Pigs’ brain responses to stroking after long-term positive human contacts: an fMRI exploratory study
Abstract
Positive interactions with humans can induce pleasurable experiences in animals, but their underlying neurobiology mechanisms are unknown. We investigated the brain responses (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to stroking by a human in 20 pigs under general anaesthesia. Ten pigs received positive human contacts over 9 weeks post-weaning (POS) and 10 pigs did not (CTL). Images from CTL pigs showed peaks of activation in the primary somatosensory cortex, caudate nucleus, anterior prefrontal cortex, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during stroking. Greater peaks of activation in the anterior prefrontal, ventral anterior cingulate, primary somatosensory and somatosensory association cortices were observed in POS pigs; whereas greater peaks of activation in the amygdala were observed in CTL pigs. Therefore, stroking is perceived by pigs under general anaesthesia, and the brain activations patterns are consistent with neural processing associated with pleasant or affective tactile stimulation.
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BibTeX
@article{schmitt2026pigs,
title = {{Pigs’ brain responses to stroking after long-term positive human contacts: an fMRI exploratory study}},
author = {Oceane Schmitt and Yann Serrand and Bibiane Pollak and Giorgio Mattaliano and Nicolas Coquery and Pierre-Antoine Éliat and David Val-Laillet and Jean-Loup Rault},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-66310-w},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05762811v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pigs’ brain responses to stroking after long-term positive human contacts: an fMRI exploratory study
AU - Oceane Schmitt
AU - Yann Serrand
AU - Bibiane Pollak
AU - Giorgio Mattaliano
AU - Nicolas Coquery
AU - Pierre-Antoine Éliat
AU - David Val-Laillet
AU - Jean-Loup Rault
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-66310-w
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05762811v1
AB - Positive interactions with humans can induce pleasurable experiences in animals, but their underlying neurobiology mechanisms are unknown. We investigated the brain responses (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to stroking by a human in 20 pigs under general anaesthesia. Ten pigs received positive human contacts over 9 weeks post-weaning (POS) and 10 pigs did not (CTL). Images from CTL pigs showed peaks of activation in the primary somatosensory cortex, caudate nucleus, anterior prefrontal cortex, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during stroking. Greater peaks of activation in the anterior prefrontal, ventral anterior cingulate, primary somatosensory and somatosensory association cortices were observed in POS pigs; whereas greater peaks of activation in the amygdala were observed in CTL pigs. Therefore, stroking is perceived by pigs under general anaesthesia, and the brain activations patterns are consistent with neural processing associated with pleasant or affective tactile stimulation.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -