Behavior, stress, & well-being

Question 1

Phylogeny vs ontogeny

Answer 1

phylogeny - the process of speciation

ontogeny - individual development

Question 2

Umwelt

Answer 2

• concept by von Uexkuell: all the aspects of the environment which can be perceived and all the aspects which can be influenced by the individual

Question 3

Rat control of external environment/stress experiment

Answer 3

• a rat that receives electric shocks at constant intervals after a light goes on experiences less stress, than a rat for which the light and shock are unrelated. The latter shows signs of immunosuppression, higher rises in corticosterone, damage to the stomach wall

Question 4

Definitions of acute & chronic stress

Answer 4

acute: the state of an organism after a sudden decrease in the predictability and/or controllability of relevant environmental changes
chronic: the state of an organism which occurs when relevant environmental aspects have a low predictability and/or are not or not very well controllable over a long period of time

Question 5

Types of conflict behaviors

Answer 5

• agonistic (mix of aggression & flight when an organism is prevented from reaching its goal)
• ambivalent (tendency to both approach & avoid)
• redirected (during aggressive interaction, birds vigorously peck at inanimate objects)
• adjunctive/displacement behaviors (e.g. grooming during a fight; behavior has seemingly no relationship to the conflict)

Question 6

Best known pathological forms of behavior in response to chronic stress

Answer 6

• behavioral stereotypes

- behaviors which damage the subject or its conspecifics

Question 7

Characteristics of behavioral stereotypes

Answer 7

• simple & constant construction
• frequently repeated
• no specific purpose
• form and expression of the stereotype is characteristic to the individual

Question 8

Two types of coping styles in rats & mice

Answer 8

• active coping (fight or flight); usually seen in dominant animals
• passive coping (conservation-withdrawal response)

Question 9

Pathophysiology of stress shrew experiment

Answer 9

• two male shrews are allowed to have a fight and establish a dominance hierarchy
• if they are separated and cannot see each other after the fight, nothing of note appears to happen, stress levels are normalized, even in the case of multiple fights over multiple days
• if they can see each other but not fight (wire mesh), the submissive shrew loses weight and dies within a couple of days

Question 10

Subdominant males in colonies of mice, rats, or monkeys, show…

Answer 10

• higher levels of artherosclerosis

- high blood pressure

Question 11

Coping style – –> physiological response:

Answer 11

• active coping style is associated with a more sympathetic response to stressors
• passive coping is associated with more reactive HPA and parasympathetic stress responses