From Attention to Welfare: Linking EEG and Behaviour in Equine Cognition

Ida Ilmer, PhD student - Doctoral School of Social Sciences of the Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Science of the Jagiellonian University

Abstrakt:

Horses are large, highly social mammals with strong flight responses and a relatively underexplored neural basis of attention. Despite millennia of domestication, they retain many intact instincts, making them a valuable model for studying ecologically grounded attentional mechanisms and expanding our understanding of cognitive processing in phylogenetically distant, non-laboratory species.

In this talk, I will present my research to date on equine cognition, integrating behavioural and neurophysiological approaches while addressing the challenges of studying such large animals in controlled experimental settings, with particular emphasis on the application of EEG methodologies. I will describe previous behavioural studies in which attention emerged as one of the key factors shaping horses’ cognitive processes, and show how these findings motivated subsequent neurophysiological investigations.

I will then discuss results from studies examining the neural correlates of auditory attention in horses using a passive auditory oddball paradigm, with a particular focus on the identification of a P300-like component. Finally, I will outline future research directions, including ongoing parallel behavioural studies investigating potential depression-like states in horses.

When: 23.04. (Thursday), 2 pm

Where: Sano, 2nd floor, Czarnowiejska 36/building C5