Research on oxytocin (OT) has provided crucial insight into the neuroendocrine mechanisms of social behavior and human-animal interactions. Nonetheless, this peptide hormone remains challenging to sample, usually requiring invasive measures in the brain or blood, which limits its use. We conducted an analytical validation of the measurement of OT in the saliva of three common farm animal species: pigs, cattle and goats. We then investigated the biological significance of salivary OT concentrations by using a positive human-animal interaction paradigm. The paradigm varied in terms of human familiarity and included a control condition where the animal was alone in the testing pen. A total of 18 pigs, 18 cattle and 9 goats were subjected to each condition using a within-individual counterbalanced design. Animals were free to choose to interact with the human. Saliva samples were collected immediately before and after the 10-min test, and behavior during the test was analyzed. Oxytocin could be reliably measured by ELISA in the saliva of goats (without extraction), and in the saliva of pigs and cattle after extraction. Salivary OT concentration did not change consistently according to testing condition. However, salivary OT concentration was significantly associated with some behaviors, with different relationships depending on the species. In conclusion, OT can be reliably measured in the saliva of goats and, after extraction, in the saliva of pigs and cattle. The relationships of OT with human-animal interactions and animal behavior were complex and to some extent species-dependent, possibly reflecting the perception of the interaction by the animal.

中文翻译：

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人与动物积极互动期间猪、牛和山羊的唾液催产素

对催产素 (OT) 的研究为社会行为和人与动物相互作用的神经内分泌机制提供了重要的见解。尽管如此，这种肽激素的采样仍然具有挑战性，通常需要在大脑或血液中采取侵入性措施，这限制了它的使用。我们对三种常见农场动物的唾液中 OT 的测量进行了分析验证：猪、牛和山羊。然后，我们通过使用积极的人与动物相互作用范式研究了唾液 OT 浓度的生物学意义。范式在人类熟悉度方面有所不同，并包括动物单独在测试笔中的控制条件。总共 18 头猪、18 头牛和 9 只山羊使用个体内平衡设计接受每种条件。动物可以自由选择与人类互动。在 10 分钟测试前后立即收集唾液样本，并分析测试期间的行为。通过ELISA可以可靠地测量山羊唾液（未提取）以及提取后猪和牛唾液中的催产素。根据测试条件，唾液 OT 浓度没有持续变化。然而，唾液 OT 浓度与某些行为显着相关，根据物种的不同具有不同的关系。总之，可以可靠地测量山羊唾液中的 OT，以及提取后猪和牛唾液中的 OT。OT 与人与动物的相互作用和动物行为的关系是复杂的，并且在某种程度上依赖于物种，