Papers by Monica Padilla De La Torre
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2017
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific re... more HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Very little is known about cattle vocalizations. The few studies available in the literature have... more Very little is known about cattle vocalizations. The few studies available in the literature have been conducted using animals under stress or very intensive husbandry conditions. Similarly, the individual consistency of behaviour in cattle has rarely been considered except in applied studies of constrained and isolated animals, and no previous research has attempted to address a possible association between vocal communication and temperament in cattle. The studies reported here address these gaps in our knowledge. I found that cattle contact calls have acoustic characteristics that give them individualized distinctiveness, in both adult cows and calves. These results were confirmed using playback experiments, where I found that there is bidirectional mother-offspring recognition, as has been recorded in other “weak hider” ungulates. Additionally, using visual and acoustic stimuli, I assessed individual cattle temperament. The results showed that there was no individual behavioural...
Animal Behavior and Cognition
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Animal Behavior and Cognition
Individual recognition in gregarious species is fundamental in order to avoid misdirected parenta... more Individual recognition in gregarious species is fundamental in order to avoid misdirected parental investment. In ungulates, two very different parental care strategies have been identified: 'hider' offspring usually lie concealed in vegetation whereas offspring of 'follower' species remain with their mothers while they forage. These two strategies have been suggested to impact on mothereoffspring vocal recognition, with unidirectional recognition of the mother by offspring occurring in hiders and bidi-rectional recognition in followers. In domestic cattle, Bos taurus, a facultative hider species, vocal communication and recognition have not been studied in detail under free-ranging conditions, where cows and calves can graze freely and where hiding behaviour can occur. We hypothesized that, as a hider species, cattle under these circumstances would display unidirectional vocal recognition. To test this hypothesis, we conducted playback experiments using mothereoffspring contact calls. We found that cows were more likely to respond, by moving their ears and/or looking, turning or walking towards the loudspeaker, to calls of their own calves than to calls from other calves. Similarly, calves responded more rapidly, and were more likely to move their ears and/or look, turn or walk towards the loudspeaker, and to call back and/or meet their mothers, in response to calls from their own mothers than to calls from other females. Contrary to our predictions, our results suggest that mothereoffspring vocal individual recognition is bidirectional in cattle. Additionally, mothers of younger calves tended to respond more strongly to playbacks than mothers of older calves. Therefore, mother responses to calf vocalizations are at least partially influenced by calf age.
Acetaldehyde, the most toxic metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in many toxic effects of ... more Acetaldehyde, the most toxic metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in many toxic effects of ethanol. In the present study, we used rats to investigate the possible changes on the sleep-wake cycle and brain regional concentrations of noradrenaline and serotonin after intraperitoneal administration of several doses of acetaldehyde. Results showed that acetaldehyde significantly decreases the time spent in rapid eye movements sleep and wakefulness and increases the time spent in slow-wave sleep. The neurochemical analysis showed that acetaldehyde significantly increases the 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid content and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid/serotonin ratio at the bulb and pons. These results suggest that acetaldehyde modifies the metabolism of serotonin which has been implicated in the onset and sustaining of the sleep episodes occurring along the sleep-wake cycle.
Alterations in motor activity related to dopamine changes in some brain regions have been describ... more Alterations in motor activity related to dopamine changes in some brain regions have been described as consequences of the modifications produced by systemic administration of MK-801 (a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist) in rats. Acetaldehyde (ACH), the main metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in different alterations in the central nervous system after ethanol ingestion. ACH might exert some control on dopaminergic transmission through the formation of other compounds with dopamine, which eventually may modify dopamine content and its metabolism. In order to evaluate such a hypothesis, we used Wistar rats in the present study to evaluate the effect of ACH on locomotor alterations and dopamine metabolism changes induced by MK-801. Our results show that the MK-801-treated group had a significant increase in locomotor activity. In contrast, we did not find significant differences in locomotion tests after ACH administration. However, the group to which both drugs were administered showed a significant decrease in locomotor activity compared with those given MK-801 alone. Neurochemical analysis showed an increase in dopamine content in the striatum and frontal cortex after MK-801 administration, however; the increase was reversed by giving 200 mg/kg of ACH. These results indicate that ACH can produce an antagoniclike effect on locomotor alterations and dopamine content changes induced by MK-801, thus modulating the MK-801-induced hyperlocomotion by interfering with dopamine metabolism.
Cattle vocalisations have been proposed as potential indicators of animal welfare. However, very ... more Cattle vocalisations have been proposed as potential indicators of animal welfare. However, very few studies have investigated the acoustic structure and information encoded in these vocalisations using advanced analysis techniques. Vocalisations play key roles in a wide range of communication contexts; e.g. for individual recognition and to help coordinate social behaviours. Two factors have greatly assisted our progress in developing an understanding of animal vocal communication. Firstly, more rigorous call analysis methods allow us to describe the variation in the vocal parameters in unprecedented detail. Secondly, the adoption of the "source-filter theory" of call production links the acoustic structure of vocalisations to the morphology and physiology of calling animals. Using these approaches, it is possible to quantify the potential for each acoustic component to carry information. In this study, we examined naturally occurring contact calls produced by crossbred beef cows and their calves under free-ranging conditions. Our main aims were to identify vocal parameters, which can be used to characterise cow and calf contact calls, and to describe variation in these parameters under relatively undisturbed conditions. Additionally, we aimed to provide information for future studies on potential acoustic indicators of animal welfare in cattle. We identified two different types of cow contact calls associated with different behavioural contexts, and with differing acoustic structures. Low frequency calls (LFCs) were produced by cows when they were in close proximity to their calves, in the first three or four weeks postpartum, and they were made with the mouth closed or only partially open (fundamental frequency (F0) = 81.17 ± 0.98 Hz). By contrast, high frequency calls (HFCs) were produced by cows when they were separated from their calves (e.g. not in visual contact) and preceded nursing (F0 = 152.8 ± 3.10 Hz). Calf calls were produced when separated from their mothers and preceded suckling (F0 = 142.8 ± 1.80 Hz). A detailed analysis of cow LFCs and HFCs, and of calf calls, showed that all three types of calls are individually distinctive. We also show that calf calls encode age, but not sex. Although it has previously been suggested that cattle contact calls are individually distinctive, to our knowledge, our study
Parent -offspring recognition is crucial for offspring survival. At long distances, this recognit... more Parent -offspring recognition is crucial for offspring survival. At long distances, this recognition is mainly based on vocalizations. Because of maturation-related changes to the structure of vocalizations, parents have to learn successive call versions produced by their offspring throughout ontogeny in order to maintain recognition. However, because of the difficulties involved in following the same individuals over years, it is not clear how long this vocal memory persists. Here, we investigated long-term vocal recognition in goats. We tested responses of mothers to their kids' calls 7-13 months after weaning. We then compared mothers' responses to calls of their previous kids with their responses to the same calls at five weeks postpartum. Subjects tended to respond more to their own kids at five weeks postpartum than 11 -17 months later, but displayed stronger responses to their previous kids than to familiar kids from other females. Acoustic analyses showed that it is unlikely that mothers were responding to their previous kids simply because they confounded them with the new kids they were currently nursing. Therefore, our results provide evidence for strong, long-term vocal memory capacity in goats. The persistence of offspring vocal recognition beyond weaning could have important roles in kin social relationships and inbreeding avoidance.
Behavioural brain research, Jan 1, 2006
Acetaldehyde, the most toxic metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in many toxic effects of ... more Acetaldehyde, the most toxic metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in many toxic effects of ethanol. In the present study, we used rats to investigate the possible changes on the sleep-wake cycle and brain regional concentrations of noradrenaline and serotonin after intraperitoneal administration of several doses of acetaldehyde. Results showed that acetaldehyde significantly decreases the time spent in rapid eye movements sleep and wakefulness and increases the time spent in slow-wave sleep. The neurochemical analysis showed that acetaldehyde significantly increases the 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid content and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid/serotonin ratio at the bulb and pons. These results suggest that acetaldehyde modifies the metabolism of serotonin which has been implicated in the onset and sustaining of the sleep episodes occurring along the sleep-wake cycle.
Annals of the New …, Jan 1, 2008
Alterations in motor activity related to dopamine changes in some brain regions have been describ... more Alterations in motor activity related to dopamine changes in some brain regions have been described as consequences of the modifications produced by systemic administration of MK-801 (a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist) in rats. Acetaldehyde (ACH), the main metabolite of ethanol, has been implicated in different alterations in the central nervous system after ethanol ingestion. ACH might exert some control on dopaminergic transmission through the formation of other compounds with dopamine, which eventually may modify dopamine content and its metabolism. In order to evaluate such a hypothesis, we used Wistar rats in the present study to evaluate the effect of ACH on locomotor alterations and dopamine metabolism changes induced by MK-801. Our results show that the MK-801-treated group had a significant increase in locomotor activity. In contrast, we did not find significant differences in locomotion tests after ACH administration. However, the group to which both drugs were administered showed a significant decrease in locomotor activity compared with those given MK-801 alone. Neurochemical analysis showed an increase in dopamine content in the striatum and frontal cortex after MK-801 administration, however; the increase was reversed by giving 200 mg/kg of ACH. These results indicate that ACH can produce an antagoniclike effect on locomotor alterations and dopamine content changes induced by MK-801, thus modulating the MK-801-induced hyperlocomotion by interfering with dopamine metabolism.
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Papers by Monica Padilla De La Torre