Behaviour and Disease

Question 1

Detailed description, list or inventory of all the different kinds of behaviour or activity of a species is called…

Answer 1

An ethogram

Question 2

How is behaviour used to aid in diagnosis?

Answer 2

Changes in behaviour, activity or posture brought on by disease can indicate
Many diseases initially present as behaviour changes

Question 3

What must occur before diagnosing a primary behaviour problem and starting behavioural therapy?

Answer 3

Medical conditions must be ruled out

Question 4

Example of behavioural response being mistaken as a disease?

Answer 4

Cat displaying urine marking behaviour, owner might think it has bladder infection, diabetes etc

Question 5

How does behaviour affect disease transmission?

Answer 5

May increase or decrease it
Pathogen might be able to cause behavioural changes in host to increase transmission

Question 6

Example of a pathogen that can change behaviour to increase its transmission

Answer 6

Rabies
Predators become aggressive/bite
Prey animals get dumb form, do not run from predators and infect them

Skin parasites (itch)

Question 7

Example of pathogen that can “manipulate” host behaviour to increase disease transmission

Answer 7

Toxoplama gondii
Rodents lose fear which increases likelihood of them being eaten by primary host cat

Question 8

Why might a pathogen be adapted to NOT change their hosts’ behaviour

Answer 8

Use normal behaviour to transmit disease because no change in behaviour, no signs/symptoms = do not know they’re infectious

Question 9

What is needed to understand the behaviour that occurs in illness

Answer 9

Knowledge of disease mechanisms
Interdisciplinary co-operation

Question 10

What is a motivational state, examples?

Answer 10

A state that overrides other states
e.g. hunger, reproduction, exploration, learning, hunting and SICKNESS

Question 11

Which state often overwhelms or co-opts other motivational states

Answer 11

Sickness

Question 12

What is the “proximate” of
disease

Answer 12

Causes of sickness behaviour (how)

Question 13

What is the “ultimate” of sickness

Answer 13

Advantages of animal “acting sick”? Disadvantages? (why)

Question 14

What are the two aspects of tinbergens questions related to proximate

Answer 14

Mechanism (causation)
Ontogeny (development)

Question 15

What are the two aspects of tinbergens questions related to ultimate

Answer 15

Adaptive value (function)
Phylogeny (evolution)

Question 16

What is the acute-phase response to cytokines

Answer 16

Fever, inappetance, increased sleep, postural changes, roduced motion, isolation

Question 17

What is the acute-phase response to cytokines

Answer 17

Fever, inappetence, increased sleep, postural changes, reduced motion, isolation

Question 18

Short term advantages of acting sick?

Answer 18

Energy saving, promote body defense mechanisms

Question 19

Acute phase responses may have evolved as strategies for…

Answer 19

Addressing extreme threats to survival of a group, population or species

Question 20

On the species level, how is disease dealt with?

Answer 20

Prevent transmission to conspecifics
Eliminate sick animal from population temporarily or permanently

Question 21

Downside of acute phase responses

Answer 21

May be too late to reduce transmission
Might be unnecessary when we have veterinary therapy
- antimicrobials
- inflammation reducer

Question 22

What does the expression of sickness behaviour depend on?

Answer 22

Context, environment

Question 23

Which species (e.g.) present subtle behavioural indicators of sickness

Answer 23

Prey species
Horses, rabbits, rodents

Question 24

When will prey species most often express sickness behaviour

Answer 24

In familiar environments around familiar conspecifics

Question 25

How are welfare and disease related?

Answer 25

Disease will cause poor welfare, but poor welfare may also make disease more likely (immunosuppression)

Question 26

How do adverse environmental conditions affect welfare

Answer 26

Alter animals susceptibility to infectious agents, results in poor health

Question 27

How do animals respond to pathology (5)

Answer 27

Direct behavioural changes
Physiological changes
Production of cytokines
Immunological changes
Indirect behaviour changes

Question 28

Definition of stress

Answer 28

Environmental effect on an individual that overtakes its control system and results in adverse consequences and eventually reduced fitness

Question 29

Response to stress:

Answer 29

Brain activity
Adrenal/physiological response
Behaviour changes

Question 30

Effect of stress on disease? Example?

Answer 30

Social stress impacts transmission
e.g. stress in weaned pigs may increase susceptibility to, and shedding of Salmonella occurring after unfamiliar pigs are mixed

Question 31

What behaviour is observed for disease diagnosis

Answer 31

Posture
Gait
Acvitity
Vocalization
Mental state
Facial Expression

Question 32

Piglet grimace scale observes what

Answer 32

Ear position, cheek tightening, orbital tightening

Question 33

How do we use behaviour changes to diagnose disease

Answer 33

Daily routines change (eating, elimination, grooming)

Evoke behaviour (grunt while palpating abdomen)

Question 34

To identify abnormal behavoiur caused by disease, we must first know

Answer 34

Normal behaviour (posture)

Question 35

What diseases might affect posture

Answer 35

Mechanical conditions (injuries)
CNS
Pain

Question 36

What is responsible for causing sickness behaviour

Answer 36

Proteins (cytokines) secreted by macrophages

Question 37

What do cytokines do

Answer 37

Transmit messages from immune system to brain