Faculty of Medicine, Université libre de Bruxelles, 808, route de Lennik, CP 630, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 20;14(1):19336. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-70141-y.
Spontaneous eye blinks are brief closures of both eyelids. The spontaneous eye blink rate (SEBR) exceeds physiological corneal needs and is modulated by emotions and cognitive states, including vigilance and attention, in humans. In several animal species, the SEBR is modulated by stress and antipredator vigilance, which may limit the loss of visual information due to spontaneous eye closing. Here, we investigated whether the SEBR is modulated by attention in the domestic horse (Equus caballus). Our data supported previous studies indicating a tonic SEBR specific to each individual. We also found that, superimposed on a tonic SEBR, phasic changes were induced by cognitive processing. Attention downmodulated the SEBR, with the magnitude of blink inhibition proportional to the degree of attentional selectivity. On the other hand, reward anticipation upregulated the SEBR. Our data also suggested that horses possess the cognitive property of object permanence: they understand that an object that is no longer in their visual field has not ceased to exist. In conclusion, our results suggested that spontaneous eye blinks in horses are modulated by attentional cognitive processing.
自发性眼眨眼是指眼睑的短暂闭合。在人类中，自发性眼眨眼率（SEBR）超过了生理角膜的需求，并受到情绪和认知状态（包括警觉和注意力）的调节。在几种动物物种中，SEBR 受到压力和捕食者警觉性的调节，这可能限制了由于自发性闭眼而导致的视觉信息丢失。在这里，我们研究了注意力是否会调节家马（Equus caballus）的 SEBR。我们的数据支持了先前的研究，表明每个个体都有特定的紧张性 SEBR。我们还发现，在紧张性 SEBR 的基础上，认知加工会引起相位变化。注意力会使 SEBR 降低，眨眼抑制的幅度与注意力选择性的程度成正比。另一方面，奖励预期会增加 SEBR。我们的数据还表明，马具有物体持久性的认知特性：它们知道不在其视野中的物体并没有消失。总之，我们的结果表明，马的自发性眼眨眼受到注意力认知加工的调节。
