• homeostasis
    • food
    • water
    • rest
    • safety
    • sex

The 5 Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • reptilian brain
    • already developed when born
  • mammalian brain/limbic system
    • develops after birth (in humans up to 6 years old)
    • control centre of emotions
    • happy and safe brains focus on exploration, play and cooperation
    • frightened brain focus on managing fear of abandonment
    • monitors what’s safe, pleasurable, dangerous, scary
  • emotional brain
    • combination of reptilian and mammalian brain
    • asses information
    • generalises quickly
    • reactive
    • not logical
    • not rational
  • neocortex
    • logical
    • no emotion
    • rational

 

  • the effect of stress on an individual is not reliant on the stressor itself with regards to
    • intensity
    • duration
    • frequency
  • it relies mostly on the ability of the individual to predict and exert an element of control over the stressor

 

  • sensitisation
    • increased arousal within animal due to repeated exposure to stimuli
    • increased by
      • environment
      • diet
      • discomfort
      • anxiety
      • excitement
      • frustration
    • too highly sensitised effects individual’s ability to learn – neuron firing increased along with reflex CERs
    • emotions result in arousal and can lead to sensitisation
    • change emotions – resulting behaviours stop
  • emotions
    • RAGE – anger/frustration
    • FEAR – anxiety
    • PANIC – sadness (no social support)
    • SEEKING – expectancy
    • LUST
    • CARE – nurturing
    • PLAY – social/joy

Are You Too Stressed to Be Productive? Or Not Stressed Enough?

  • what is your animal’s optimum arousal levels – how is it effected by food, location, emotion
  • arousal and performance
    • mild arousal beneficial for task performance
    • many species prefer task that have medium arousal potential – ditch the bowl
    • arousal and cognitive coping ability are linked
  • arousal in training
    • arousal effects ability to learn and remember
    • required arousal level depends on task
  • sensitisation, physiology and stress
    • If a dog feels threatened or has sustained an injury during a confrontation, they may become anxious or even defensive towards anyone they see as a potential threat, which may be exacerbated if the dog anticipates pain
    • may result in a conditioned emotional response through one trial learning, if the aversive is salient enough
    • An aversive experience will result in activation of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, which limits conscious behavioural control – fight or flight.
    • behavioural activation system
      • reward/seeking system
      • increases approach
      • builds confidence
    • behavioural inhibition system
      • avoidance system
      • works on non reward, punishment, novelty and fear
      • involved in approach/avoidance conflict
      • anxiety/fear increases – behaviour can become suppressed
    • flight/fight
      • acute stress response to real or perceived threat
      • threat activates sympathetic nervous system that releases chemicals that prepares for either stay and deal or run away
  • Innate alarm system
    • threat detection
    • subconscious stimuli – information from the environment that is not perceived consiously
    • rapid
    • can’t be changed operantly
    • bottom up processing
  • Periaqueductal gray
    • creating raw responses
    • dorsal PAG
      • sympathetic nervous system
      • flight or flight
    • ventral PAG
      • parasympathetic nervous system
      • shutdown, freeze, faint
    • trauma history effects individual’s response

 

  • Stress response
    • Stress keeps us alive, we change our behaviour and overcome the stress.
    • Replace stress with stretch
    • Cortisol/steroid hormone
      • produced in the outer shell of the adrenal gland
      • + and – events pay into the bucket
      • down regulate all non essential processes
        • digestion/food
        • cardiac output increases
        • blood pressure increases
        • heightened awareness
        • hyper vigilance
        • blood sugar spike to provide energy
        • down regulate immune system
      • events are perceived differently depending on the dog’s sensitivity
    • Early environment
      • pre natal stress – structure of offspring’s brain changes
      • pessimism is a good thing from an evolutionary point of view