Chapter 4. The Neural Basis of Behavior

neuron

nerve cell

neural circuit

a group of interconnected neurons that are able to regulate their own activity using a feedback loop

stimulus

a sensory signal capable of triggering complex behavior

ethology

the study of the proximate mechanisms and adaptive value of animal behavior

• Niko Tingerben

• Konrad Lorenz

• Karl von Frisch

instinct

a behavioral pattern that reliably develops in most individuals, promoting a functional response to a releaser stimulus the first time the behavior is performed

• an innate behavior

• the animal may have no previous experience with cues eliciting the behavior

• dependent on gene-environment interactions during development

sign stimulus/ releaser

the effective component of an action object that triggers a fixed action pattern in an animal; given by an individual as a social signal to another individual

fixed action pattern

(innate releasing mechanism)

an innate, highly stereotyped response that is triggered by a well-defined, simple stimulus. once the pattern is activated, the response is performed in its entirety