Dataset Information

Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets.

ABSTRACT: Positive and negative stimuli have asymmetric fitness consequences. Whereas, a missed opportunity may be compensated, an unattended threat can be fatal. This is why it has been hypothesised that habituation to positive stimuli is fast while it may be difficult to habituate to negative stimuli, at least for primary (innate) stimuli. However, learning of secondary stimuli may delay the process of habituation. Here, we tested 64 weaned piglets in pairs. In three phases, lasting one week each, piglets were exposed five times to a stimulus of presumed negative, intermediate, or positive valence. Etho-physiological measurements of heart rate, heart rate variability, and general movement activity were collected during the last 4 min before the confrontation with the stimulus (anticipation phase). We found no consistent effect of the interaction between the valence of the stimuli and the repetition and a main effect of valence on our outcome variables. Therefore, we could neither support the hypothesis that piglets habituate more slowly to secondary positive stimuli than to primary negative stimuli nor that they habituate less to primary negative stimuli when compared with other stimuli. These results could have been caused because stimuli may not have differed in the presumed way, the experimental design may not have been adequate, or the measures were not suitable for detecting habituation to the stimuli. Based on the stimuli used here and their valence that was only presumed, we could not support the hypothesis that the habituation process differs according to the valence of the stimuli.

SUBMITTER: Henzen A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6162755 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets.

Henzen Angela A Gygax Lorenz L

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20180822 9

Positive and negative stimuli have asymmetric fitness consequences. Whereas, a missed opportunity may be compensated, an unattended threat can be fatal. This is why it has been hypothesised that habituation to positive stimuli is fast while it may be difficult to habituate to negative stimuli, at least for primary (innate) stimuli. However, learning of secondary stimuli may delay the process of habituation. Here, we tested 64 weaned piglets in pairs. In three phases, lasting one week each, pigle ...[more]

PMID: 30131458

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Project description:Development of immune competence in pigs is important for resilience, disease resistance, and performance later in life. Dietary interventions in early life can contribute to immune system development. Use of model dietary interventions, such as diets with a high concentration of zinc, can contribute to the understanding of the interactions between the diet, the intestinal microbiota and intestinal tissues. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of provision of a diet with a high concentration of zinc (Zn, 2690 mg/kg), as model intervention, as compared to provision of a control diet with a regular Zn concentration (100 mg/kg) during a period of nine days during the post weaning period (d 14-23 post weaning (pw)), on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and gene expression in the intestinal mucosa on d 23 and 35 pw (12 d after the termination of the Zn intervention). Whole genome gene expression analysis of the jejunal and ileal mucosa revealed a small overall time-treatment interaction effect at d 23 pw in both intestinal tissues. In both jejunal and ileal mucosa various genes/probes were differentially up or down regulated between treatments. In intestinal tissue samples obtained on d 35 no differences in gene expression were observed. Probes of d 23 pw that were differently expressed and had an annotation were subsequently used as input for further functional analysis using DAVID and Gene Decks databases. The analysis did not result in the identification of gene sets that were differentially expressed between dietary treatments. However, it was shown that a number of upregulated genes in the jejunal mucosa on d 23 pw by the high zinc intervention are involved in pathways related to mineral absorption, immune signalling and cell energy metabolism (glycolysis and gluconeogenesis). A few down regulated genes by the Zn intervention are also involved in immune signalling pathways. It was concluded from the present study that provision of a diet with a high concentration of zinc as zinc oxide during a short period of time (9 days) to piglets in the post weaning period (d 14-23 pw) induces differences on the intestinal expression of genes in part related to the functioning of the local innate immune system. The high dietary zinc intervention can therefore be considered as a suitable model for studying relationships between dietary interventions and development of immune competence in post weaning piglets.

Dataset Information

Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets.

Publications

Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets.

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