Playful handling of laboratory rats is more beneficial when applied before than after routine injections
The ability of positive affective states to counteract negative states engendered by routine medical procedures remains poorly studied. In laboratory rats, positive affect typically associated with rough-and-tumble play can be induced through human “hand play” – the experience of being “tickled” by a human in a manner mimicking the social interactions normally occurring during physical–social […]
Dog behavior but not frontal brain reaction changes in repeated positive interactions with a human: A non-invasive pilot study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
This study was conducted as a pilot test case to investigate potential behavioral and neural indicators of positive emotional states in dogs. These states were induced by subjecting each dog to three types of human interactions (verbal contact only, physical contact only, or both). Each stimulus was repeated 10 times, at 1-min intervals, alternating with […]