Chapter Four: The Control Of Behavioral Neural Mechanisms

Question 1

Is this a proximate or ultimate question: how do neural networks acquire, process, and respond to stimuli?

Answer 1

Proximate

Question 2

Neurons firing is _______. A stronger response means that ______.

Answer 2

All or none
More neurons were fired

Question 3

Some neural cues are very vague, for example a bug mating with anything that is ____

Answer 3

Orange

Question 4

Why is something being “orange” a good enough cue to signal the male to mate?

Answer 4

It is the color of the female
They have been successful this way, so natural selection has not favored anything else
Very few orange cues in the environment

Question 5

Instinctive behaviors are ______ the first time they’re attempted

Answer 5

Fully functional

Question 6

Instinctive behaviors are triggered by a ___

Answer 6

Sign stimulus

Question 7

A sign stimulus that comes from a member of the same species

Answer 7

Releaser

Question 8

Instinctive behaviors are a ______ triggered by a sign stimulus

Answer 8

Fixed action pattern

Question 9

A fixed action pattern means that once the behavior is triggered, it ______

Answer 9

Goes to completion

Question 10

Gull chicks beg for food from their parent by _____

Answer 10

Pecking at the red dot on their parents beak

Question 11

Is the red dot on the parents beak the sign stimulus that causes gull chicks to peck at it?

Answer 11

Yes

Question 12

Geese egg rolling is a ____

Answer 12

Fixed action pattern

Question 13

What is the sign stimulus for egg rolling? What is the fixed action pattern?

Answer 13

The sight of an egg out of the nest
Stretching the beak out past the egg and rolling the egg back into the nest

Question 14

An exaggerated sign stimulus that causes a stronger response

Answer 14

Supernormal stimulus

Question 15

When presented with a supernormal stimulus and a normal stimulus, which will an animal respond to?

Answer 15

Supernormal

Question 16

Mimicking a sign stimulus to benefit from the resulting fixed action pattern

Answer 16

Code breaker

Question 17

An example of a code breaker

Answer 17

Cuckoo parents placing their eggs in a nest of another species for them to raise

Question 18

Neural mechanisms are subject to ____

Answer 18

Natural selection

Question 19

Natural selection selects for neural mechanisms that ____ and ____

Answer 19

Detect key stimuli
Trigger appropriate response

Question 20

Neural mechanisms can be highly ___

Answer 20

Specialized

Question 21

Bats catch moths with ____

Answer 21

Echolocation

Question 22

Moths have ears on either side of their ___

Answer 22

Thorax

Question 23

Moth’s tympanum is attached to two receptors: ___ and ___

Answer 23

A1
A2

Question 24

When frequency and intensity are right, ____

Answer 24

One or both receptors will fire

Question 25

Frequency =
Intensity =

Answer 25

Pitch
Loudness

Question 26

When A1 and or A2 fire, a signal is sent to the ____, and then a signal is sent to the ____

Answer 26

Interneurons in the CNS
Motor neurons in the flight muscles

Question 27

Two important cues for triggering evasive flight in moths

Answer 27

Sound intensity
Direction of bat

Question 28

A1 is sensitive to ____
A2 is sensitive to ____

Answer 28

Low/moderate intensity ultrasound
High intensity ultrasound only

Question 29

As intensity increases, rate of A1 firing ____, let’s moth know whether bat is coming or going

Answer 29

Increases

Question 30

A1 responds ____ and ____ on the side the bat is approaching

Answer 30

Sooner and faster

Question 31

A2 only fires if bat is ___

Answer 31

Very close

Question 32

A2 firing triggers ____

Answer 32

Erratic flight

Question 33

The ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli

Answer 33

Stimulus filtering

Question 34

Three methods of stimulus filtering

Answer 34

1. Can’t detect stimuli
2. Sensory adaptation
3. Habituation

Question 35

Signal is no longer relayed to the CNS

Answer 35

Sensory adaptation

Question 36

Signal is sent to interneuron but is not sent to motor neuron

Answer 36

Habituation

Question 37

More of the brain cortex is devoted to ___

Answer 37

Important stimuli that you need to respond to