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Results for “Tool Use Behavior”

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PubMed2002

Targeted expression of tetanus neurotoxin interferes with behavioral responses to sensory input in Drosophila.

Targeted inactivation of neurons by expression of toxic gene products is a useful tool to assign behavioral functions to specific neurons or brain structures. Of a variety of toxic gene products tested, tetanus neurotoxin light chain (TNT) has the least severe side effects and can completely block chemical synapses. By using the GAL4 system to drive TNT expression in a subset of chemo- and mechanosensory neurons, we detected walking and flight defects consistent with blocking of relevant sensory information. We also found, for the first time, an olfactory behavioral phenotype associated with blocking of a specific subset of antennal chemoreceptors. Similar behavioral experiments with GAL4 lines expressing in different subsets of antennal chemoreceptors should contribute to an understanding of olfactory coding in Drosophila. To increase the utility of the GAL4 system for such purposes, we have designed an inducible system that allows us to circumvent lethality caused by TNT expression during early development.

Alleles↗
PubMed2005

Polymerase chain reaction detection of Y chromosome sequences in vaginal fluid: preliminary studies of a potential biomarker for sexual behavior.

BACKGROUND: Self-reported measures of sexual behavior are subject to nontrivial reporting biases. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a behavioral biomarker of recent sexual activity among females that is inexpensive, easily administered, and can be used in low sexually transmitted disease prevalence populations. METHODS: We developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect Y chromosome (Yc) fragments. The Yc primers were developed against a 200-basepair (bp) microsatellite repeat sequence, which is unique to the male genome. A standard PCR technique was used. Assay sensitivity was determined quantitatively using donated semen samples. To assess longevity of detectability, we recruited female subjects in monogamous relationships. Seventeen subjects had unprotected intercourse followed by 3 weeks of abstinence from vaginal intercourse. Self-administered vaginal swabs (SAVS) were collected every other day. In addition to the swabs, subjects kept daily sexual diaries. Swabs were processed by semiquantitative PCR, and Yc decay curves were determined for each subject. The half-life of Yc in vaginal fluid was calculated on the collection of individual decay curves by a random-effects regression model approach. RESULTS: The sensitivity of our Yc-PCR assay was determined to be 5 copies of Yc. In the longevity studies, Yc was detectable in SAVS up to 15 postcoital days (PCD). Mean Yc DNA concentration in SAVS eluate followed an exponential decay pattern for each subject. Mean concentrations were 66.7 ng/mL at PCD-1, 20.6 ng/mL at PCD-7, and 4.5 ng/mL at PCD-15. The estimated half-life for Yc clearance was 3.83 days. CONCLUSION: The swab-based Yc-DNA PCR assay can detect coitus in women for a 2-week retrospective period. This can be used to validate sexual behavior-reporting and condom use in women and promises to be a useful tool in sexual behavior research.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Use of leaves as cushions to sit on wet ground by wild chimpanzees.

A new type of tool use, leaf cushion, by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Guinea, was found. We report two cases: one is indirect evidence; the other is direct observation of a chimpanzee who used the tool. Both cases indicate that chimpanzees used a set of leaves as a cushion while sitting on wet ground. Chimpanzees at Bossou show various kinds of tool use, some of which are unique to the community. Most of these behavioral patterns are substance tool use for obtaining food, as at other study sites. The use of leaves as a cushion adds to the few instances of nonsubstance, elementary technology seen used by wild chimpanzees.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Characteristics of hammer stones and anvils used by wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) to crack open palm nuts.

Capuchins living in Boa Vista (Piauì, Brazil) crack open hard palm nuts on hard, level surfaces (anvils) using stones (hammers) as percussive tools. This activity leaves diagnostic physical remains: distinctive shallow depressions (pits) on the surface of the anvil, cracked shells, and stone hammers on the anvil. To initiate comparison of percussive stone tool use and interpretation of the artifacts it produces across capuchins, chimpanzees, and hominins, we describe a sample of the anvils and hammer stones used by capuchin monkeys at our site. Anvils (boulders and logs) were located predominantly in the transition zone between the flat open woodland and ridges, in locations that offered some overhead coverage, and with a tree nearby, but not necessarily near palm trees. Anvils contained shallow, hemispherical pits with smooth interiors. Hammers represent a diverse assemblage of ancient rocks that are much harder than the prevailing sedimentary rock out of which they eroded. Hard stones large enough to serve as hammers were more abundant on the anvils than in the surrounding area, indicating that capuchins transport them to the anvils. Capuchins use hammers weighing on average more than 1 kg, a weight that is equivalent to 25-40% of the average body weight for adult males and females. Our findings indicate that capuchins select stones to use as hammers and transport stones and nuts to anvil sites. Wild capuchins provide a new reference point for interpreting early percussive stone tool use in hominins, and a point of comparison with chimpanzees cracking nuts.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Using narrative communication as a tool for health behavior change: a conceptual, theoretical, and empirical overview.

Narrative is the basic mode of human interaction and a fundamental way of acquiring knowledge. In the rapidly growing field of health communication, narrative approaches are emerging as a promising set of tools for motivating and supporting health-behavior change. This article defines narrative communication and describes the rationale for using it in health-promotion programs, reviews theoretical explanations of narrative effects and research comparing narrative and nonnarrative approaches to persuasion, and makes recommendations for future research needs in narrative health communication.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed2005

Tool-use for drinking water by immature chimpanzees of Mahale: prevalence of an unessential behavior.

Use of leaves or sticks for drinking water has only rarely been observed during long-term study of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Mahale. Recently, however, we observed 42 episodes of tool-use for drinking water (73 tools and two cases of using "tool-sets") between 1999 and 2004. Interestingly, all of the performers were immature chimpanzees aged from 2 to 10 years. Immature chimpanzees sometimes observed the tool-using performance of others and subsequently reproduced the behavior, while adults usually paid no attention to the performance. This tool-use did not seem to occur out of necessity: (1) chimpanzees often used tools along streams where they could drink water without tools, (2) they used tools for drinking water from tree holes during the wet season when they could easily obtain water from many streams, and (3) the tool-using performance sometimes contained playful aspects. Between-site comparisons revealed that chimpanzees at drier habitats used tools for drinking water more frequently and in a more "conventional" manner. However, some variations could not be explained by ecological conditions. Such variations and the increase in this tool-use in recent years at Mahale strongly suggest that social learning plays an important role in the process of acquiring the behavior. We should note here that such behaviors that lack obvious benefits or necessity can be prevalent in a group.

Aging↗
PubMed1995

Selling good behavior.

Social marketers use the tools of selling to promote good nutrition, regular checkups, and other positive behavior. Instead of preaching, they try to understand and change the complex motivations that lie behind risky activities like smoking and unsafe sex. AIDS prevention is the vanguard of social marketing in the U.S., but the practice is likely to spread for a simple reason: it works.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed2005

A procedural model for planning and evaluating behavioral interventions.

OBJECTIVE: A model for planning, implementing and evaluating health behavior change strategies is proposed. Variables are presented which can be used in the model or serve as examples for how the model is utilized once a theory of health behavior is adopted. RESULTS: Examples of three innovative strategies designed to influence behavior change are presented so that the proposed model can be modified for use following comprehensive screening and baseline measurements. Three measurement priorities: clients, methods and agency are subjected to three phases of assessment: goals, implementation and effects. CONCLUSION: Lifestyles account for the majority of variability in quality-of-life and premature morbidity and mortality. Interventions designed to influence healthy behavior changes must be driven by theory and carefully planned and evaluated. The proposed model is offered as a useful tool for the behavior change strategist.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed2006

The neural origins and implications of imitation, mirror neurons and tool use.

Several recent studies report how laboratory-raised, non-human primates exposed to tool use can exhibit intelligent behaviors, such as imitation and reference vocal control, that are never seen in their wild counterparts. Tool-use training appears to forge a novel cortico-cortical connection that underlies this boost in capacity, which normally exists only as latent potential in lower primates. Although tool-use training is patently non-naturalistic, its marked effects on brain organization and behavior could shed light on the evolution of higher intelligence in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Another look at amphetamine-induced stereotyped locomotor activity in rats using a new statistic to measure locomotor stereotypy.

Rat open field behavior is often used as a tool to study the behavioral effects of drugs. In this report, drug-induced patterns of locomotion in an open field were studied with the aid of a simple new statistic. Briefly, the animal's path through the open field is converted into a series of trips. Gamma (gamma) estimates the probability that the animal will repeat the trip that it has just exhibited; thus gamma quantifies "locomotor stereotypy". Trip lengths can also be compared across drug groups. Thus caffeine has no effect on gamma even though it produces a dose-related increase in locomotions. Caffeine does not produce amphetamine-like stereotypy. On the other hand, amphetamine produces a dose-related increase in gamma. Although gamma was designed to detect any pattern of locomotor behavior, rats treated with high doses of amphetamine almost always exhibited the same pattern of locomotor behavior - repetitive trips around the perimeter of the open field. Although further characterization of the statistic is necessary, these findings suggest that gamma has potential for quantifying "locomotor stereotypy" and for providing a more subtle description of locomotor behavior in general.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed2001

The case for a cognitive approach to animal learning and behavior.

The dangers of hypothesizing about unobservable cognitive mechanisms are well known to behavior analysts. I propose, however, that carefully fashioned cognitive theories that make predictions that are inconsistent with current behavioral theories can provide useful research tools for the understanding of behavior. Furthermore, even if the results of such research may be accommodated by modifying existing behavioral theories, our understanding of behavior is often advanced by the empirical findings because it is unlikely that the research would have been conducted in the absence of such cognitive hypothesizing. Two examples of the development of emergent relations are described: The first deals with the nature of a pigeon's 'representation' of two stimuli both of which are associated with correct responding to a third in a many-to-one matching task (stimulus equivalence or common representations). The second has to do with transitive inference, the emergent relation between two stimuli mediated by their relation to a common stimulus in a simultaneous discrimination.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Diagnosis and treatment of behavioral health disorders in pediatric practice.

OBJECTIVE: There has been a strong push toward the recognition and treatment of children with behavioral health problems by primary care pediatricians. This study was designed to assess the extent to which a sample of primary care pediatricians diagnose and treat behavioral health problems and to identify factors that may contribute to their behavioral health practice. METHODS: A standard interview was conducted with 47 pediatricians who work in primary care settings in a predominantly urban setting in North Carolina. Pediatricians' responses to questions about the estimated percentage of children in their practice with a behavioral health disorder, tools used to make diagnoses, frequent and infrequent diagnoses made, comfort level with making a diagnosis, reasons for not making a diagnosis, use of psychotropic medications, types of nonmedication interventions provided, educational background, and needs involving behavioral health issues were evaluated. RESULTS: Pediatricians estimated that the average percentage of children in their practices with a behavioral health disorder was 15%. The study did not find significant differences in perceptions related to time in practice or gender of the pediatric provider. The most frequent behavioral health diagnosis was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the majority incorporated behavioral questionnaires, expressed a high level of comfort with the diagnosis, and frequently or occasionally prescribed stimulants. Variability was noted in both practice and comfort for other behavioral health disorders. Slightly fewer than half of the pediatricians frequently diagnosed anxiety and depression. Those who make these diagnoses commonly incorporated questionnaires and reported frequent or occasional use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Comfort in making the diagnosis of anxiety was highly associated with use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The vast majority (96%) of pediatricians provided nonmedication interventions, including supportive counseling, education for coping with ADHD, behavior modification, and/or stress management. Diagnosis and treatment of severe behavioral health disorders were infrequent throughout the pediatric practices. Areas of greatest educational interest included psychopharmacology, diagnosis and treatment of depression and anxiety, and updates on ADHD. The majority of pediatric providers did not identify a need for education about several high-prevalence disorders that they do not frequently diagnose or treat, including conduct disorder and substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatricians in this sample frequently diagnosed and treated ADHD. For all other behavioral health disorders, pediatricians reported variability in both comfort and practice. They frequently provided both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments for children and adolescents with mild to moderate behavioral health disorders but not for severe disorders. Although they identified needs for additional education for anxiety and depression, the majority did not identify educational needs for several high-prevalence behavioral health disorders, including conduct disorder and substance abuse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Sex differences in anxiety behavior in rats: role of gonadal hormones.

These experiments examined the role of gonadal hormones at both the organizational and activational time periods on sex differences in plus-maze behavior. In the first experiment, adult female Long-Evans rats were found to spend more time on the open arms of the plus maze than adult males, indicating less anxious behavior. In the second experiment, male and female subjects received a neonatal treatment (chemical castration with flutamide or tamoxifen, vehicle injection, or no injection) and a prepubertal treatment (gonadectomy, sham surgery, or no surgery). Adult females receiving either neonatal tamoxifen or prepubertal ovariectomy spent less time on the open arms than control females, but females who received both treatments were the most defeminized subjects. Males were not affected by the absence of gonadal hormones at either time period. These experiment indicate that female gonadal hormones play an important role both organizationally and activationally in plus-maze behavior. The role of the GABA receptor complex in mediating this effect is discussed. Knowledge of sex differences in plus-maze behavior may help to make this maze a more useful tool in investigating anxiety behavior in rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Defensive behavior in rats towards predatory odors: a review.

Studies of the response of rodents to predatory odors (mainly cat) have provided useful insights into the nature of defensive behavior. This article reviews work in this area with a focus on a behavioral paradigm recently developed in our laboratory in which we present rats with a piece of fabric collar that has been previously worn by a cat. Rats presented with this stimulus spent most of their time engaged in a behavior we call 'head out' in which the rat pokes its head out from a hide box and scans the environment. Periodic 'flat back approaches' and 'vigilant rearing' towards the cat odor source are seen as well as inhibition of non-defensive behaviors such as locomotor activity and grooming. Cat odor causes a sustained increase in blood pressure (> 15mm Hg) without greatly affecting heart beat rate. Rats will develop conditioned fear to both contexts and cues that have been paired with cat odor. C-fos immunohistochemistry indicates that cat odor selectively activates a defensive behavior circuit involving the medial amygdala, ventromedial and dorsomedial hypothalamus, dorsal premammillary nucleus and the periaqueductal gray. The defensive response to cat odor is attenuated by acute administration of the benzodiazepine midazolam (0.375 mg/kg), with chronically administered SSRI antidepressants and acute alcohol exerting more modest anxiolytic effects. The behavioral response to cat odor is very different to that seen to trimethylthiazoline (TMT: fox odor) which has effects more like those seen to an aversive putrid odor. It is concluded that cat odor is a useful tool for elucidating behavioral, neural, pharmacological and autonomic aspects of defensive behavior and anxiety.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

The relationship between parent-sibling communication and coping of siblings with death experience.

Past studies have suggested that parents who can effectively communicate about subjects such as death and dying are most likely to help their child cope with illness and death. Most studies have focused on communication with the ill child and less attention has been paid to the sibling. As part of a larger study to investigate the effects of two types of terminal care on families of a child dying of cancer, this portion of the study focused on parent-sibling communication. It was hypothesized that increased communication would increase coping as manifested by fewer behavioral problems and more social competence in siblings. The tools used included the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) and the Parent-Sibling Communication instrument. Measurements were taken before and at 2 weeks, 4 months, and 12 months after the death of the ill child. One positive and four negative correlations were found. Parent-sibling communication was positively related to Social Competence before the ill child's death, and was inversely related to Total Behavior Problems following the death. Parent-sibling communication was also inversely related to External Behavior Problems after the ill child's death, to Internal Behavior Problems after the ill child's death, and to Internal Behavior Problems at the 4-month point after the death. The positive relationship between parent-sibling communication and Social Competence scores may reflect the sensitivity of parents to siblings' needs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Morphological affinities of the Australopithecus afarensis hand on the basis of manual proportions and relative thumb length.

The hands of apes and humans differ considerably with regard to proportions between several bones. Of critical significance is the long thumb relative to other fingers, which is the basis for human-like pad-to-pad precision grip capability, and has been considered by some as evidence of tool-making. The nature and timing of the evolutionary transition from ape-like to human-like manual proportions, however, have remained unclear as a result of the lack of appropriate fossil material. In this article, the manual proportions of Australopithecus afarensis from locality AL 333/333w (Hadar, Ethiopia) are investigated by means of bivariate and multivariate morphometric analyses, in order to test the hypothesis that human-like proportions, including an enhanced thumb/hand relationship, originally evolved as an adaptation to stone tool-making. Although some evidence for human-like manual proportions had been previously proposed for this taxon, conclusive evidence was lacking. Our results indicate that A. afarensis possessed overall manual proportions, including an increased thumb/hand relationship that, contrary to previous reports, is fully human and would have permitted pad-to-pad human-like precision grip capability. We show that these human-like proportions in A. afarensis mainly result from hand shortening, as in modern humans, and that these conclusions are robust enough as to be non-dependent on whether the bones belong to a single individual or not. Since A. afarensis predates the appearance of stone tools in the archeological record, the above-mentioned conclusions permit a confident refutation of the null hypothesis that human-like manual proportions are an adaptation to stone tool-making, and thus alternative explanations must be therefore sought. One hypothesis would consider manipulative behaviors (including tool-use and/or non-lithic tool-making) in early hominines exceeding those reported among extant non-human primates. Alternatively, on the basis of the many adaptations to committed bipedalism in A. afarensis, we propose the hypothesis that once arboreal behaviors became adaptively insignificant and forelimb-dominated locomotor selection pressures were relaxed with the adoption of terrestrial bipedalism, human-like manual proportions could have merely evolved as a result of the complex manipulation selection pressures already present in extant non-human primates. Both hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, and even other factors such as pleiotropy cannot be currently discarded.

Adult↗