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Scientific reports2016; 6; 20117; doi: 10.1038/srep20117

Lower attention to daily environment: a novel cue for detecting chronic horses’ back pain?

Abstract: Chronic pain is thought to affect patients' cognitive functioning, including attention. Loss of attention is likely to have an impact on the execution of daily tasks, and, therefore, to have negative effects. However, relationships between chronic pain and cognitive deficits are still debated. Pre-clinical studies using laboratory animals prove useful to model pain-related cognitive impairment, but animal models had to predict effects in the real world. This study investigates attentional engagement of domestic horses by comparing observations in a home setting and evaluations of vertebral disorders. We found that lower attentional engagement and the level of back disorders were correlated. Two different evaluation techniques of the state of horses' spines gave similar results. We suggest that novel animal models would prove useful for identifying spontaneous behaviours indicative of chronic pain. We suggest that more ethological studies in human patients' home environments would help to improve our understanding of the processes involved. Finally, these results yield interesting indications for evaluating animal welfare, as attentional engagement could become a reliable indicator of chronic pain and thus a useful tool for identification of suffering individuals.
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Publication Date: 2016-01-29 PubMed ID: 26823123PubMed Central: PMC4731760DOI: 10.1038/srep20117Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
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  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study investigates the correlation between chronic back pain and attention levels in horses, finding that lower attentional engagement is linked to severe back disorders. The research suggests that observing such spontaneous behaviors could help identify chronic pain in animal models and could provide valuable insight for the evaluation of animal welfare.

Objective of the Study

  • The study aimed at investigating the relationship between chronic pain and cognitive functioning, with particular emphasis on attention.
  • There was a special focus on domestic horses as the subject of the study because observing their spontaneous behaviors in the real world could predict effects of chronic pain on attention engagement.
  • Its ultimate goal was to reveal the viability of back disorders as an indication of attentional disorders in animal models.

Methodology

  • The researchers employed two different techniques to evaluate the state of the horses’ spines.
  • The attentional engagement of domestic horses was compared by contrasting observations made in a home setting and evaluations made with vertebral disorders.

Findings

  • Lower attentional engagement was found to be correlated with severe back disorders in horses.
  • A similar correlation was discovered across two different techniques of evaluation.
  • This suggests that observation of spontaneous behaviours could become a reliable method of identifying chronic pain in animals.

Implications

  • The results indicate that decreased attention to daily environment could be a likely cue for detecting chronic pain in horses.
  • Utilizing these findings could significantly enhance the evaluation process of animal welfare as pain-induced cognitive impairments can be better identified.
  • The research promotes more ethological studies in human patients’ home environments aimed at improving our understanding of the relationship between chronic pain and cognitive functioning.

Conclusion

  • The study effectively demonstrates a correlation between attentional engagement and the level of back disorders in horses, suggesting potential usefulness of attentional engagement as an indicator of chronic pain.
  • The results from this study could significantly contribute to the development of better animal welfare assessment techniques and promote more studies in this direction.

Cite This Article

APA
Rochais C, Fureix C, Lesimple C, Hausberger M. (2016). Lower attention to daily environment: a novel cue for detecting chronic horses’ back pain? Sci Rep, 6, 20117. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20117

Publication

Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
NlmUniqueID: 101563288
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 6
Pages: 20117

Researcher Affiliations

Rochais, C
  • Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6552 -Laboratoire Ethologie Animale et Humaine-EthoS- Station biologique, 35380, Paimpont, France.
Fureix, C
  • Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6552 -Laboratoire Ethologie Animale et Humaine-EthoS- Station biologique, 35380, Paimpont, France.
Lesimple, C
  • Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6552 -Laboratoire Ethologie Animale et Humaine-EthoS- Station biologique, 35380, Paimpont, France.
Hausberger, M
  • CNRS- UMR 6552 Université de Rennes 1, -Laboratoire Ethologie Animale et Humaine- 263 avenue du général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes cedex, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Back Pain / diagnosis
  • Back Pain / physiopathology
  • Back Pain / veterinary
  • Chronic Pain / diagnosis
  • Chronic Pain / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horse Diseases / physiopathology
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Male

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Citations

This article has been cited 19 times.
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