning opportunities for the elephants themselves. Participants in the research perceived the elephants as happy, content, calm, comfortable, engaged, excited, good, playful, and safe (among other emotional descriptors) and as having excellent welfare. Expressions of dislike referred to visitors' inability to have contact with the elephants, such as via touching or feeding. While focused on one case-study zoo and a charismatic species, this study nonetheless provides zoos with insight into the impact that animal-caregiver interactions can have on visitors' perceptions, and it offers a model that could be applied to other species and at other zoological institutions. These visitor experiences and visitor perceptions of animal welfare drive future visitor actions, including support for zoos.

Matching-to-Sample Task Training of a Killer Whale (Orcinus orca).

Matching-to-sample tasks have been a useful method in visual cognitive studies on non-human animals. The use of touch panels in matching-to-sample tasks has contributed to cognitive studies on terrestrial animals; however, there has been a difficulty in using these devices underwater, which is one of the factors that has slowed the progress of visual studies on underwater animals. Cetaceans (e.g., dolphins and whales) are highly adapted to underwater environments, and further studies on their cognitive abilities are needed to advance our understanding of the interactions between environmental factors and the evolution of cognitive abilities. In this study, we aimed to develop a new experimental method in which a captive killer whale performed a matching-to-sample task using a monitor shown through an underwater window as if a touch panel were used. In order to confirm the usefulness of this method, one simple experiment on mirror image discrimination was conducted, and the pairs with mirror images were shown to be more difficult to identify than the pairs with other normal images. The advantages of using this method include (1) simplicity in the devices and stimuli used in the experiments, (2) appropriate and rigorous experimental control, (3) the possibility of increasing the number of individuals to be tested and interspecies comparisons, and (4) contributions to animal welfare. The use of this method solves some of the problems in previous visual cognitive studies on cetaceans, and it suggests the further possibility of future comparative cognitive studies. It is also expected to contribute to animal welfare in terms of cognitive enrichment, and it could help with the proposal of new exhibition methods in zoos and aquariums.

Applied behavior analysis and the zoo: Forthman and Ogden (1992) thirty years later.

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral principles and procedures to guide zoo welfare efforts. The current paper reexamines and updates Forthman and Ogden's original points, with attention to the 5 categories they detailed: (a) promotion of species-typical behavior, (b) reintroduction and repatriation of endangered species, (c) animal handling, (d) pest control, and (e) animal performances. In addition, we outline 3 current and future directions for behavior analytic endeavors: (a) experimental analyses of behavior and the zoo, (b) applied behavior analysis and the zoo, and (c) single-case designs and the zoo. The goal is to provide a framework that can guide future behavioral research in zoos, as well as create applications based on these empirical evaluations.

The Science and Social Validity of Companion Animal Welfare: Functionally Defined Parameters in a Multidisciplinary Field.

Social validity refers to the social significance and acceptability of intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Animal practitioners, who are often guided by the principles of ABA, lack the benefit of verbal participants (at least with respect to target animals) with which to assess a client's needs and preferences. The study of a learner's welfare is useful for determining areas where intervention is needed or how the learner feels about an intervention that is underway. Three tenets of animal welfare measurement include physiological function, naturalistic behavior, and affect, where affect refers to private events, including emotions, which are a function of the same variables and contingencies responsible for controlling public behavior. The development of new technologies allows us to look "under the skin" and account for subjective experiences that can now be observed objectively. We introduce the reader to tools available from the animal welfare sciences for the objective measurement of social validity from the learner's perspective.

Handling and Training of Wild Animals: Evidence and Ethics-Based Approaches and Best Practices in the Modern Zoo.

There is an ethical responsibility to provide all animals living in human care with optimal and positive well-being. As animals living in zoos and aquariums frequently interact with their human caregivers as part of their daily care routines, it is both relevant and essential to consider the impact of these interactions on animal well-being. Allowing animals to have choice and control in multiple areas of their lives, such as by providing opportunities for them to voluntarily participate in their own care through, for example, positive reinforcement training, is an essential component of good animal well-being programs. This review aims to describe evidence-based approaches, ethics, and best practices in the handling and training of the many taxa held in zoos and aquariums worldwide, drawing from work in related animal care fields such as laboratories, farms, rescue, and sanctuaries. The importance of ongoing animal well-being assessments is discussed, with a particular focus on the need for continued review and refinement of processes and procedures pertaining to animal training and handling specifically. Review, enquiry, assessment, evaluation, and refinement will aim to dynamically support positive well-being for all animals.

Connecting animal trainers and behavior analysts through loopy training.

The communities of behavior analysts and animal trainers remain relatively disconnected despite potentially beneficial links between behavioral principles and the practices of animal training. Describing existing links between research by behavior analysts and practices used by animal trainers may foster connections. In this paper, we describe an approach used by many clicker trainers, referred to as loopy training. Loopy training is a teaching process built around the concept of movement cycles. Interactions between the animal learner and the handler are refined into predictable, cyclical patterns that can be expanded into complex sequences. These sequences include cues, target responses, conditioned reinforcers, and consummatory responses. We link the foundations of loopy training to existing work in the experimental analysis of behavior, compare loopy training to other shaping approaches, and describe areas for future research. We conclude with a series of recommendations for further developing connections between behavior analysts and animal trainers, using loopy training as the foundation for our suggestions.

Strengthening the research-practice loop in applied animal behavior: Introduction to the special issue.

Though operant learning has been applied to socially significant animal behavior for many years, connections between these practical applications and the basic science that supports them have weakened over time. There is a need for replications and extensions of technologies derived from basic research to applied animal settings, and for practical questions to be taken back to the lab where they can be modeled and studied under controlled conditions before incorporating the results in applied behavior-change research and practice. This special issue highlights ways that behavior analysis can contribute to and support the development of evidence-based applications with animals. Articles in this issue provide context for the relationship between basic research and practice in animal behavior, apply basic principles to animal behavior practice, and investigate practical problems using basic research techniques. Each of these is important for a robust interchange between basic science and practice. Here we comment on the contributions of each article to the literature and identify directions for future research.

Training in the Dark: Using Target Training for Non-Invasive Application and Validation of Accelerometer Devices for an Endangered Primate (Nycticebus bengalensis).

Accelerometers offer unique opportunities to study the behaviour of cryptic animals but require validation to show their accuracy in identifying behaviours. This validation is often undertaken in captivity before use in the wild. While zoos provide important opportunities for trial field techniques, they must consider the welfare and health of the individuals in their care and researchers must opt for the least invasive techniques. We used positive reinforcement training to attach and detach a collar with an accelerometer to an individual Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) at the Shaldon Wildlife Trust, U.K. This allowed us to collect accelerometer data at different periods between January-June 2020 and January-February 2021, totalling 42 h of data with corresponding video for validation. Of these data, we selected 54 min where ten behaviours were present and ran a random forest model. We needed 39 15-min sessions to train the animal to wear/remove the collar. The accelerometer data had an accuracy of 80.7 ± SD 9.9% in predicting the behaviours, with 99.8% accuracy in predicting resting, and a lower accuracy (but still >75% for all of them apart from suspensory walk) for the different types of locomotion and feeding behaviours. This training and validation technique can be used in similar species and shows the importance of working with zoos for in situ conservation (e.g., validation of field techniques).

Grounding applied animal behavior practices in the experimental analysis of behavior.

Some of the earliest applications outside the laboratory of principles derived from the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), such as the pioneering work of Keller and Marian Breland, involved animals. This translational tradition continues to the present as EAB-related behavior principles are applied with increasing frequency to behavior management and training practices with animals in nonlaboratory settings. Such translations, and those populations to which they are applied, benefit from a rigorous experimental analysis of practices that are promulgated in popular outlets. These translations both affirm the generality of those principles and serve as goads for laboratory and field research that can further articulate extant principles, develop new ones, and refine methods of application and assessment. This review considered several areas of basic EAB research and contemporary applied animal behavior (AAB) practices in relation to one another: (1) response establishment and maintenance, (2) response reduction and elimination, (3) chaining and conditioned reinforcement, and (4) discriminative stimulus control. Within each topic, a selection of processes and procedures in both EAB and AAB work were reviewed in relation to one another.

Validity of a Novel Chicken and Porcine Model for Laparoscopic Neobladder Reconstruction.

Introduction: Simulation-based training in laparoscopic urology is essential, as these surgeries require a skill set different from routine urologic procedures. We aim to describe and validate the chicken and porcine intestine model for laparoscopic neobladder reconstruction. Materials and Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted at our institute. Twenty novice and 20 trained laparoscopic surgeons were included in the study. The relevant chicken anatomy and surgical steps were described to all the surgeons. The surgeons were asked to fill a nine-point questionnaire after completing the exercise comprising bowel organization, ability to do urethroneovesical anastomosis, suturing time, suturing similarity, quality of suturing, tissue feel, integrity of anastomosis, realism, and usefulness of model after finishing the procedure, and score it on a scale of 1-5. Time taken to perform the entire exercise was noted in addition. An independent expert observer retrospectively rated the urethroneovesical anastomosis on a scale of 1-5. Results: All the participants in the study gave a mean score of 3.5 or more to all the questions asked in the questionnaire. Both the groups rated the usefulness of the model highly with a mean score of 4.6 and 4.45, respectively. The mean score of the questionnaire was 35.9 and 36, respectively, for both the groups. The quality of urethroneovesical anastomosis as observed by an expert was better in the expert group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The chicken and porcine model for laparoscopic neobladder reconstruction is a useful and effective training tool. This model has face, content, and construct validity to be used as a teaching and training tool in laparoscopic urology.

An Examination of Shaping with an African Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata).

Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the following study, an African crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) was trained to touch and hold to a target for 30 s. A changing-criterion design with one reversal was used to assess the success of the shaping procedure and empirically examine the effects of the shaping procedure during each step of the program. The study allowed for the examination of each approximation across all other approximations, as well as across aberrant (e.g., trial-terminating) responses. The design and procedure allow for a simple and systematic way to examine the effects and success of shaping procedures across a variety of settings, species, and purposes.

The assessment of researchers' competence in experimental procedures with laboratory animals: A three-step methodology to develop a global rating scale.

To conduct animal experiments, researchers must be competent to handle and perform interventions on living animals in compliance with regulations. Laboratory animal science training programmes and licensing bodies therefore need to be able to reliably ensure and certify the professional competence of researchers and technicians. This requires access to assessment strategies which can verify knowledge as well as capturing performative and behavioural dimensions of assessment. In this paper, we describe the process of developing different global rating scales measuring candidates' competence in a performative assessment. We set out the following sequence, with three crucial phases, in the process of scale development: (a) Item Development, (b) Scale Development and (c) Piloting of the Scale. We note each phase's different sub-steps. Despite the emergent need to ensure the competence of researchers using animals in scientific procedures, to our best knowledge there are very few species and procedure/skill specific assessment tools for this purpose, and the assessment methodology literature in the field is very limited. This paper provides guidance for those who need to develop and assess proficiency in laboratory animal procedures by setting out a method that can be used to create the required tools and illustrating how competence assessment strategies can be implemented.

An experimental analysis of jackpot reinforcers.

Animal trainers and others often recommend the use of jackpot reinforcers, which are disproportionally large and come as a "surprise" to the animals. Because the actual behavioral effects of these jackpots remain uninvestigated, many basic questions about their use and even definition are unanswered. This series of experiments explored the definitions of jackpots using several different behavioral tests with both rats and pigeons. Because the original description of a jackpot resembled the reinstatement of previously reinforced and extinguished responding with response-independent deliveries of reinforcer, reinstatement effects of a jackpot, defined by its quality, were examined with rats in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, response-potentiating effects of response-independent and -dependent deliveries of a jackpot, defined by its quantity, were assessed with pigeons when responding had nearly ceased. The response-potentiating effects of the frequency of jackpot-reinforcer delivery were investigated when responding of pigeons was maintained in single (Experiment 3) or concurrent (Experiment 4) schedules of reinforcement. Effects of jackpots on resistance to change were assessed with rats in Experiment 5. The effects of jackpots in each experiment were either absent or unsystematic across the subjects, casting doubt on their utility in animal training. Possible factors contributing to the negative results are discussed.

Clicker Training Accelerates Learning of Complex Behaviors but Reduces Discriminative Abilities of Yucatan Miniature Pigs.

Animal training is meant to teach specific behavioral responses to specific cues. Clicker training (CT) is a popular training method based on the use of a device that emits a sound of double-click to be associated as a first-order conditioned stimulus in contingency with positive reinforcements. After some repetitions, the clicker sound gains some incentive value and can be paired with the desired behavior. Animal trainers believed that CT can decrease training time compared to other types of training. Herein, we used two-month old miniature piglets to evaluate whether CT decreased the number of repetitions required to learn complex behaviors as compared with animals trained with voice instead of the clicker. In addition, we compared the number of correct choices of animals from both groups when exposed to object discriminative tests. Results indicated that CT decreased the number of repetitions required for pigs to learn to fetch an object but reduced the ability of animals to make correct choices during the discriminate trials. This suggests that CT is more efficient than voice to teach complex behaviors but reduces the ability of animals to use cognitive processes required to discriminate and select objects associated with reward.