Individual non-human brains: Investigating the neural basis of personality in pigs

• Applicant: Dr. Charlotte Goursot
• Subject Area: Veterinary Medical Science ; Sensory and Behavioural Biology ; Biological Psychiatry ; Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Animal Husbandry
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 464508359

Animal welfare science is taking a historic turning point: non-human animals begin to be considered as individuals. In human psychology, it is acknowledged that individuals differ in their neural activity during emotional processing and regulation (“affective styles”). Strikingly, in humans, baseline cerebral lateralization (the fact that one brain hemisphere is more active than the other one) predicts affective styles and in particular individual motivational tendencies that underlie personality. The BIS/BAS hypothesis states that approach-avoidance conflicts (whose neural substrate is the behavioural inhibition system, BIS) are regulated by the right hemisphere, while reward sensitivity (whose neural substrate is the behavioural activation system, BAS) is regulated by the left hemisphere. In humans, this hypothesis can be tested with the use of BIS/BAS scales based on questionnaires, combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. Such BIS/BAS scales do not exist yet in non-human animals, although they are crucial to understand the neurophysiological basis of personality. This may also explain why studies on affective styles in non-human animals are severely lacking. Non-human animal studies on laterality (i.e. brain and body asymmetries) exploit the fact that each hemisphere controls the contralateral part of the body, and focus on non-invasive observations of behavioural lateralization (i.e. side biases). In particular, the observation of consistent behavioural lateralization patterns within individuals is supposed to give insight into their baseline cerebral lateralization and their personality. Findings in non-human animals indicate that a greater left hemispheric baseline activity is associated with bolder and more explorative personalities. This indicates a potential lateralization of the BIS and BAS. Apart from this, little is known about the proximate mechanisms and especially the neural basis of animal personality. A crucial first step consists in developing a methodology to assess individual differences in approach-avoidance conflicts (BIS) and reward sensitivity (BAS) in non-human animals, and to combine those measurements with brain imaging techniques. The development of such an innovative multi-approach methodology is the overall goal of this project. Aiming at understanding the neural basis of personality in non-human animals, I will first develop a reliable BIS/BAS scale in pigs and test its potential link with behavioural lateralization (Objective 1). As a complementary approach, I will combine behavioural indicators of personality and laterality with measurements of brain structure and baseline activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the first time in a non-human animal (Objective 2). This original pioneering project will be a milestone for research on affective styles in non-human animals.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: Austria
• Host: Professor Dr. Jean-Loup Rault, Ph.D.