Publications by authors named "Lena V Kaufmann"
Since Jane Goodall's famous observations of stick tool use by chimpanzees, animal tool use has been observed in numerous species, including many primates, dolphins, and birds. Some animals, such as New Caledonian crows, even craft tools. Elephants frequently use tools and also modify them.
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- The study examines the development of trunk wrinkles in Asian and African elephants, noting significant differences in wrinkle characteristics between the two species.
- Asian elephants exhibit more pronounced dorsal trunk wrinkles compared to African elephants, with distinct density patterns based on anatomical location and trunk usage.
- The research also highlights that trunk wrinkle formation is influenced by factors such as behavior, environment, and trunk lateralization, with specific growth patterns occurring during fetal development.
Behavior and innervation suggest a high tactile sensitivity of elephant trunks. To clarify the tactile trunk periphery we studied whiskers with the following findings. Whisker density is high at the trunk tip and African savanna elephants have more trunk tip whiskers than Asian elephants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cellular mechanisms of emotional contagion are unknown. We investigated tickle contagion and the underlying neuronal representations in playful rats. We recorded trunk somatosensory cortex activity of observer rats while they received tickling and audiovisual playback of tickling footage and while they witnessed tickling of demonstrator rats.
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- The study found that elephants have a high number of facial motor control neurons, with African elephants having more than Asian elephants, particularly in areas controlling ear movement.
- It was noted that the structure of these neurons, including their size and organization, appears adapted to their trunk usage methods, with larger distal neurons serving the trunk tip.
- The research suggests that the differences in neuronal organization between African and Asian elephants correspond to their distinct trunk manipulation strategies: African elephants use two "fingers" to pinch, while Asian elephants generally wrap their trunk around objects.
Sensory nerves are information bottlenecks giving rise to distinct sensory worlds across animal species. Here, we investigate trigeminal ganglion and sensory nerves of elephants. The elephant trigeminal ganglion is very large.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between tickling, sensation, and laughter is complex. Tickling or its mere anticipation makes us laugh, but not when we self-tickle. We previously showed rat somatosensory cortex drives tickling-evoked vocalizations and now investigated self-tickle suppression and tickle anticipation.
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