1. Neural Control of Behavior

2. Stimulus-Response
A male bee copulating with a female of his species, and attempting to copulate with the author’s thumb. Object of correct size and general shape elicits landing, touch receptors send message to centers (brain) that trigger a mating program of coordinated muscle activity.

3. Stimulus-Response
The study of how neurons sense the environment and convey a coordinated response to conditions—behavior—began with Niko Tinbergen. Stimulus: parent’s beak Response: pecking the beak. Reward: food regurgitated.
Similar: goose egg retrieval (continues even after the egg is removed)

4. Neural Processes Use sensory systems to detect the stimulus
Visual, auditory, tactile…
Central computation or representation
Access memory, risk-reward, etc.
Motor decision and response
Approach, avoid, mate, beg, hide, run…
Muscle contraction and movement
Outcome of response: Learning
Contrast to instincts

5. Some terms
Instinct: a behavior pattern that appears in a fully functional form the first time it is executed
Chick pecks parent beak
Innate Releasing Mechanism
Detect sign stimulus the “releaser”
Parent beak
Initiate fixed action pattern (FAP)
Pecking at the beak

6. Example of Innate releasing mechanism

7. Discussion Question
Males of various beetle species will try to copulate with everything from beer bottles to large yellow signs.

8. Discussion question
Use ethological terms to identify the releaser, the fixed action pattern, and the innate releasing mechanism. Develop an ultimate hypothesis for why this occurs, even though the beetles often die rather than leave the inanimate object upon which they sit.

9. Code Breaking
One species “learns” to mimic another so as to exploit it
Flowers attract bees to aid in pollination
Butterfly larvae secrete chemical cues identical to ants, get the ants to take care of them until they can undergo morphogenesis
Called a deceptive signaler
Such predictable behavior patterns can be taken advantage of if their rules can be deciphered by another animal/species

10. Alcon blue butterfly larvae are deceptive signalers
CUE RECEPTOR SIGNAL SYNAPSES RESPONSE

11. Neural command centers
Behavioral choices
Prioritization of drives
How is the nervous system organized so that conflicts don’t occur?
Multiple command centers with ability to detect releasers and activate responses.
Hierarchical relationship with other centers

12. Behaviors: search for mates sunbathe copulate fly dive away from bats
catch food
Lying motionless until visual system detects the presence of prey, the the mantis makes fast and accurate grasping response with the front legs to get the prey and bring it to the mouth.
Muscle control is the property of each ganglion. Severing the ganglion abolished responses when the NS was active elsewhere, but electrical stimulation of the neurons in the severed ganglion elicited normal movements for that segment.

13. Role of the brain? The protocerebrum is inhibitory to the ganglia
--Disconnecting the protocerebrum from the rest of the NS resulted in mantis’ that attempted to walk and grasp at the same time
Not good
Subesophogeal ganglion is the primary target of PC inhibition because when it and the PC are severed, mantis’ do not move at all
A stimulus would lead to activation of part of the subesophogeal ganglion leading to selective disinhibition of certain command centers and an appropriate response

14. Neural circuit of mantis
Stimulus receptor PC SEG ganglia
However, mating is not abolished in this headless male who still coordinates a twisting copulatory attempt on the back of this intact female mantis.

15. Discussion Question
Inhibitory neural messages play a key role in organizing animal behavior. Mature female crickets approach calling males. About 1 hour after mating, during which the male deposits a spermatophore on his partner, the female stops responding to males. If you found that removing the spermatophore reinstated the female approach response, speculate on how the nervous system controls this behavior. How might inhibitory signals be involved? What is the adaptive significance of this behavior?

16. Feedback inhibition in the blowfly
Stretch receptors in the foregut of this fly send signals to the brain to inhibit drinking when the gut is full. If one severs the recurrent nerve (gut to brain), the fly does not stop drinking and eventually blows up.