Behaviour Module (SVMS)/ Animal wellbeing Flashcards
What are the two components to welfare?
Behavioural and Physiological
What does animal behaviour give vets an insight to?
The animals emotional and welfare state
Any potential safety concerns for staff, clients and public
What are the two behavioural based day one competences that graduates must be able to demonstrate?
(Bracketed info is for my understanding don’t need to recite this)
‘Do no harm’
(By not creating a situation that causes an animal to be fearful of the veterinary clinic or of routine care procedures (eg, clipping nails), to advise and assist the client to take preventative measures to avoid an aversion to the veterinary practice and provide basic guidance to avoid development of behaviour problems.)
Apply ‘behavioural first aid’
(Identify that a problem exists, take short-term measures to ensure the safety of people and animals, and if the veterinarian is not a behaviour specialist and, thus, unable to provide support, refer the animal to a suitably experienced person.)
What’s a common indicator when assessing welfare, especially in livestock?
Locomotion
Is the animal lame? This can indicate both physiology and behavioural issues.
This is usually an indicator that the animal isin pain
This is assed through observation and scoring systems
What are some stereotypical behaviours and how are they relevant to NMSK??
Weaving = worn feet, muscle injury, arthritis
Strange weight bearing = musculoskeletal system remodels
How can behaviour impact the success of operations?
Have to consider:
pre-op/post-op management
hospital cages, box rest
will gentle exercise be possible
limb amputation adaptation and quality of life
Can stereotypies be caused due to something neurological?
Yes
What is the difference between acute and chronic pain?
How can this make pain scoring difficult?
Acute = short
Chronic = long-lasting
Pain scoring cannot differ between acute and chronic pain, this can lead to the animal receiving incorrect treatment. This is why a history is essential. (check this answer)
What is the difference between these pain scales:
- SDS
- VAS
- NRS
- Glasgow composite pain scale
- Composite pain scale in horses
- Facial/grimace scale
Simple Descriptive Scale - 5 or 5 point scale going from mild-moderate-severe
Visual Analog Scale - 10cm line, left hand is 0 with no pain right hand is 10 with worst possible pain
Numerical Rating Scales - scale of 4, 5 or 10-point pain scale
Glasgow - for acute pain composed of 7 questions with a score of 20, guide for analgesic intervention for scores >/= 5
Facial/Grimace - scale 0-2 rating facial tenseness ie. tight lips, 0= not present, 1=moderately present, 2=obviously present
Define the terminology for these words (include and example):
Fear
Phobia
Anxiety
Stress
Fear : Unpleasant emotion caused by threat of danger, pain or harm (horse spooked when car drove past)
Phobia : Irrational fear of, or aversion to something. Type of anxiety disorder (dog trembles when ballon goes near it)
Anxiety : an uncontrollable physiological, behavioural and emotional reaction to stimuli (separation anxiety when left alone)
Stress: any situation that disturbs the equilibrium between living organisms and their environments, they can cause your body to respond differently depending on trigger
What are the 4 F’s?
What are they a sign of?
Fight - attack threat
Flight - escape threat
Freeze - stiffen up
Fidget - appears overly energetic, can’t stay still
Anxiety and fear
What are the 8 steps in the SVMS animal handling template?
- species organ and evolutionary history
- Individuals history and context of interaction
- Assess environment and maximise comfort
- asses animal body language as indicated comfort level and intent
- asses your body language and behaviour
- asses handler language and attitude
- handling tools
- safe, effective restraint
Fill out this triangle with Maslow’s hierarchy:
What is the difference between emotion, mood and temperament?
Emotion: response to stimuli, short lived
Mood: positive or negative, not reliant on stimulus, longer-lasting
Temperament: individuals emotional predisposition, long lasting (genetics, life experiences)
What is neophobia?
A fear of new things
What is the difference between homeostasis and allostasis?
Homeostasis: bodies response to change
Allostasis: bodies response to the anticipation of change as well as actual changes
What are the two key components in the stress response (one if a rapid response pathway the other is slow)?
Flight or fight response - rapid
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA) - takes minutes to hours
What are the 3 main types of stress?
What is the body trying to do when it responds to stress?
- Eustress - good stress
- Neutral stress (neustress) - not harmful
- Distress - affects well-being
Body becomes aroused and attempts to reduce the stress
What is General adaptive syndrome (GAS)?
What are GAS’s 3 stages?
What are the 2 major body systems involved in GAS?
Way to describe the bodies short and long term reactions to stress?
Alarm - Resistance - Exhaustion (referenced image)
Nervus and endocrien/hormonal
When the body is in the alarm response what happens?
Flight or fight:
- body prepares for physical activity
- increase in epinephrin and norepinephrine =
increase activity of sympathetic nervous system
- activation of HPA axis = increase in corticosteroids
- adrenaline, noradrenaline, corticosteroids mobilise energy reserves and raise blood glucose
- immune system repressed (susceptible to illness)
When the body is in the resistance response what happens?
Cope with stressor or adapt if stressor has been removed:
- adrenal hormone level stays high
- anabolic levels return to normal (this is for building up reserves like insulin)
- raised blood glucose maintained for energy if needed (unless stressor is lack of food)
Hard to maintain as recourses become depleted
When the body is in the exhaustion response what happens?
Recourses depleted and body can no longer maintain normal function if the body is unable to adapt and cope with it
If the animal appears okay it is taking a lot of effort to do so
Immune system and bodies ability to resist disease is down - susceptible
What process occurs when a stress message is received?
Hypothalamus sends message via the spinal cord
It is interpreted by the cerebral cortex and then goes to the amygdala (fear and startle response)
This activities the sympathetic (nervous system) division of the ANS stimulating the medulla of the adrenal gland
Epinephrine is released into the circulatory system (‘adrenaline surge’)
Epinephrine activates bodies cells, endocrine glands (see diagram) and brain
What in the body is turned off when the flight or fight repose is deactivated?
Parasympathetic division (rest and digest) turned off
What’s the HPA axis and how does it respond to stress?
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis
Slow response pathway - important in chronic stress as cortisol mobilises resources, prolonged exposure harmful
CRH = Corticotropin-releasing hormone (central regulator for HPA axis)
ACHT = Adrenocorticotropic hormone
What is a conditioned emotional response?
Where an association is made between a relatively neutral stimulus and a painful/fear inducing unconditional stimulus
What is the usual order in which behavioural problems are investigated?
What are the 3 factors associated with behaviours problems?
First, any medical issues are explored
Then behavioural concerns are explored (identify motivation, emotions behind behaviour)
Biological, Psychological, Social
What are the 4 categories of aggression (can overlap, not always clear)?
What can be a contributing component to all 4?
Resource related aggression (for example protection of item)
Fear related aggression (defensive behaviour due to lack of or negative experience)
Redirected aggression (often frustration, example is dog attack other dog when doorbell rings)
Organic causes (medical, pain = fear)
FEAR
What steps would a behaviour counsellor take when a behaviour problem is presented?
- Safeguarding
- check if animals welfare is compromised and if others are at risk - Work on referral from vet (work with vet)
- check if medical
- is treatment required? - Collect a case history
- pre-consultation questionare
- long consultation for history, observation, potential treatment
- create timeline from info on parents to now - Ensure follow ups
- is it working for animal and owners
What are the ABC’s of behaviour?
Antecedent
(what happens before behaviour - triggers)
Behaviour
(What did the animal do - avoid, escape, seek)
Consequences
(what happens after behaviour - reinforced? weakened?)
What behavioural advice do clients seek from general practice?
- preparing dogs/horses for rest periods
- training
- socialising
- neutering
- geriatric pets
What is the amygdala?
What are the main 4 nuclei found in the amygdala?
What is found dispersed in the fibre tracts of the nuclei and what are the two most important groups?
What’s the main purpose of the amygdala?
Collection of nuclei found in each hemisphere of the brain in the medial temporal lobe
Lateral, basal, central medial, central lateral
Dorsal and ventral intercalated cells
Fear response
What does the lateral nucleus in the amygdala do?
What does the central medial nucleus in the amygdala do?
Lateral: primary input, receives input from thalamus and cortex which provide sensory stimuli
Ventral: primary output, sends information. to structures like the hypothalamus with results in the projection of cortisol and stimulates the ANS (also projects to periaqueductal grey matter which causes freezing in mice)
What fear responses does the amygdala trigger?
Increased heart rate, sweating, dilation of pupils
What is fear conditioning?
Where in the brain is the primary area for fear conditioning?
unconditioned stimulus (pain) + neutral stimulus (sound)
= unconditioned response (fear)
Unconditioned stimulus associated with the neutral, so the neutral alone elicits the fear response, the stimulus and response are now described as conditioned.
The amygdala
What is fear extinction?
Conditioned stimulus repeated without the unconditioned stimulus so the response slowly becomes less fearful until the association in broken
What pathway does the unconditioned stimulus follow and what is the result?
Unconditioned stimulus signal travels through the spinal cord - to the thalamus and cortex - projects to the amygdala - synaptic input from shock strong enough to excite the lateral nucleus in the amygdala - this activates the central medial nucleus = FEAR RESPONSE
What pathway does the neutral stimulus follow and what is the result?
Neutral stimulus signal travels through the spinal cord - to the thalamus and cortex - projects to the amygdala - synaptic input from shock not strong enough to excite the lateral nucleus in the amygdala - this leaves the central medial nucleus unactivated = NO FEAR RESPONSE
So when the unconditioned and neutral stimulus are fired together how does the brain associate them?
Synaptic plasticity means the synapse between the two is strengthened allowing weaker sensory stimulus to stimulate the central medial nucleus triggering a fear response
What is contextual conditioning and how does it work?
Animals learn to fear the context in which they are exposed to the stimulus
Hypocampus is primarily responsible for this, neurones from here project to the basal nuclei in the amygdala, stimulating the central medial nucleus = FEAR RESPONSE
Provide definitions for the following terminology:
1. Behaviour Modification
2. Habituation
3. Systematic Desensitisation
4. Counter-conditioning
- changing and reducing negative behaviours, turning them into positive responses using whichever technique works for that animal
- getting used to something
- treatment for phobias where the patient is repeatedly exposed to more anxiety-provoking stimuli whilst performing relaxation techniques
- changing an unwanted reaction to certain stimulus into a wanted behaviour through turning the association into something positive
Provide definitions for the following terminology:
1. Flooding
2. Reinforcement
3. Punishment
4. Associative learning
- phobia or fear cannot be avoided, constant exposure, causing anxiety to decrease
- something that will result in an increase in the likelihood of a specific behaviour happening again
- unpleasant response to an action that is undesirable to try and prevent it from happening again the future
- type of learning in which there is a relationship between a stimulus and response, and they are then associated together (touch hot stove, get burned assume touching hot stoves mean pain)
Provide definitions for the following terminology:
1. Desensitisation
2. Sensitisation
3. Aversive
4. Pheromonatherapy
5. Clicker-training
- removing negative emotional response to a stimuli through repeated exposure
- (non-associative) process where repeated exposure to stimulus causes a progressively amplified response
- taking an undesirable habit and associating it with an unpleasant effect causing the animal to give up this action
- reducing stress and anxiety in animals by using synthetic versions of naturally occurring pheromones
- using a conditioned reinforcer to train an animal
What is genetic influence?
Dogs parents influencing that animals behaviour
Match up the time period and the description:
Prenatal = 6
Neonatal = 3
Transitional = 2
Socialisation Period = 5
Juvenile Period = 1
Social Maturity = 4
Summarise the following mechanisms of learning:
1. Simple, non-associative (eg habituation and sensitisation)
2. Associative (eg classical conditioning and operant conditioning)
3. Imprinting
4. Social learning
- there will either be an increase in response to a stimuli (sensitisation) perceived dangerous, or a decrease in response (habituation)
- animal learns that certain behaviours will elicit certain responses/outcome, this could be positive or negative
- learning that occurs (early on in life) that develops quickly and is unrelated to the consequences of that certain behaviour
- learning behaviours through watching others ad copying and imitating the behaviours that they are displaying
What is classical learning?
What is operant learning?
When feelings associated with a stimuli are learnt
Where the consequences of a behaviour are learned with the presence of a specific stimulus
What are positive reinforcers?
What is a negative punishment?
Add something pleasant to the experience, rewarding. These increase the behaviour.
Behaviour doesn’t result in reward. These decrease the behaviour.
What is a negative reinforcer?
What is positive punishment?
Removing the fear/anxiety causing stimuli
Learning a behaviour that will allow the animal to avoid what causes it fear/anxiety (causes the animal a lot of stress)
What is an unconditioned reinforcer?
Learning is not needed for something to be deemed as rewarding
When pain scoring what is the difference between sensitivity and specificity?
Sensitivity = how well a pain score can identify if an animal is in pain (few false negatives)
Specificity = measure of how well a test/scale can correctly identify if the animal has a condition (everyone was identified correctly)
