Dirksen Neele, Langbein Jan, Matthews Lindsay, Puppe Birger, Elliffe Douglas, Schrader Lars
Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Behavioral Physiology, Dummerstorf, Germany.
Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Behavioral Physiology, Dummerstorf, Germany.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Aug;115:5-12. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.05.006. Epub 2020 May 24.
Typically, cattle urinate and defecate with little or no control over time and place. The resulting excreta contributes to a range of adverse effects on the environment and the animals themselves. These adverse effects could be substantially ameliorated if livestock could be toilet trained. Toilet training requires an animal to suppress impending voiding (a reflexive-like behavior), move to a latrine (voluntary behavior) and reinitiate voiding. Here, we review the neurophysiological processes and learning mechanisms regulating toileting. The suppression and initiation of voiding occur primarily via the coordinated activity of smooth and striated anal and urinary sphincter muscles. The autonomic and somatic nervous systems, along with central processes, regulate these muscles. In several mammalian species, voluntary control of the sphincters has been demonstrated using classical and/or operant conditioning. In this review, we demonstrate that the neurophysiological and behavioral regulation of voiding in cattle is likely to be similarly conditionable. The management of excreta deposition in cattle could have major benefits for reducing livestock greenhouse gas emissions and improving animal health/welfare.
通常情况下，牛排尿和排便时对时间和地点几乎没有控制能力。由此产生的排泄物会对环境和动物自身造成一系列不利影响。如果能够对家畜进行如厕训练，这些不利影响将得到显著改善。如厕训练要求动物抑制即将到来的排尿（一种类似反射的行为），移动到厕所（自主行为）并重新开始排尿。在此，我们综述调节如厕行为的神经生理过程和学习机制。排尿的抑制和开始主要通过肛门和尿道平滑肌与横纹肌的协同活动来实现。自主神经系统和躯体神经系统以及中枢过程调节这些肌肉。在一些哺乳动物物种中，已经通过经典条件反射和/或操作性条件反射证明了对括约肌的自主控制。在本综述中，我们证明牛排尿的神经生理和行为调节可能同样具有可调节性。对牛排泄物沉积进行管理可能对减少家畜温室气体排放和改善动物健康/福利具有重大益处。
