Ch 2

Question 1

Elicited behaviour

Answer 1

Occurs in response to a stimuli

Question 2

Reflex

Answer 2

1. Eliciting stimulus (usually from the environment)
2. Corresponding response (rarely occurs in the absence of a particular stimulus)
   - responses are hard-wired (reflex arc)
   - reflexes one adaptive and contribute to an animal’s well-being or survival

Question 3

Modal action patterns (MAP)

Answer 3

• MAP for: feeding behaviour, sexual behaviour, territorial defence, and prey capture
• MAP still continues all the way through even if eliciting stimulus is taken away
• sign stimulus: feature or combination of features that elicit (release) the behaviour
• supernormal stimulus: making the sign stimulus more exaggerated than how it’s found in nature

Question 4

Sequence of behaviours (appetitive behaviours)

Answer 4

• Early in the sequence
• less stereotyped (can vary greatly)
• may be shaped by learning
• bring animals in contact with stimuli that will lead them to consummatory behaviour

Question 5

Sequence of behaviours (consummatory behaviours)

Answer 5

• Late in sequence
• highly stereotyped (have specific eliciting stimuli); similar across species (ie. You can only consume food in so many ways)
• MAPs

Question 6

Habituation

Answer 6

• Decline in responding occurs with repeated presentation of a stimulus (repeated stimulation can alter the behavioural response)
• long-term habituation: when stimuli are presented spaced over time
• short-term habituation: when stimuli are presented close together over time

Question 7

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 7

Recovery of a behavioural response after a period of rest in habituation paradigm

Question 8

Advantages of functional habituation

Answer 8

Allows animals to focus on important features of the environment, while ignoring features that do not provide unique or important information

Question 9

What is not considered habituation?

Answer 9

• Sensory adaptation: reduction in sensitivity of the sense organs caused by repeated or excessive stimulation
• fatigue: decrease in behaviour due to repeated or excessive use of muscles

Question 10

Sensitization effect

Answer 10

Increase in vigour of behaviour that can result from repeated presentations of a stimulus or from exposure to a strong extraneous stimulus
→ underlying arousal of the subject is important in whether habituation or sensitization occur to the same stimulus

Question 11

Sensitization process

Answer 11

A neural mechanism that increases the magnitude of responses elicited by a stimulus

Question 12

Habituation effect

Answer 12

A progressive decrease in the vigour of the elicited behaviour that may occur with repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus

Question 13

Habituation process

Answer 13

A neural mechanism activated by repetitions of a stimulus that reduces the magnitude of responses elicited by that stimulus

Question 14

Dual - process theory of habituation and sensitization

Answer 14

• An underlying neural process that is presumed to cause the behaviours that are habituation and sensitization effects
• two processes:
  → habituation process: produces decrease in behaviour
  → sensitization process: produces increase in behaviour
• these processes can occur at the same time but there is only one behavioural outcome

Question 15

Where does the habituation process occur?

Answer 15

S-R (stimulus-response) system: shortest neural pathway that connects the sense organ to the muscle to produce an elicited response
→ always activated when eliciting stimulus is present
→ stimulus specific (stimulus has to be present for a response to happen)

Question 16

Where does the sensitization process occur?

Answer 16

State system (nervous system): neural structures that determine the general level of arousal an organism is experiencing
→ not always activated
→ not stimulus specific

Question 17

Dishabituation

Answer 17

• Momentary disruption of habituation because of an extraneous stimuli
  → special case of sensitization
  → dishabituation can only occur if the behaviour is already habituated

Question 18

Dishabituation

Answer 18

• Momentary disruption of habituation because of an extraneous stimuli
  → special case of sensitization
  → dishabituation can only occur if the behaviour is already habituated

Question 19

Songbird brain

Answer 19

• Has specialized areas for learning, production / perception of vocalizations
• habituation of neural response: examined whether the immediate early gene (measure of activation) response in the NCM changed with repeated presentation of the same song