Use of a habituation-dishabituation test to determine canine olfactory sensitivity

Author(s)
Moser, Ariella Y
Brown, Wendy Y
Bizo, Lewis A
Publication Date
2022-09
Abstract
<p>The habituation-dishabituation (H-D) paradigm is an established measure of sensory perception in animals. However, it has rarely been applied to canine olfaction. It proposes that animals will lose interest in, or habituate to, a stimulus after successive exposures but will regain interest in, or dishabituate to, a novel stimulus if they can perceive it. This study assessed an H-D test's practicability to determine dogs' olfactory detection thresholds (ODTs) for a neutral odorant. A random selection of mixed-breed pet dogs (<i>n</i> = 26) participated in two H-D tests in a repeated-measures crossover design. They were first habituated to a carrier odor and then presented with either ascending concentrations of <i>n</i>-amyl acetate in the known ODT range (experimental condition) or repeated carrier odor presentations (control condition). No single odor concentration elicited dishabituation in the majority of the dogs. However, individual dogs dishabituated at differing experimental concentrations significantly more often than in the control condition (<i>p</i> = .012). These findings provide some tentative support for using this method in studying canine olfaction. However, further assessment and refinement are needed before it can be a viable alternative to traditional ODT measurement.</p>
Citation
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 118(2), p. 316-326
ISSN
1938-3711
0022-5002
Pubmed ID
36121596
Link
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Title
Use of a habituation-dishabituation test to determine canine olfactory sensitivity
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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