SSA: Affect and decision-making: disentangling underlying processes
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Clinical Veterinary Science
Abstract
Judgement bias, the phenomenon in which a negative affective state leads to pessimistic interpretations of ambiguous stimuli, provides a promising measure of welfare in non-human animals. As yet the cognitive processes underlying judgement bias (and more generally the effects of emotion on decision-making) are not fully understood. Understanding the influence of reward and punishment on decision-making is fundamental to understanding judgement bias. Experiencing a reward or punishment may alter how we feel; potential or actual rewards lead to excitement, and potential or actual punishments lead to anxiety. Yet, our emotions can also alter how we respond to actual or potential rewards and punishments; a subset of symptoms indicative of depression or anxiety in both human and non-human animals reflect abnormalities in reward responsiveness. The aim of this research is to investigate how past experience of rewards and punishments alters current reward and punishment valuation and reward and punishment probability estimation, within the context of emotion, in both humans and rodents. Specifically: (i) how the frequency of rewards and punishments experienced alters reward and punishment valuation and reward and punishment probability estimation; (ii) the extent to which the effects of rewards and punishments on reward and punishment valuation and reward and punishment probability estimation discounted over time; (iii) the extent to which the effects of rewards and punishments on reward and punishment valuation are modality-specific, and finally (iv) how similar the effects of past experience of reward and punishment on cognitive processing are between human and non-human animals.
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M009122/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1643855 | Studentship | BB/M009122/1 | 01/10/2015 | 30/09/2019 | Vikki Neville |
| Description | - We conducted a meta-analysis which revealed that overall judgement bias (which measures how animal decision-making) provides a measure of animal affect. - Computational modelling may provide a useful method to investigate judgement bias data, and we have developed a novel computational model for the analysis of judgement bias data. |
| Exploitation Route | The meta-analysis provided validation of the judgement bias task, and hence the judgement bias task may be used more widely as a measure of affect and hence animal welfare. The computational modelling approach may be used by others for data analysis. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Animal affect, welfare, and decision-making: a computational modelling approach |
| Amount | £533,383 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/T002654/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2019 |
| End | 10/2024 |
| Description | BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme Studentship: 'Animal emotion and welfare: a decision-making and computational approach' |
| Amount | £90,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | SWBio DTP: In Vivo Skills Awards |
| Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2017 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with Zantiks Ltd (Cambridge) - a new company developing and supplying equipment for behavioural studies. |
| Organisation | Zantiks Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We are developing a collaboration with Zantiks Ltd in which we work alongside them to develop new behavioural assays and associated functionality for their equipment. In particular, we are focusing on assays of mouse and rat behaviour, including the variant of the judgement bias task developed under our NC3Rs grant. We are contributing our expertise in behaviour testing to help Zantiks develop new tests that other researchers may want to use. We are also actively seeking to develop tests that do not require the use of aversive shock stimuli, and are discussing incorporation of an alternative air-puff function into their equipment boxes as a 3Rs benefit of their system. Researchers involved in our current BBSRC grant are assisting with developing and trialling the tests with the new hardware. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Zantiks have supplied us with 4 of their behaviour testing units at a reduced price. They are particularly keen to develop their rat behaviour test system with our input, and also to share other developments with us. |
| Impact | These are early days and, as yet, there are no specific outcomes to report. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Understanding and measuring conscious components of animal affective states |
| Organisation | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) |
| Department | Department of Psychology |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Through meeting at the Lorentz 2017 workshop on Comparative Affective Science (Leiden. Netherlands) at which we presented some of our NC3Rs work, we formed a collaboration with Profs Piotr Winkielman and Marco Tamietto and Dr Shlomi Sher to review and develop thinking on challenges and potential ways forward in assessing conscious affective states in animals. We are sharing our ideas and writing a substantial review on the topic. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Discussions and joint writing of a substantial review article on the topic. |
| Impact | Paper on conscious component of animal affect. Paul, E.S., Sher, S., Tamietto, M., Winkielman, P. & Mendl, M.T. (2020). Towards a comparative science of emotion: affect and consciousness in humans and animals. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 108, 749-770 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Invited speaker: Animal Welfare Science Centre Seminar, University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to postgraduate students and other researchers at the University of Melbourne Animal Welfare Science Centre |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | invited talk to zoo keepers and other zoo staff, plus postgraduate students at Melbourne Zoo, Australia |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Keynote Speaker at Tecniplast Animal Welfare Symposium, Australian and New Zealand Laboratory Animal Association Annual Meeting, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speaker at ANZLAA Annual Meeting attended by researchers, laboratory technicians, industry representatives, postgraduate students, policymakers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.anzlaa.org/resources/Documents/2019%20AWS%20Brochure%20Final.pdf |
| Description | Keynote Speaker at the Midlands 3Rs Symposium, University of Leicester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speaker to an audience of researchers, laboratory technicians, postgraduates and funders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/hashtag/Midlands3Rs?src=hashtag_click |
| Description | Opening keynote: Introduction to animal emotion: concepts, correlates and consciousness. The Fundamentals of Animal Emotion Workshop, Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Opening keynote speaker and tutor at workshop on the assessment of animal affective states for PhD students from all over Europe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.wur.nl/upload_mm/c/d/9/6fdfd010-c2e2-47d4-a605-ae15b0f5ec93_Programme%20PhD%20course%20T... |
| Description | The Charles River Lecture, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited to give the annual Charles River Lecture at the AALAS meeting in Baltimore, USA in 2018. Meeting attended by researchers, laboratory technicians, postgraduate students, industry representatives and salespeople, policy makers, third party sector organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/events/69th-aalas-national-meeting |