WK6 stimulus-elicited behaviour

• Stimulus-elicited behaviour


  Behaviour produced as an involuntary and relatively immediate consequence of sensory stimulation: the behaviour is a reaction (or response) to a stimulus
• Stimulus-elicited behaviour is involuntary, many internally initiated behaviours are voluntary (in people)
• Types of motor behaviours

  • Stimulus-elicited behaviours
  • Internally initiated behaviours
  • Spontaneous behaviours
  • Reflexes
• Reflex


  A stimulus-elicited behaviour, so the behaviour itself occurs as an involuntary response to an eliciting stimulus
• Autonomic reflex


  One mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Defining characteristics of reflexes

  • The nervous system does not need to identify, recognize or obtain any information about a distal stimulus
  • The behavioural response is elicited by proximal stimulation
• Egg retrieval behaviour of some ground nesting birds is not a reflex
• Releasing mode of elicitation

  The stimulus triggers the response in a discrete fashion. The response is 'stored' beforehand and the stimulus releases it.
• Driving mode of elicitation

  The stimulus drives the response in a continuous fashion: neural activation evoked by the stimulus is transformed into efferent signals to the muscles.
• Stimulus driven reflex responses

  • Duration: if the eliciting stimulus persists, the response persists
  • Amplitude/vigour: if the eliciting stimulus is intense/strong, the response is larger/more vigorous
  • Variation: if the eliciting stimulus strength increases and decreases, response vigor increases and decreases
• Releasing mode of elicitation is appropriate when you want the size of the response be independent of the stimulus strength
• Driving mode of elicitation is useful when you want the 'size' of the response to be dependent upon the strength of the stimulus