8: Methodology in Measuring Behaviour Flashcards
what is the simple system approach?
Simple behaviours as indices or markers
what are advantages and disadvantages of the simple system approach?
Advantage: parsimony. Ease of replication and quantification. Reductionistic approach.
Disadvantages: missing subtle interactions. Definitions of terms (operational and especially, ostensive definitions) and meaningless statements
challenges of the simple system approach
Issues or questions:
* Easy to determine if the behaviour is present or not?
* Enough to count occurrences or frequencies?
* Expression of the behaviour?
* Intensity important?
* Other modulations?
what are the three little P’s (fentress, 1988)
process (the straw house –> organism x environment)
pattern (the stick house –> event A x event B)- predict pattern of behaviour
phenotype (the brick house –> genes x experience/ environment)- expression of genes, what behaviour looks like
the study of individual behavioural patterns
Particularities of behavioural neuroscience (including clinical/ medical neuroscience) over the other behavioural sciences and neurosciences:
* Direct observations of behaviour: often idiographic, longitudinal and descriptive studies.
* Interest in patterns of behaviour (more or less stereotyped movements or actions)
what is an ethogram
inventory, catalogue, written repertoire of all the
behaviour patterns of a species. They tend to focus on the form
of behaviour, in orders to study behaviour sequences
The brain is a sequencer of movements / motor actions
studying behaviour patterns: ethograms, what do you choose
- Choose the species
- Choose the individual(s), group(s), etc.
- Choose the behaviours, or signs
- Choose the measures
- Choose the sampling rules
- Choose the recording rules
what is a sociogram
Same as ethograms, but for social behaviours
what are ostensive definitions
definitions of the behaviours with detailed descriptions, examples, photos, drawings, etc. Make sure everybody on your team agrees with the categories: This can be a real challenge!
types of consistency and what does it guarantee
intra-observer consistency
inter-observer consistency
This guarantees replicability for your team of investigators or any other team wanting to verify your results or expand on your ideas.
what is intra-observer consistency
(with an intra-observer reliability measure): each observer records SIMILAR behaviours the SAME WAY
what is inter-observer consistency
(with an inter-observer reliability
measure such as an index of concordance, Kappa coefficient,
Kendall coefficient): consistency of recording and scoring for
between ALL OBSERVERS
defining the behaviour’s boundaries
- The issue: the segmentation/clustering of behaviour(s).
- The concept of “bout” (think of the French “un bout” for “portion”, “part”, “segment”).
- Where/when does it start, and where/when does it end? (temporal and spatial boundaries).
- Clusters of behaviours, acts, actions or events.
what are the measures of tendency? (FOLD)
frequencies
occurrences
latencies
durtations
This taxonomy of dependent variables was first suggested by Russell, Mead & Hayes (1954) and points out the particular nature of the concept of “intensity” and distinguishes well between frequencies and occurrences of a behaviour
frequencies
- usually defined as a ratio of occurrences per unit of time
- example: number of pecks per minute
occurrences
- usually defined as a ratio of occurrences per trials, bouts, sequences
- example: number of pecks per sequence
latencies
- time between events, states, actions.
- time between stimulus and reaction to the stimulus (e.g., reaction times)
durations
- duration of a single occurrence.
- total duration.
- mean duration.
- duration as proportion of time
- duration as percentage of total time
measures of intensity common definitions and uses
(many potential operational or ostensive definitions)
Common definitions and uses:
* amplitude or physical quantity.
* for psychologists, concept of “local rate”: number of component acts per unit time spent on the activity. Sped-up or hurried nature of a behaviour.
* rating scales (Likert-like)
Measures of spatio-temporal configuration: sequences
- extracting serial and temporal patterns in a sequence of events (actions or movements) or states.
- issues of predictability, stereotypy, rigidity (temporal, spatial), motor perseverations (repetitions of a behaviour), etc
Sequential analysis: methodology and issues
- Objective: Search for behaviour (spatio-temporal) patterns
- How stereotyped or predictable is the action sequence?
* Random: 0%
* Stochastic (probabilistic): > 0% and < 100%
* Deterministic: 100% - Tools (quantitative): Markovian analysis, Information Theory analysis, Log-linear analysis, time series analysis, etc.
corollaries
- How important is the serial order in behaviour? Lashley!
* How important is the temporal and spatial structure of the sequence? - How preceding events influence or predict the current one or upcoming events?
* Analysis of transitional probabilities (with matrices and diagrams)
* Frequency of trigrams, tetragrams, pentagrams, etc
Stochastic processes steps
identify he monograms, then digrams and transition matrices, then trigrams, etc
Many analyses will stop with digrams (based on the idea
that preceding events influence or predict the current one
or upcoming events)
Patterns tend to emerge, then interpret
Step 1: Monograms
Behaviour sequence:
AABAABABAABAAABAB
Behaviour A: 11
Behaviour B: 6
itentify the number of times each behaviour happens
Step 2: Digrams and
Transition matrices
identify the number of times each 2 behaviour combination happens (ex: aa, ab, ba, bb)
interpretations
Predictive value: Detectable patterns? Structure?
Patterns of behaviour as indicators of neural patterns (e.g., the concept of CPG or central pattern generator).
Contextual analysis: Search for a meaning (zoosemiotics): chickadees are chatting.
About motor cognition (frontal lobes)? Sequence learning?
motor signatures
Step 3: Trigrams
identify the number of times each 2 behaviour combination happens (ex: aaa, aab, aba, baa, etc)
motor signatures
Cortical regions: Higher cognitive dimension (planning, optimisation of movements, problem solving, etc.)
Cerebellum: Timing, 3D adjustments (3D environments), fine motor repetitive behaviours
Basal ganglia: Sequencing (more so innate, or based on habit learning)
Sampling: Who or what is observed and when?
Sampling methodologies:
Behaviour or event sampling: focus on specific, target, behaviours (what?)
Scan or time sampling: focus on specific time periods, intervals (when?)
Focal or individual sampling: focus on one animal/ individual (who?)
what does ad libitum mean
whoever, whatever, whenever
Time sampling: How is the behaviour recorded and/or scored?
Continuous recording
Time sampling
what is instantaneous sampling and its subtypes?
On beep: behaviour occurring? (yes or no). Good for relatively long duration events and common events.
Sub-types: Point sampling or fixed interval point sampling
types of time sampling
instantaneous sampling
one-zero sampling
what is continuous recording
all-occurrences recording or scoring
what is one-zero sampling and its subtypes
One-zero sampling: behaviour occurring? (yes or no) in previous sample interval.
Subtypes: One-zero convenience sampling; One-zero fixed time sampling; One-zero random time sampling
what is behaviour?
a change in time and space
about a movement, a motion, an action
reflects a change in the nervous or endocrine system (proximate immediate cause)
The common terminology carries this meaning of “motion”: “Motivation”, “emotion”, “hormone”, “endocrine”
syntax (grammar)
Patterns, rules (= predictability)
semantics
meaning (cues and signals)
Linguistic and musical metaphors
Linguistic metaphor (from semiotics): Historically important in ethology, neuroethology, etc
Musical metaphor: More appropriate?
pragmatics
social (or physical) context
prosody
amplitude and intensity of action
other factors
endogenous factors
exogenous factors
The expression of behaviour: The musical analogy
Melody
<–>
Serial organisation: variations in intensity, modulatory signature
Rhythm
…
Temporal organisation: Rhythmic patterns, duration of events, time signature
harmony
I
v
Parallel organisation: combinatorial organisation, coordination, progressions
Stochastic processes
Probability in time, dynamic probabilities, transitional probabilities.
Typical approaches: Markov chains, Information Theory, time series analysis.
Use of transition matrices (for digrams)
the diversity of serial patterns
common mistake in behaviour analysis: Assume that the temporal organisation, the sequence, is static, non-dynamic, unmodulated.
Example:
* A is always followed by a random string, but:
* A (low intensity) is always followed by BAB.
* A… (long duration) is followed 78% of the time by BB.
* A (different tone) is followed 45% of the time by C
endogenous factors
- Metabolism
- Motivational status
- Reproductive status
- Immune system integrity
- Etc
exogenous factors
- The stimulus (its
duration, intensity, etc.) - The context/situation/
environment
* Physical context
* Social context
Categories of behaviour
Observational data on naturally occurring (and observable) behaviours (i.e., events, actions, movements): measures of latency, frequency, duration, intensity and sequencing.
Learning and cognitive tests are also applied to test perceptual and cognitive abilities (perception, memory, decision making, problem solving, etc.)
States, such as emotions, if well defined, can also be measured via electrophysiological measures (with GSR, ECG, etc.) » Autonomic nervous system activity
Cluster 1: Simple-general
Simple reflexes
Postures
Locomotion
Activity levels
Locomotor assays
Motor coordination and balance apparatus:
* Balance with rotarod
* Beam walking
* Footprint analysis
Cluster 2: Simple-specific
Species-specific (species-typical) action patterns (i.e., innate and instinctive behaviours).
* Simple action sequences (FAP’s, MAP’s)
* Complex action sequences (e.g., courtship in doves)
This important category includes normal and abnormal stereotyped behaviours (e.g., perseverations).
Cluster 3: Acquired behaviours
Reflex / startle / orienting responses
Learned responses / conditioned behaviours
* Simple, non-associative learning
* Habituation
* Sensitization
* Conditioning
* Classical / Pavlovian / respondent/ type I conditioning
* Instrumental / Skinnerian / operant/ type II conditioning
complex clusters (4-8)
Cluster 4: Developmental cluster
Cluster 5: Affective (emotion) / conative (motivation)
Cluster 6: Socio-affective (interactive), incl. parental (maternal, paternal).
Cluster 7: Cognitive (attention, memory, problem solving, etc.)
Cluster 8: Preclinical models of neurologic and psychiatric disorders
developmental clusters and a few examples of its confounding variables
Developmental milestones
Confounding variables: A few examples
* handling
* time of day
* nutrition
* litter size
* post-natal and maternal effect
three main categories of Developmental milestones in rodents
physical landmarks
locomotor behaviours
reflexes
milestones: assessment
Assessments are species-specific based on known and well documented values.
For each category and milestone, and for each species (rat vs. mouse) and strains (if applicable), we know:
* Average age for response (in days)
* Range for the response (in days)
assays for motivation
Eating/drinking
* Food intake measures
* Food preference tests
Reproductive / sexual behaviour
* Mounts, intromissions, ejaculations, lordosis
* Hormone replacement
* Castration/ovariectomy experiments
assays for parental and social behaviours observational/ descriptive and experimental
Observational / descriptive:
* Nest construction: see
figure
Experimental:
* “Pupomat”: Carousel preference test »
Rodent models of depression
Use of stress to induce depression-like states
Behavioural despair (immobility) and learned helplessness paradigms.
* Initially derived from a forced swim test
* Canines: Seligman’s procedure, i.e., inescapable shocks in shuttle box.
* Tail suspension test (mice)
* Uncontrollable shocks
problems with the rodent model of depression
There are no animal models of depression that mimic all the symptoms of depression.
All current models are models of reactive depression.
They typically focus on one or a few of the following aspects of depression:
* Reduction in psychomotor activity
* Anhedonia
* Neuroendocrine responses
* Cognitive changes
* Eating dysfunctions
* Sleeping dysfunctions
reactive depression
Triggered by stress (broadly defined: social or physical): Tends to involve by default the HPA axis.
Depression does naturally involve the HPA axis.
Depressed individuals: enlarged pituitary and adrenal glands.
Many depressed individuals have higher levels of glucocorticoids, produce more glucocorticoids than non-depressed for the same increase in ACTH
Stress affects:
Endocrine system: Adrenaline and noradrenaline (SAM axis)
Norepinephrine (NE)
Acetylcholine (ACh)
GABA
And they, in turn, regulate CRF from hypothalamic cells.
Depressed individuals have…
* higher levels CRF levels in their CSF
* more CRF-producing cells in the hypothalamus
… than non-depressed individuals.
HPA axis (see right) activity » glucocorticoids (CORT)
Both ECT and antidepressants reduce CRF levels.
Dexamethasone (Dex)
Dexamethasone: synthetic glucocorticoid
Dexamethasone challenge: should induce a strong down regulation (negative feedback loop) of CRF and ACTH.
This does not occur in depressed individuals.
Non-responders to DEX treated successfully with anti depressants are more likely to relapse than those that respond to DEX.
Animal tests of anxiety
Tests of anxiogenic or anxiolytic drugs, hormones, situations, etc.
* Social interaction
* Light/dark exploration
* Elevated plus-maze (arm visits)
* Open field test (space use; activity levels)
* Defensive burying
* Thirsty rat conflict: Shocks when drinking
cognitive processes
Perception
Attention/working memory/latent inhibition*/ sign-tracking
Learning / Memory: Managing information
* Acquisition; Storage; Retrieval
* Consciousness levels: E.g. TDT vs. EDT
* Implicit / unconscious / incidental
* Explicit / conscious
Problem-solving, decision making, etc
Cognitive testing in animals
Major interest in this area in recent years:
* Dementias, other cognitive impairments*
* Movement disorders with dementia
* Other neuro-degenerative diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis)
* Neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors
Long tradition of tests in animal learning and cognition research.
tests: a few examples
T and Y mazes (typically for invertebrates and lower vertebrates)
Radial-arm mazes (4, 6, 8, 12 arms)
Morris water maze
Discrimination learning: mAFC (e.g., 2AFC, 3AFC), etc
Identification learning: matching-to-sample
Rule learning / learning sets
