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the conduit to scientists and specialists that empowers people to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, their cultures and their homes.
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| archived words from the wise: Dr Lori Marino |
Dr Marino's research interest is in brain and behavioral evolution in mammals. Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on cross-taxonomic comparisons of neurobiology, behavioral ecology, life history, and cognition in cetaceans and primates as a vehicle for examining the evolution of mammalian intelligence.
At present, she has several ongoing projects which employ cetacean-primate comparisons in the following areas:
1) the relationship between behavioral ecology, life history, and encephalization
2) comparative neuroanatomical organization and function
3) cognitive development
4) paleoneurology and behavioral evolution. |
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| Posted: 2007 October 19 |
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Contact Lori Marino, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program
Emory University, Atlanta, USA
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| wise words |
Dolphin-Assisted Therapy - More Flawed Data and More Flawed Conclusions
Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT) is an increasingly popular choice of treatment for illness and developmental disabilities by providing participants with the opportunity to swim or interact with live captive dolphins. Two reviews of DAT (Marino and Lilienfeld [1998] and Humphries [2003]) concluded that there is no credible scientific evidence for the effectiveness of this intervention.
In this paper, Dr Marino and Lilienfeld offer an update of the methodological status of DAT by reviewing five peer-reviewed DAT studies published in the last eight years. We found that all five studies were methodologically flawed and plagued by several threats to both internal and construct validity. We conclude that nearly a decade following our initial review, there remains no compelling evidence that DAT is a legitimate therapy or that it affords any more than fleeting improvements in mood.
A note from whales-online.org - This paper is originally published by the Anthrozoos
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Related PDFs
Full document - Dolphin-Assisted Therapy - More Flawed Data and More Flawed Conclusions |
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