| Avian maternal response to chick distress. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21389025 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The extent to which an animal is affected by the pain or distress of a conspecific will depend on its capacity for empathy. Empathy most probably evolved to facilitate parental care, so the current study assessed whether birds responded to an aversive stimulus directed at their chicks. Domestic hens were exposed to two replicates of the following conditions in a counterbalanced order: control (C; hen and chicks undisturbed), air puff to chicks (APC; air puff directed at chicks at 30 s intervals), air puff to hen (APH; air puff directed at hen at 30 s intervals) and control with noise (CN; noise of air puff at 30 s intervals). During each test, the hens' behaviour and physiology were measured throughout a 10 min pre-treatment and a 10 min treatment period. Hens responded to APH and APC treatments with increased alertness, decreased preening behaviour and a reduction in eye temperature. No such changes occurred during any control period. Increased heart rate and maternal vocalization occurred exclusively during the APC treatment, even though chicks produced few distress vocalizations. The pronounced and specific reaction observed indicates that adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of empathy. |
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Authors:
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J L Edgar; J C Lowe; E S Paul; C J Nicol |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-3-9 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Volume: - ISSN: 1471-2954 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-3-10 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 101245157 Medline TA: Proc Biol Sci Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, , Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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