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Does emotional state influence motor lateralization in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus)?

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Abstract

Motor lateralization is a behavioural asymmetry between the left and the right side of an individual due to hemispheric specialization. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere the right side. The right hemisphere processes negative emotions such as fear and frustration, and on the contrary, the left hemisphere processes positive emotions such as happiness. This study, conducted at Parc Asterix Delphinarium (Plailly, France), tested the influence of supposedly positive, negative and neutral emotional situations on four California sea lions’ (Zalophus californianus) motor lateralization while performing a known exercise, here climbing on a stool. Latency between the caretakers’ command and the animals’ response was recorded. The results showed an interindividual variability in the effect of the supposed emotional situations on their motor lateralization and their response latency. The nature and the strength of this effect require deeper investigation by further studies, on a larger number of individuals and contexts.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Paris 13 University for giving them the opportunity to conduct this study, Parc Astérix for allowing them to work at the Delphinarium and with their animals, Birgitta Mercera and all the Delphinarium team and particularly the caretakers Caroline Lévy, Stéphane Lecki, Déborah Mallet, Fleur Besnoiy, Julie Lovato, Daphné Vergon, Lauranne Torres, Juana Serrano and Julien Gout for their active contribution to this project. They would also like to thank Jean-Luc Durand for his help in statistics, Renée Fénéron for supervising SL and ML’s master thesis, Isabella Clegg and Sarah Todd for providing English help and Elodie Gilmert for her advice.

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  1. Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale Comparée, Université Paris Nord, 99 Avenue Jean Baptiste Clément, 93430, Villetaneuse, France

    Sophie Le Ray, Manon Le Gal & Fabienne Delfour

  2. Parc Astérix, 60128, Plailly, France

    Fabienne Delfour

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  1. Sophie Le Ray
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  2. Manon Le Gal
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  3. Fabienne Delfour
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Correspondence to Sophie Le Ray.

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All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Le Ray, S., Le Gal, M. & Delfour, F. Does emotional state influence motor lateralization in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus)?. acta ethol 20, 279–289 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-017-0273-4

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