Indicators Of Emotional States Research Articles

Relación entre meditación, regulación emocional y expresión vocal

Introduction: The voice is an indicator of emotional states, influenced by factors such as vagal tone, breathing and heart rate variability. This study explores these factors and their relationship with emotional regulation and meditative practice as a self-regulation technique. Purpose: To investigate the difference in vocal characteristics and heart rate variability in experienced (EM) and novice (NM) meditators before and after a meditation practice and in non-meditators - control group (CG), before and after a control test. Methods: 3 x 2 quasi-factorial study. Three groups were evaluated (experienced meditators EM; novice meditators NM; and control group CG, non-meditators) at two points in the experimental manipulation - before and after a meditation session for meditators, and before and after a word search task for the control group. The fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, harmonic-to-noise ratio and the first (F1), second (F2) and third (F3) formants of the vowel [a]; heart rate variation (SDNN, RMSSD, LF/HF, SD1 and SD2); anxiety state and vocal self-perception, were investigated, before and after the intervention. Results: The EM group achieved optimal vocal tract relaxation. The NM and CG groups showed changes in F1. Long-term meditative practice was associated with a large difference in F3, SDNN and SD2 in heart rate variation. Conclusion: The results suggest that meditation practice influences vocal expression and emotional reaction, and that experience in meditation practice favors this relationship.

The use of pigs vocalisation structure to assess the quality of human-pig relationship

Studying human-animal interactions in domestic species and how they affect the establishment of a positive Human-Animal Relationship (HAR) may help us improve animal welfare and better understand the evolution of interspecific interactions associated with the domestication process. Understanding and describing the quality of an HAR requires information on several aspects of the animal biology and emotional states (social, spatial and postural behaviours, physiological and cognitive states). Growing evidence shows that acoustic features of animal vocalisations may be indicators of emotional states. Here, we tested the hypothesis that vocal structure may indicate the quality of HAR. At weaning, 30 piglets were positively handled by an experimenter who talked to and physically interacted with them three times a day, while 30 other piglets only received the contact necessary for proper husbandry. After two weeks, we recorded the behaviours and vocalisations produced in the presence of the static experimenter for 5 min. We repeated this test two weeks later, after a conditioning period during which human presence with additional positive contacts was used as a reward for all piglets. We hypothesized this conditioning period would lead to a positive human-piglet relationship for all piglets. As expected, piglets that were positively handled at weaning expressed a higher attraction toward the experimenter, and, after the conditioning, piglets that were not positively handled at weaning expressed a similar level of attraction than the positively handled ones. Piglets positively handled at weaning produced shorter grunts than the other ones, regardless of the context of recording, which may indicate a more positive affect. During reunions with the static experimenter, a more positive HAR was associated with a decrease in vocal reactivity to human proximity. However, during reunions with the experimenter providing additional positive contacts and over the conditioning, spatial proximity to the human systematically triggered shorter and higher pitched grunts, which may indicate a more positive emotional state. Results first show that changes in vocal structure are consistent with indicators of positive states in the presence of a human. Second, these changes are stronger when the human positively interact with the piglets, supposedly emphasizing a higher positive arousal state during these interactions. We show that vocalisation structure may be a promising indicator of the quality of human-pig relationship.

Qualitative aspects of grunts vary with pigs' mental states

Studying human-animal interactions in domestic species and how they affect the establishment of a positive Human-Animal Relationship (HAR) may help us improve animal welfare and better understand the evolution of interspecific interactions associated with the domestication process. Understanding and describing the quality of an HAR requires information on several aspects of the animal biology and emotional states (social, spatial and postural behaviours, physiological and cognitive states). Growing evidence shows that acoustic features of animal vocalisations may be indicators of emotional states. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the quality of vocal expression may indicate the quality of HAR. At weaning, 30 piglets were positively handled by an experimenter who talked to and physically interacted with them three times a day, while 30 other piglets only received the contact necessary for proper husbandry. After two weeks, we recorded the behaviours and vocalisations produced in the presence of the static experimenter for five minutes. We repeated this test two weeks later, after a conditioning period during which human presence with additional positive contact was used as a reward for all piglets. We hypothesized this conditioning period would lead to a positive human-piglet relationship for all piglets. As expected, piglets that were positively handled at weaning expressed a higher attraction toward the experimenter, and, after the conditioning, piglets that were not positively handled at weaning expressed a similar level of attraction than the positively handled ones. Piglets positively handled at weaning generally produced shorter grunts than the other ones. However the latter expressed more flexibility in call structure when vocalising close to a human, with a decrease of grunt duration and an increase in pitch, frequency range and noisiness in their grunt. This differential effect of proximity between groups of piglets was attenuated after the conditioning during a standard reunion with a static human but remained over time when the human was providing additional positive contacts. Results suggest that first, changes in vocal structure are consistent with indicators of positive states in the presence of a human. Second, increasing familiarity and proximity between a human and a pig may induce changes in the acoustic structure of its grunts. Third, a human providing additional positive contacts triggers more changes in vocalisation structure than by their presence only. We show that vocalisation structure may allow us to assess the quality of human-pig relationship.

Investigating attentional scope as a novel indicator of emotional state in animals

In humans, contrasting emotional states can lead to a broadening or narrowing of attentional scope. Whether this is also the case in animals has yet to be investigated. If confirmed, measurement of attentional scope has potential as a novel cognitive method of welfare assessment. In this study, we therefore aimed to investigate a test of attentional scope as a measure of emotional state in animals. We did this by inducing four putatively different emotional states in dogs (N = 10), varying in valence (positive, negative) and arousal (high, low), in two different reward contexts (food rewards in Experiment 1, social rewards in Experiment 2) and then assessing dogs’ behavioural responses in a test of attentional scope. We also recorded heart rate variability (HRV) parameters as additional confirmatory affective indicators. In Experiment 1, the dogs showed a narrowing of attentional scope after the induction of both positively valenced emotional states. That dogs were in a positive state was supported by the reduced Standard Deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN) and the reduced Low Frequency (LF) and Very Low Frequency (VLF) HRV. In Experiment 2, when responses to social rewards were examined, we did not detect any statistically significant differences in attentional scope between the emotional states, but dogs had a slightly narrow attentional scope in the negatively valenced emotional states. The LF tended to be reduced in the high arousal positive treatment. In conclusion, our study provides the first indication that emotional states can also alter attentional scope in animals. The results justify further investigation of this approach for use in animal welfare assessment, although additional studies are needed to refine predictions.

Влияние иппотерапии на психокоррекцию эмоциональных состояний подростков

Introduction. The article shows the relevance of the theoretical and practical study of the influence of hippotherapy on the psychocorrection of emotional states of adolescents. It is hypothesized that the use of hippotherapy classes for the purpose of psychocorrection of emotional states in adolescents will have a regulating effect on the emotional sphere of adolescents and eliminate negative emotional patterns of behavior. Materials and methods of research. The article presents the results of a study on the use of hippotherapy classes for the purpose of psychocorrection of emotional states in adolescents, which have a regulating effect on the emotional sphere of adolescents and eliminate negative emotional patterns of behavior. The stages and a set of psychological techniques are described. The results of the study revealed in most of the adolescents the presence of an increased level of aggressiveness, unwillingness or inability to restrain outbursts of aggression towards others, a moderate level of situational anxiety and a low level of personal anxiety, only half of the subjects are characterized by a pronounced degree of the Index of positive emotions, etc. After completing the course of hippotherapy, the study showed a positive trend in the indicators of emotional states of adolescents: a statistically significant decrease in the level of aggressiveness, a decrease in the level of situational anxiety, a decrease in the level of depressive states, a positive trend in the indicators of emotional states. The results of the study allow us to conclude that hippotherapy can become a justified and effective way to the psychological and emotional health of the individual.

Differences in facial expressions during positive anticipation and frustration in dogs awaiting a reward

Facial expressions are considered sensitive indicators of emotional states in humans and many animals. Identifying facial indicators of emotion is a major challenge and little systematic research has been done in non-primate species. In dogs, such research is important not only to address fundamental and applied scientific questions but also for practical reasons, since many problem behaviours are assumed to have an emotional basis, e.g. aggression based on frustration. Frustration responses can occur in superficially similar contexts as the emotional state of positive anticipation. For instance, the anticipated delivery of a food reward may induce the state of positive anticipation, but over time, if the food is not delivered, this will be replaced by frustration. We examined dogs’ facial expressions in contexts presumed to induce both positive anticipation and frustration, respectively, within a single controlled experimental setting. Using DogFACS, an anatomically-based method for coding facial expressions of dogs, we found that the “Ears adductor” action was more common in the positive condition and “Blink”, “Lips part”, “Jaw drop”, “Nose lick”, and “Ears flattener” were more common in the negative condition. This study demonstrates how differences in facial expression in emotionally ambiguous contexts may be used to help infer emotional states of different valence.

The Effects of Play Behavior, Feeding, and Time of Day on Salivary Concentrations of sIgA in Calves.

Simple SummaryThe focus of animal welfare science has shifted over the last decades from efforts to avoid negative states to ways of allowing animals the experience of positive emotions. The emotional state of an animal interacts with its immune system. Secretory immunoglobulin A, a class of antibodies present on mucosal surfaces and acting as the first line of defense against infections, is influenced by positive and negative emotions in humans; the few studies of its association with emotions in animals focused almost exclusively on the impact of negative emotions and yielded conflicting results. We present the first study that focuses on salivary immunoglobulin A to investigate a possible relationship between positive emotions and immune functioning in calves. We detected a circadian rhythm of immunoglobulin A concentrations, with lowest levels at 14:00 h. Immunoglobulin A concentrations were decreased directly after feeding, possibly due to increased saliva flow rates, and we did not find higher immunoglobulin A concentrations after play. The results are important for the design of future studies of positive emotions, although they do not support immunoglobulin A as an indicator of positive emotional states.The focus of animal welfare science has shifted over the last decades from efforts to avoid negative states to ways of allowing animals the experience of positive emotions. They may influence physiological processes in farmed animals, potentially providing health benefits; in addition, the physiological changes might be used as indicators of emotional states. We investigated calves’ salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentrations with regard to a possible circadian rhythm and two situations that elicit positive emotions. Ten saliva samples of 14 calves were taken on two consecutive days; within the course of a day we observed a significant decline in salivary sIgA concentrations at 14:00 h. Further, we probed the animals before and after milk feeding and, contrarily to our prediction, detected lower sIgA concentrations 5 min after feeding than 15 min before. A probable explanation might be an increase in salivary flow rate caused by milk ingestion. We also took samples before and after we stimulated play behavior in calves. There was no significant difference in sIgA concentrations between samples taken before and after play. Although there was a significant correlation between the change in sIgA concentrations and the amount of play behavior shown, the correlation depended on an unexpected decrease of sIgA in animals that played little, and thus, does not support our hypothesis. In general, the data showed a large variability that might arise from different factors that are difficult to standardize in animals. Thus, the use of salivary sIgA concentrations as a marker of positive emotions in calves is not supported conclusively by the present data.

INTERRELATION BETWEEN THE CHANGES IN QUALITY OF LIFE AND ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2 AND CONCOMITANT OBESITY

The purpose of this work was to study the general characteristics of quality of life (QoL), the effect of overweight on QoL, the nature of eating behaviour in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 and concomitant overweight (OW) and obesity, as well as to establish the correlation with indicators of functional state of the arterial vessels. 64 people (34 women and 30 men) with DM and concomitant overweight and obesity (average age 56.3 ± 10.23 years) formed the 1 group, 34 people (19 women and 15 men), whose average age was 55.6 ± 11.92 years constituted the 2 group, and 28 healthy individuals formed the control group. SF-36v2 questionnaires were used to evaluate QoL. The effect of overweight on QoL was analyzed according to the IWQOL-Lite questionnaire data, the patterns of eating behaviour were determined by the COEQ4 for 7 days using FPRS questionnaire. The functional state of the arterial vessels was assessed by estimating the pulse wave velocity using the automated rheographic complex ReoCom (KhAI Medika (Ukraine)). The patients with DM and concomitant overweight and obesity were found to experience some changes in QoL according to the SF-36v2 questionnaire. The changes were primarily characterized by a decrease in physical activity, as well as in social and emotional status. These changes differed not only from the QoL assessment by healthy individuals, but also from those of patients with DM and normal body weight. The nature of eating behaviour in overweight or obese patients with DM was characterized by an increased hunger in parallel with a worsened emotional state and an increased desire to eat certain types of foods that can contribute to weight gain. Structural changes in arterial vessels that typically are indicative of arterial stiffness correlate with indicators of emotional state and physical activity in patients with DM and comorbid overweight and obesity.

Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure?

Applying objective measures to assess the emotional states of animals is an important area of research and essential for improving animal welfare. In this study, we have built upon previous research to test whether ear postures can be used as an indicator of emotional states in dairy cows.By using a positive and negative contrast paradigm, we elicited the emotional states of excitement and frustration in 22 dairy cows. Each cow was first conditioned to expect the delivery of standard feed when a bell was rung. Once they were familiar with the experimental set-up and the delivery of the feed, they were then given concentrates feed instead. As concentrates are highly desired, this was considered to elicit the emotional state of excitement. This was then repeated five times. On the following trial, the cows were given inedible woodchip, and the cows’ unfulfilled expectations were considered to elicit a state of frustration.We observed the cows’ ear postures and mean heart rate (beats per minute) during 15-minute focal observations, each comprised of 5 min of pre-feeding (baseline), 5 min of feeding, and 5 min of post-feeding. Both the woodchip treatment and the concentrates elicited significantly higher mean heart rates compared with the standard feed, indicating that both treatments elicited a high arousal emotional state. The woodchip and concentrates treatments were also significantly associated with the increased performance of different ear postures, indicating that cows do perform certain ear postures in relation to both positive and negative high arousal emotional states.Our results complement previous research performed with both cows and sheep, and indicate that with training and contextual knowledge, ear postures may be suitable as a reliable measure of emotional state in dairy cows.

The association between electrodermal activity (EDA), depression and suicidal behaviour: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

BackgroundElectrodermal activity (EDA) and other peripheral autonomic electrical parameters have been used as indicators of emotional states, including depressive states and suicidal state. We aimed to review EDA research systematically, focusing on EDA’s usefulness as a biomarker for depression and suicidal behaviour.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases, following PRISMA guidelines. The initial screening of articles was based on titles and abstracts; then the full text was reviewed. A preliminary synthesis of findings was developed using tables, thematic analysis and quality ratings.Results1287 articles were screened and 77 relevant studies were identified and included in the systematic review. The studies were fairly consistent in maintaining that hypoactive electrodermal response is an established feature of patients affected by depression. There is also preliminary evidence that monitoring EDA may help to differentiate the phases of mood disorders. A few studies provided evidence that EDA can be used to differentiate acutely suicidal subjects from depressed patients who are not severely suicidal. Although EDA has been shown to be a valid, sensitive marker of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and violent suicidal behaviour, it also seems to be influenced to some extent by antidepressant treatment.ConclusionsMost of the studies summarised in this review are quite outdated and employed a variety of designs and methods to evaluate EDA. This limits the generalisability of the results and makes it difficult to draw clear conclusions about the role of EDA in real-world settings. Electrodermal hypoactivity seems to be a reliable feature of depression and a valid marker of suicidal risk. Nevertheless, the potential utility of EDA in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment planning for depression and suicidal behaviour, should be thoroughly studied.

Can changes in nasal temperature be used as an indicator of emotional state in cows?

Good animal welfare considers not only the physical and environmental aspects of an animal’s well-being, but also their emotional state. Finding measures of animal emotions is an important area of research, as there is a need for objective, reliable and non-invasive measures to assess how an animal is feeling. There is still little known about the use of peripheral temperatures as an indication of emotional state. Previous research has shown that nasal temperatures in cows drop in response to a positive, low arousal emotional state, but similar effects have been seen in other peripheral areas in response to negative, high arousal emotional states. In this study we have sought to explore the effects of both positive and negative, high arousal emotional states on the nasal temperatures of dairy cows.We found that both positive and negative high arousal experiences cause a significant reduction in the nasal temperature of cattle. The introduction of a positive contrast; highly favoured ‘concentrates’ feed, following a conditioned neutral feed stimulus, elicited the emotional state of excitement and resulted in a significant decrease in nasal temperature (F(1.90,376.16)=17.36, p<0.001). As did the negative contrast; an inedible feed following a conditioned positive feed stimulus, which is considered to elicit the emotional state of frustration (F(2,84)=8.41, p<0.001). These findings, suggest that significant drops in nasal temperatures are a result of a change in emotional valence, and not descriptive of the type of valence, or a change in arousal. Further research needs to be conducted as there is so little known about the effects of emotional state on peripheral temperatures, particularly positive emotional states. Our findings support previous research to suggest that there is potential for nasal temperatures in cattle to be used as a reliable indicator of changes in emotional valence, although much more needs to be done before we can draw concrete conclusions regarding the effects.

Heart rate variability predicts the emotional state in dogs

Although it is known that heart rate variability (HRV) is a useful indicator of emotional states in animals, there are few reports of research in dogs. Thus, we investigated the relationship between HRV and emotional states in dogs. The electrocardiogram and behavior in two situations that elicited a positive and negative emotion, in addition to baseline (when dogs were not presented any social stimuli), were recorded in 33 healthy house dogs. After testing, we chose 15seconds from each situation and baseline and calculated three HRV parameters: standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN), the root mean square of successive heartbeat interval differences (RMSSD), and mean R-R intervals (mean RRI). In comparing these parameters with baseline, only SDNN was lower in a positive situation. In contrast, only RMSSD was lower in a negative situation. A change in HRV occurred with a stimulus eliciting emotion, and was able to distinguish between positive and negative situations. Thus, HRV is useful for estimating the emotional state in dogs.

Влияние культурно-познавательных туров на состояние туристов

The article presents the author’s concept of the influence of the cultural and educational tours on emotional and&#x0D; physical state of tourists; it explains the new direction of scientific research as “Cultural tourism and human&#x0D; health”. The hypothesis of the study lies in the assumption about the positive impact of appropriate conditions of&#x0D; cultural and educational tours on human health: the condition of the tourists in terms of cultural and educational&#x0D; tours to various regions of Russia will demonstrate positive dynamics under condition of the correct program of&#x0D; tourist services, including dosed excursions, organization of optimal functional food, comfortable accommodation&#x0D; and quality of excursions that enhance the resilience of the body, restoring vitality and health. The relevance of&#x0D; the study is due to the following factors: 1) the worsening of the social problems of contemporary life, associated&#x0D; with unsustainable way of life that undermines the protective powers of man, dooming him to premature aging and&#x0D; disease; 2) the need to search for new meanings and ideas for the development of tourist offers in domestic tourism,&#x0D; especially in conditions of economic pressure by the EU and the US on Russia. The aim of this study was to&#x0D; identify changes of state to visit in terms of cultural and educational tours to develop a physiologically-based design&#x0D; system of cultural and educational tours. The study is focused on indicators of emotional state and hemodynamics&#x0D; (systolic, diastolic arterial pressure and heart rate). Pilot measurements which were made during the experiment,&#x0D; show that in the context of cultural tourism in the body of the tourists there are some state changes that need to be&#x0D; checked, scientific instruments/ conditions, criteria and indicators to be determined, a model of ergonomic tour&#x0D; and recommendations for the design of programs of tourist services to be developed. The results of the study allowed&#x0D; us to determine a new direction of scientific research – “Cultural tourism and human health”.

Реабилитационный потенциал детей, перенесших в разные возрастные периоды хирургическую коррекцию врождённых пороков сердца

Comparative evaluation of rehabilitation potential in 20 girls at the sanatorium stage of rehabilitation after surgical correction of congenital heart disease in different age periods was carried out. Structural and functional diagnoses were specified to determine the level of rehabilitation potential. Identified violations were assessed as the loss or absence, reduction, addition or excess. Research methods included: clinical examination with determination of the level of physical development on the body mass index, functional orthostatic test, as-sessment of the estimated impact of blood volume and &amp;#34;double work&amp;#34;, Doppler echocardiography, spectral analysis of heart rhythm, some indicators of emotional state on the differentiated self-assessment of functional status test and “quality of life” according to test SF-36. In children of the first group with early surgical correction regarding (under 2 years) significant changes in functionality were noted: higher initial rehabilitation potential and positive changes in central and peripheral hemodynamics, positive changes in the emotional sphere traced by the level of comfort, improved exercise tolerance under the influence of sanatorium rehabilitation. Preliminary observations suggest the possibility of compensation of impaired functions in children of the specified contingent during the sanatorium stage of rehabilitation is to improve their sano-genetic and psycho-physiological potential.

Роль нормобарической гипокситерапии в формировании адекватного индивидуального стиля деятельности дошкольника

A pilot study to assess the effects of normobaric therapy on the formation of an adequate individual style of activity for preschool children was carried out. In this study, 35 preschool children with neuropsychological disorders, including 18 boys and 17 girls, took part. The survey was carried out using the apparatus &amp;#34;Aquatimer&amp;#34;. The results of the study allowed the authors to conclude: intermittent therapy used in the rehabilitation process, can affect the physiological status of the preschool child and bioelectric activity of the brain. Indicators of emotional state, as well as the indicator of their functional asymmetry are of great diagnostic value, because the function of each hemisphere has its own specifics, which affects any human activity. The results of the research can be used not only psychologists, but also by teachers to diagnose emotional development of children, the reasons for their broken social adaptation and conflict.&#x0D; Knowledge about the relationship between emotional state and the presence of functional asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres allows to more accurately diagnose and correct communication characteristics of preschoolers with their peers, improve their socialization process and to widen the sphere of our influence on this process.&#x0D;

Emotion and relative reward processing: An investigation on instrumental successive negative contrast and ultrasonic vocalizations in the rat

Incentive contrast effects include changes in behavioral responses after a reward upshift (positive contrast) or downshift (negative contrast). Proposed influences on these behavioral changes are emotional state reactions after experiencing or anticipating a change in reward outcome. Rat ultrasonic vocalizations have been shown to be indicators of emotional state during behavior and anticipatory periods. The objective of the present study was to monitor rodent ultrasounds during incentive contrast using a classical runway procedure called instrumental successive negative contrast. The procedure is one that has been used often to examine incentive relativity because of its reliability in measuring negative contrast effects. Rats were trained to run in the alleyway to receive a high (12 pellets) or low magnitude (1 pellet) outcome. The high magnitude was then shifted to the low and running speeds in the alleyway for the reward and USV emission were compared. Replicating previous work, a negative contrast effect was observed with postshift running speeds significantly slower in the shifted group compared to the unshifted group. USVs did not follow the same pattern with an apparent lack of significant differences between the groups following the reward downshift. We also tested another group of animals using a visual predictive cue in the same runway test. When visual cues predicted high or low magnitude outcome, no incentive contrast was found for the running speeds following an outcome downshift, but a weak contrast effect was observed for the USV emission. These results demonstrate a separation between USVs and behavioral indicators of incentive contrast suggesting that concomitant shifts in negative affect may not be necessary for anticipatory relative reward processes.

The Rovereto Emotion and Cooperation Corpus: a new resource to investigate cooperation and emotions

The Rovereto Emotion and Cooperation Corpus (RECC) is a new resource collected to investigate the relationship between cooperation and emotions in an interactive setting. Previous attempts at collecting corpora to study emotions have shown that this data are often quite difficult to classify and analyse, and coding schemes to analyse emotions are often found not to be reliable. We collected a corpus of task-oriented (MapTask-style) dialogues in Italian, in which the segments of emotional interest are identified using psycho-physiological indexes (Heart Rate and Galvanic Skin Conductance) which are highly reliable. We then annotated these segments in accordance with novel multimodal annotation schemes for cooperation (in terms of effort) and facial expressions (an indicator of emotional state). High agreement was obtained among coders on all the features. The RECC corpus is to our knowledge the first resource with psycho-physiological data aligned with verbal and nonverbal behaviour data.

The use of diazepam as a pharmacological validation of eye white as an indicator of emotional state in dairy cows

This experiment aims at validating the percentage of visible white in the eye as an emotional indicator, related to the frustration–contentedness axis, in cattle. Earlier experiments showed that the calculated percentage of white in the eyes was larger in frustrated or scared cows compared to cows that were offered a positive stimulus. This eye change was therefore suggested to be a dynamic indicator of emotions in dairy cattle, a high percentage of white in the eye indicating frustration, and a low percentage indicating satisfaction. In the present paper, the hypothesis was that treatment with the anti-anxiety drug diazepam should reduce the percentage of white in the eye in frustrated cows, but have no effect on the percentage of eye white in non-frustrated or rewarded cows. The test animals were 20 randomly selected commercial dairy cows (Norwegian Red Cattle). Two experiments were performed on hungry cows. The four different groups in the first experiment are described in the following. Ten cows were introduced to a frustrating situation, being thwarted from access to visible food (treatment I). Ten cows were introduced to a positive situation, access to food (treatment II). The 10 cows in group I were introduced to the same frustrating situation, but were now pretreated with diazepam (treatment III). The 10 cows in group II were introduced to the same positive situation after pretreatment with diazepam (treatment IV). The two groups in the second experiment were 20 untreated (treatment I) and 20 diazepam-treated (treatment II) cows introduced to a positive, conditioned stimulus, a stockman entering the stall at concentrate feeding time. All predictions were confirmed, supporting the hypothesis that increased percentage of eye white is an emotional indicator of frustration in cows.

Ultrasonic vocalization as an indicator of emotional state during active avoidance learning in rats

Adult male rats subjected to a two-way avoidance task emitted ultrasonic vocalizations (20–30 kHz) both during the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the intertrial interval. The rate of ultrasonic calling decreased during the 75-trial session indicating that acquisition of the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) was inversely correlated with the rate of vocalization. The rate of acquisition of the CAR was most rapid in those rats that did not emit any vocalization during learning. These data suggest that ultrasonic calling during stressful situations may be sensitive indicator of underlying emotional states that interfere with the acquisition of a complex task.

On the relation between ratings of the emotional state and expressive variables of gesture and verbal activities in old-aged people.

Methods to assess emotional reactions in old-aged people are predominantly confined to physiological or biochemical variables. In an experiment the authors examined whether variables of gesture and verbal activity are indicators of emotional states. Ninety-six old-aged women took part in the experiment which had two experimental and two control conditions. Subjective variables, physiological variables, and variables of expression were assessed. The results show that emotional reactions are expressed in variables of verbal activity but not in variables of gesture.