Lecture 14- Abnormal Behaviour

Front 1

What is maladaptive?

Back 1

The animal is normal but the environment is not.

Front 2

What is a malfunctional stereotypy?

Back 2

Abnormal animal in an abnormal environment

- animal is "not all there"

- things like environmental enrichment have little effect

Front 3

What are the abnormal behaviour criteria?

Back 3

1) Unnatural

2) Unexpected

3) Non-functional

4) Infrequent

5) Distress

Front 4

What is the "un natural" abnormal behaviour criteria

Back 4

Seen only in captivity (ie stereotypies)

Front 5

What is the "unexpected" abnormal behaviour criteria?

Back 5

if seen in the wild as well as captivity

- inappropriate circumstances (eg mice and infanticide)

- performed excessively (eg parrots screeching)

Front 6

What is the "non-functional" criteria of abnormal behaviour?

Back 6

- self injury (self biting in primates)-affect social interactions- affect growth or reproduction (stereotypies in mink)

Front 7

What is the "infrequent" criteria of abnormal behaviour?

Back 7

subset of individuals

Front 8

What is the "distress" criteria of abnormal behaviour?

Back 8

there is distress in the animal or its companions

Front 9

How can we use environmental enrichment to address abnormal behaviours?

Back 9

Providing biologically relevant resources or structuring to housing that allows highly motivated natural behaviours

-particularly those allowing animal to control its environment or homeostasis

- less effective for malfunctional behaviours

Front 10

Name a few types of abnormal behaviour.

Back 10

- Self injury

- Redirect behaviour

- Displacement activities

- Abnormal levels of behaviour

- Abnormal repetitive behaviours

Front 11

What are self injury behaviours? Describe an example

Back 11

Behaviours causing harm to ones self

- increased mortality

Example- self biting in primates

- Cased by moving to a new cage, fear or solitary housing of social species

- Environmental enrichment has no effect EXCEPT social housing

- But social housing has to be careful- need to match or Macaques will hurt each other

Front 12

What is a redirect behaviour? Provide an example.

Back 12

The actual movement pattern is a part of normal behaviour

- Wool pulling- if they cant graze they pull on each other's wool.

- Tail biting- piglets will root on each other if they can't root on a teat

Front 13

What is a displacement activity? Provide an example.

Back 13

Behaviour displaced from one behavioural system to another.

- example: chicken blocked from eating will pace and preen (frustration)

Front 14

What is an adjunctive behaviour? Provide an example.

Back 14

A behaviour that occurs as an adjunct to another activity the animal is strongly motivated to perform

- example. Rats would wait 1 minute between conditioned reward and would drink water (consumed 3-4x more water than normal)

Front 15

What is abnormal levels of behaviours? Provide an example.

Back 15

Increase in the amount or intensity of a behaviour.

-example: baboons in the london zoo

- accidental intro of 6 females in 100. Males killed each other. Eventually pecking order sorted. Introducted 30 more females.. Male fighting and female mauling. (natural in nature but over the top here because can't escape and unnatural gender ratios)

Front 16

What are abnormal repetitive behaviours? Provide an example.

Back 16

Stereotypies. Repetitive, invariant, no obvious goal or function.

Example. Weaving , pacing, bar chewing,

Front 17

What are consumatory behaviours and appetitive behaviours?

Back 17

Consumatory- behavrious associated with consuming a resource

Appetitive- related to gaining access

- example. Calves- give them buckets of milk and you satisfy consumatory but they still cant suckle so they haven't addressed appetitive.

Front 18

Are stereotypies frustrated behaviours?

Back 18

No, because we should see them in wild caught animals place in captivity. Instead, raised in a natural environment protects against later stereotypy.

- captive born animals perform more stereotypies.

- If offspring are raised in labs away from parents (who did not show stereotypy) the offspring can still show stereotypy.

Front 19

What are the 3 developmental changes that occur during development of a stereotypy?

Back 19

1) ritualization

2) emancipation

3) establishment

Front 20

What is the ritualization stage of development of a stereotypy?

Back 20

When the animal starts performing the behaviour each time the behaviour is performed it is less variable/more specific

- example- cribbing they put their teeth in the same place every time

Front 21

What is the emancipation stage of development of a stereotypy?

Back 21

The behaviour becomes more affected by a wider range of eliciting stimuli

Front 22

What is the establishment stage of a development of a stereotypy?

Back 22

the behaviour becomes immune to environmental enrichment

- example. Voles (2mo, 6 mo, 14 mo) in barren cages. Moved to enriched. 6 and 14 mo showed stereotypies but 2mo didnt. Wild caught parents didnt develop stereotypies but their pups did.

Therefore voles have sensitive period for stereotypy development

Front 23

How are phylogeny and stereotypies connected?

Back 23

Different species show different stereotypies

- carnivores pace before feeding

-primates rock

Different breeds show different stereotypies

- australian cattle dogs tail chase, dobermans flank suck

Front 24

What are some arguments for linking stereotypies to bad welfare?

Back 24

1) drugs

2) HPA

3) Affective states

4) Basic Brain pathology

Front 25

Explain drugs in relation to stereotypies being bad welfare

Back 25

Amphetamines causing mental disturbance in humans can cause stereotypies in animals

- guinea pigs show repeated head tossing and wire bite

Front 26

Explain the HPA axis in releation to stereotypies being bad welfare

Back 26

Leopards with high corticosteroid levels performed more stereotyped pacing and more likely to self harm.

Front 27

Explain affective states in relation to stereotypies being bad welfare

Back 27

Bar biting by sows in gestation stalls (frustration, escape behaviour, boredom) changed with feeding levels (linked to hunger)

Front 28

Explain basic brain pathology in relation to stereotypies being bad welfare

Back 28

Malfunction of basal ganglia. Linked to body movements.

- Humans with basal ganglia malfunction will persist performing behaviour previously learned even when reward is removed

- high stereotyping voles do the same (244 times to stop vs 26 in low stereotypies)

- implies possible link with basal ganglia in voles

Front 29

What are the arguments against stereotypy being related to bad welfare?

Back 29

1) Functionless behaviours can become functional (coping)

2) Hypothesized to be "do it yourself" enrichment, self calming, habits or preservation behaviours

3) Preventing the behaviour could decrease welfare

Front 30

Explain the coping hypothesis in relation to stereotypy and bad welfare.

Back 30

The functionless behaviour can become functional

- example. Tongue rolling in calves leads to a decrease in ulcers

- Cribbing in horses- response to unhealthy acidity in stomach (if you give antacids cribbing decreases)

Front 31

How can preventing behaviour possibly decrease welfare? Example.

Back 31

Preventing them from coping.

ex. horses will work just as hard for an opportunity to crib as they will for sweetened grain.