Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain
Animals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discus...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3334 |
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| author | Daniel Mota-Rojas Míriam Marcet-Rius Asahi Ogi Ismael Hernández-Ávalos Chiara Mariti Julio Martínez-Burnes Patricia Mora-Medina Alejandro Casas Adriana Domínguez Brenda Reyes Angelo Gazzano |
| author_facet | Daniel Mota-Rojas Míriam Marcet-Rius Asahi Ogi Ismael Hernández-Ávalos Chiara Mariti Julio Martínez-Burnes Patricia Mora-Medina Alejandro Casas Adriana Domínguez Brenda Reyes Angelo Gazzano |
| author_sort | Daniel Mota-Rojas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids—wolves, for example—cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon—called “emotional contagion”—is triggered precisely by the dog’s capacity to identify their owners’ gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:46:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9176cb4a29bd462d8e5c348ff293d1da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:46:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-9176cb4a29bd462d8e5c348ff293d1da2023-11-22T22:09:08ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-11-011111333410.3390/ani11113334Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of PainDaniel Mota-Rojas0Míriam Marcet-Rius1Asahi Ogi2Ismael Hernández-Ávalos3Chiara Mariti4Julio Martínez-Burnes5Patricia Mora-Medina6Alejandro Casas7Adriana Domínguez8Brenda Reyes9Angelo Gazzano10Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, MexicoAnimal Behaviour and Welfare Department, IRSEA (Research Institute in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology), Quartier Salignan, 84400 Apt, FranceDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Biological Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Veterinary Anaesthesia, FESC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán Izcalli 54714, MexicoDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyAnimal Health Group, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City 87000, MexicoDepartment of Livestock Science, FESC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán Izcalli 54714, MexicoNeurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, MexicoNeurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, MexicoNeurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, MexicoDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyAnimals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids—wolves, for example—cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon—called “emotional contagion”—is triggered precisely by the dog’s capacity to identify their owners’ gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3334animal welfareemotionshuman-dog interactionpainpositive and negative stimuli |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Mota-Rojas Míriam Marcet-Rius Asahi Ogi Ismael Hernández-Ávalos Chiara Mariti Julio Martínez-Burnes Patricia Mora-Medina Alejandro Casas Adriana Domínguez Brenda Reyes Angelo Gazzano Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain Animals animal welfare emotions human-dog interaction pain positive and negative stimuli |
| title | Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain |
| title_full | Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain |
| title_fullStr | Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain |
| title_short | Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain |
| title_sort | current advances in assessment of dog s emotions facial expressions and their use for clinical recognition of pain |
| topic | animal welfare emotions human-dog interaction pain positive and negative stimuli |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3334 |
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