Biological Basis of Behavior

• A behavior based on genetic maturation is termed; Instinctive Behavior

Instinctive behavior

• Has the appearance of a critical period of development.

Deprivation Experiment

• The animal is deprived of “normal” development during this critical period

Four Criteria for Instinctive Behavior

1) Species specific behavior

• The behavior must be limited to a given species:

• Following behavior of gray lag geese• Using the bill as a straw to suck up water by

the pigeon.• Imprinting in precocial birds.

• 2) The behavior must be patterned

The behavior must be unlearned

• Goal directed

Best seen in three experimental models

Konrad Lorenz - precocial birds

Niko Tinbergen - three and ten spine stickleback

Peter Maller - songs in birds

• The protection of its home territory. Stomach of the male turns bright red in the spring time. Females belly begins to swell with eggs.

• The next slide show different lures used to get the three spine stickleback to show fighting behavior

Models used to initiate fight behavior in stickleback fish

• The red belly of a male stickle back is a releasing stimulus for fighting behavior of the target fish.

• The target fish chases the red-belly invading fish when it get in the targets fishe’s home territory

• It is within the home territory that the male target fish builds the nest.

• When the target fish has built it nest it looks for a round belly female

Three spine stickelback

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s18V0XGe788&feature=related

• The swollen belly of the female is a sign stimulus that releases a complex dance between the male and the female.

• The release of the eggs is a releasing stimulus for the male to nip the tail of the female.

• She swims out of the nest, the male swims in and releases sperm.

• Lorenz believed that all the motivation for this type of behavior was internal to the organism. He called the energy driving this behavior, “action specific energy”

Three spine stickleback “pas de deux”

• When the female has enters the nest the male moves to the side of the nest.

• The male stickleback pushes with his nose against the outside of the nest.

• This push is a releasing stimulus for the female to release the eggs.

Egg-rolling in the gray lag goose

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP), egg-rolling

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUNZv-ByPkU&NR=1

Note the continues movement of the head when the egg is removed from under the bill.

The is vacuous behavior and demonstrate the pattern that must be fullfilled if the behavior is a FAP

Deprivation studies in monkeys

• Monkeys at birth were separated from their mothers.

• Housed singly with a diaper Singly housed monkeyshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CU9jKlNK1Qc&feature=related

• Such animals do not breed when they reach maturity.

• THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BREED, NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE KNOW THE MECHANISM OF BREEDING

Surrogate raised monkeys

• Contact Comfort• Contact Comfort

Wire vs. Terry cloth

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcHc6K6MjjM&feature=related

Biological basis of Play