Space availability influence laterality in donkeys (Equus asinus)

Cerebral lateralization is the portioning of the cognitive functions between the two cerebral hemispheres. Several factors, like embryological manipulations, light exposure, health conditions, sex and age can influence the left–right brain asymmetries and contribute to increasing the variability in the strength and direction of laterality within most species. We investigated the influence of an environmental constraint, namely space availability, as a new source of variation on laterality in an adult vertebrate model, the donkey. In a baseline condition we tested whether donkeys show a motor lateralization bias at population level, while in an experimental condition we manipulated space availability to verify if a reduction in this parameter could represent a new source of variation in laterality. Results show that donkeys are lateralized at population level with a strong bias to standing with the right forelimb advanced over the left and that a reduction of space availability is an important source of variation in the laterality strength and direction within this species. The comparative analysis of the environmental and developmental factors that give origin to neural and behavioural laterality in animal models will be very important for a better understanding of the evolutionary origin of such multifaceted phenomenon.

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• Laterality is the portioning of the cognitive functions between the two cerebral hemispheres.
• Donkeys are lateralized at population level.
• Several factors influence the variability of laterality within most species.
• We found that reduction of space availability is a new source of variation of the laterality in donkey.
• A comparative analysis of factors influencing laterality allows to unravel the evolutionary origin of this phenomena.