Animal behavior

While the obvious value of in vivo animal models is clear, there also are instances—especially in cases of inflammatory arthritis, behavior, and tumor growth—where they have failed to be predictive of useful clinical activity in humans [51], For example, leukotriene (LTB4) antagonists showed activity in animal models of inflammatory arthritis yet failed to be useful in rheumatoid arthritis [52]. Similarly, dopamine D4 antagonists showed activity in animal behavior models previously predictive of dopamine D2 antagonists in schizophrenia. However, testing of dopamine D4 antagonists showed no efficacy in humans [53]. 

Animal behavior has been dehned by Odnm (1971) as the overt action an organism takes to adjnst to its environment so as to ensure its survival. A simpler definition is the dynamic interaction of an animal with its enviromnent (D Mello 1992). Another, more elaborate, one is, the outward expression of the net interaction between the sensory, motor arousal, and integrative components of the central and peripheral nervons systems (Norton 1977). The last dehnition spells out the important point that behavior represents the integrated function of the nervous system. Accordingly, disruption of the nervous system by neurotoxic chemicals may be expected to cause changes in behavior (see Klaasen 1996, pp. 466-467). 

Goldberg ME, Johnson HE, Pozzani UC, et al. 1964b. Effect of repeated inhalation of vapors of industrial solvents on animal behavior. I. Evaluation of nine solvent vapors on pole-climb performance in rats. Am IndHyg Assoc 125 369-375. 

GrandjeanE. 1960. Trichloroethylene effects on animal behavior. Arch Environ Health 1 106-108. 

White, F. J., Holohean, A. M., and Appel, J. B. (1981) Lack of specificity of an animal behavior model for hallucinogenic drug action. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav., 14 339-343. 

Jacobs, B. L. (1976) An animal behavior model for studying central serotonergic synapses. Life Sci., 19 777-786. 

A critical question to ask at this juncture is whether any of these behavioral changes in animals is relevant to the hallucinogenic effects of this class of drugs in humans. In other words, which if any of these animal behaviors might closely model human hallucinations To answer this question, one must examine the... 

Jacobs, B. L., and Trulson, M. E. (1981) An animal behavior model for decreased central serotonergic function. In Serotonin Current Aspects of Neurochemistry and Function, edited by B. Haber, S. Gabay, M. R. Issidorides, and S. G. A. Alivisatos, pp. 657-680. Plenum, New York. 

Wyatt, T.D. (2003) Pheromones and Animal Behavior Communication by Smell and Taste. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. 

Konrad Lorenz was bom in Vienna on November 7, 1903. He was a late child, his brother being 18 years older. His father Prof. Dr. Adolf Lorenz was the founder of orthopedics in Vienna. Konrad grew up in a spacious villa within a magnificent park-like garden. From his early days he was interested in animal behavior, and soon he adhered to the principle of keeping most animals free, though this sometimes created problems for visitors. His brother Albert vividly describes the situation in his autobiography Since in freedom tamed animals lose their fear of man, but at the same time also as a consequence... 

There are certainly important precursors such as Charles Darwin, Charles Otis Witman, Oskar Heinroth or Jacob von Uexkiill, just to mention a few, but it was Konrad Lorenz who formulated the main theoretical concepts and who integrated the knowledge on animal behavior of his time for the creation of a new discipline. 

I think McDougall was right and we should return to comparisons with naturalistic animal behavior, and to the emotions, in our search for the roots of human behavior. That is, we should ground our research in ethological theory and methods. These whole-body movement patterns are the basic units of behavior for our species, the human ethogram. 

Scott, J. P. (1958). Animal Behavior. Chicago University of Chicago Press. 

Pharmacol.—Chemical contituents identified which could possibly afford it with the effect. Animal beh.—Demonstration of statistically significant effects in an animal behavioral paradigm. 

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