AB Lecture 6: Neural and hormonal behavior

nervous system is made up of the

• central nervous sytem

• peripheral nervous system

the peripheral nervous system is made up of the

• somatic system

• autonomic system

the somatic system is responsible for

• conscious activity

• ex: nerves of the skin and muscle

the autonomic system is responsible for

• unconscious activity

• ex: heart, gi tract, blood vessels, glands

the autonomic nervous system is made up of the

• sympathetic nervous system

• parasympathetic nervous system

the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for your

flight or flight response

• accelerates heartbeat

• inhibits digestive activty

• stimulates glucose release

• stimulates secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine

the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for

rest and digest system

• slows heartbeat

• stimulates digestive activity

the 5 basic sensory organs

• skin

• eyes

• ears

• nose

• tongue

specialized sensory organs - 4

• vomernasal organ

• forked tongue

• lateral line

• ampullae of lorenzini

sensory receptor - chemoreceptor: location and purpose

• located on the tongue and nasal passage

• responsible for taste, smell, and pheromones - sense chemicals

sensory receptor - thermoreceptor: location and purpose

• located on the skin

• responsible for sensing heat and temperature change

sensory receptor - mechanoreceptor: location and purpose

• located all over the external surface of the body

• responsible for feeling pressure

sensory receptor - nociceptor: location and purpose

• idk location

• responsible for sensing painful feelings

sensory receptor - photoreceptor: location and purpose

• located in the retinas of the eyes - cones and rods

• responsible for seeing light and vision

sensory receptor - electroreceptor: location and purpose

• idk location but humans dont have this

• responsible for sensing electric fields

sensory receptor - cryptochromes: location and purpose

• idk location but in migratory birds

• related to sensing the earth magnetic fields for migration

how sensory receptor cells communicate information

long receptor to synaptic area

what sensory receptor is used for navigation in fish

mechanoreceptors within the lateral line

what is the lateral line in fish and what does it do

• aids in movement underwater where light is low and vision is not as useful

• allows for behaviors like school, predator avoidance, prey detection

what are the two avoidance behavior mechanisms

• nociception

• audition

nociception defintion

fundamental underlying mechanism by which an indivdual feels pain

nociception is different from

physically feeling pain, which is much more complicated

what does nociception cause animals to behaviorally

animals will reflexively avoid painful stimuli, and can learn to avoid painful stimuli

nociception can be used in

operant conditioning learning

nociception is a major means of

self-preservation

the sound of predators can result in

avoidance behavior

what is a major problem due to lack of audition from predator

feral cats and depletion of small mammals and birds

• some studies show up to alteast 40% reduction in the number of birds killed

begging behavior is due to what cue

a visual cue

what behavior is used with the aid of the ampullae of lorenzini

prey seeking

how does the ampullae of lorenzini work

• series of electroreceptors embedded in the skin of sharks and rays - on their snouts

• detect minute muscular movements in fish which create electrical impulses

what behavior is driven by the olfactory system

investigative behavior

what animals have a strong olfactory system

dogs

how many olfactory receptors do dogs have and what can they do

• hundreds of millions of olfactory receptors

• can be trained to detect anything rom cadavers to explosives, drugs, and cancer

dogs will rely on more of what sense as they age and why

they will rely more on their olfactory system as their eyesight and hearing diminish with age

dogs will naturally use their olfactory system to do what

explore new environment perimeters

what behavior is responsible for marking territory

marking behavior

marking behavior is a way for animals to do what with others

communicate with other individuals and other groups of animals

how is marking behavior done

• scratching

• urinating

• defecating

• rubbing

what feelings result in more marking behaviors

frustration

• especially when there is some sort of stress within the house (new car, illness, noisy kids)

what behavior is made possible by the forked tongue in snakes and other reptiles

exploratory behavior

what does the forked tongue in reptiles allow for

a pheromone to vomernasal organ delivery system

what is suspected that the forked tongue allows for

tropoaxis: sensing direction due to intensity of stimuli on one side vs. the other

pheromones defintion

chemicals that are secreted by an organism, transmit a message that is recieved by a receptor, and must travel outside of the body to do so

pheromones are common in what animal

insects

pheromones are also known as

social signals

pheromones can be

• reproduction signals

• behavioral responses

• etc

what is the vomernasal (jacobsons) organ

a coiled, paired organ present in or around the sinuses of various animals

where is the vomernasal organ located in mammals

the vicinity of the hard and soft palate

the vomernasal organ has what kind of function

chemosensory function

chemosensory function in vomernasal organ

processes information provided by phermomones

the vomernasal organ is part of what system

the olfactory system

what is the physiological function of the flehmen response

a way to better circulate air and get the pheromones up to their brain and understand them more

the flehmen response is tpyically in response to

urine from another member of the same species

• male response to exposure to female urine

how long does the flehmen response last

several minutes

the flehmen response can also be related to

other strong smells

• isopropyl alcohol

• lemon juice

• etc

what is the flehmen response mean if the animal is doing it in response to nothing

its a sign of pain

what behavior can result from pheromonatherapy

calming behavior

pheromonatherapy defintion

the use of pheromone signals in a clinical context to manage behavior problems

pheromone F3

feline facial facial

pheromone F3 result

will reduce sympathetic nervous system response

Pheromone CAP

cat appeasing pheromone

pheromone CAP result

good for kittens and using in hospital

pheromone FIS

feline interdigital semiochemical

pheromone FIS result

helps cats scratch on places you want them to

hormones stay within

the bloodstream and organs

what are hormones made up of - 5

• proteins

• peptides

• amino acids

• steroids

• gases

what is the definiton of hormones

chemicals that act as “physiological mediators” between a stimulus and the body

• stimulus can be internal or external

what is the purpose of hormones

change and regulate behavior

what are the important reproductive hormones - 3

• testosterone

• estrogen

• progesterone

what hormone is involved in reproduction and stress

oxytocin

what hormones are involved in stress - 2

• cortisol / corticosterone

• epinephrine

what hormones are involved in anxiety and coping - 2

• serotonin

• dopamine

how do hormones work - 3

• neural pathways trigger hormones to be released into blood

• attach to receptors on/in cels

• set off a cascade of other signals within cells, causing changes in the body tha are exhibited as behaviors that we can measure

what is the hormone cascade

set off a cascade of other signals within cells, causing changes in the bosy that are exhibited as behaviors that we can measure

what behaviors can you measure with hormone cascades

• reproductive and mating behaviors

• aggressive behaviors

• feeding behaviors

what is the problem with hormones

perpetually circulating levels of certain hormones, like cortisol or testosterone, can be counter-productive and cause problems

what problems can hormones cause

• illness due to a depressed immune system

• inappropriate mating behavior

• lack of effective mating behavior

why is reducing stress and for welfare situations important for maintaining good health

otherwise it can create problems with the hormones