Neural Basis of Behaviour Flashcards
What is the basic unit of the nervous system?
Neurons
What do the varying nervous systems of invertebrates have in common?
Invertebrate nervous systems vary in degrees of centralization:
Arthropods - Brain & specialised sensory organs
Cnidarians - Simple nerve net
Flatworms - Small ganglia in head
What is an innate behaviour?
A behaviour pattern that appears in a fully functional way from the first time it is performed.
What is the nervous system’s role in moths avoiding bats?
Moths perform turning or diving behaviour prior to bat coming into view - Generation of action potential:
Intense sound pressure causes membrane to vibrate ->
Stimulation of stretch sensetive channels ->
Action potential generated ->
Output to muscles causing them to contract - End result
How is Ultraviolet Radition utilised by species?
Utilised by species through multiple forms:
Find central location of food - Bees
Patches on wings to signal females - Male Sulphur butterflies
Cartenoids in body to attract mates - Male three-spined stickleback fish
What are Fixed Action Patterns? (FAPs)
A fixed action pattern is a predictable series of actions triggered by a cue, sometimes called the key stimulus.
How can species benefit from FAPs?
Species can benefit through the exploitation of FAP of another species:
Ready digger bees will attempt to mate with almost anything approx. the size of a female.
Male Ivy bees will attempt to mate with a cluster of blister beetle larvae - Resources available to larvae
How does the nervous system respond to relayed messages?
Via the contraction of muscles - Multi-step process.
Most behaviours involve a co-ordinated series of muscle responses - More than a single neuron at work.
Summarise the command centre hypothesis?
The idea that the nervous system is organised to avoid mal-adaptive conflicts between competing stimuli via command centres in the brain.
How does sign stimulus vary between prey and predator species?
Prey and predator species share similar features:
Prey - Low-lying, rectangular, slow-moving, small.
Predator - Large, upright, fast-moving.
An animal (e.g. toad) brain would use these features to produce an appropriate behaviour.
