Description
Book SynopsisAs a model organism, the chick has provided valuable insights into broad issues of development in higher animals. The complex interactions between genetic, hormonal and environmental factors which occur in the developing chick provide a potent argument against unitary causal explanations for differences in behaviour. Study of the behaviour of the chick is also relevant to poultry science and the welfare of domesticated birds. This book reviews research on the development of brain and behaviour in the chick and juxtaposes this with similar work on other avian and, to a lesser extent, mammalian species. It begins by outlining the developmental stages of the chick embryo, including the effects of environmental stimulation. Behaviour and the neurochemistry of development and memory formation in the posthatching period are then discussed. The transitions that occur during the first two to three weeks of posthatching life are described, particularly in terms of changing hemispheric dominance
Table of Contents1: Development of brain and behaviour before hatching 2: Development of the central nervous system and activity patterns 3: Hatching 4: Development of the sensory systems 5: Environmental influences on development of the embryo 6: Tactile and vestibular stimulation 7: Auditory stimulation 8: Visual stimulation 9: Other factors that may influence development of the embryo 10: Intersensory stimulation during development 11: Early learning after hatching 12: Filial imprinting 13: Sexual imprinting 14: Fear behaviour 15: Alarm calling 16: Learning to feed 17: Social hierarchies in young chicks 18: Sleep 19: Cycles of Behaviour 20: Brain development after hatching 21: Asymmetrical development of the forebrain hemispheres 22: Cellular and molecular correlates of memory formation 23: Development of the commissures and decussations 24: Maturation of synapses 25: Behavioural transitions in early posthatching life 26: Transitions in general behaviour 27: Transitions in fear behaviour 28: Transitions in behaviours related to feeding 29: Transitions in eye and ear use 30: Summary of the rapid transition phases of development 31: Transitions into adult behaviour 32: Comparison with development in other species 33: Comparison to other avian species 34: Comparison to mammalian species 35: Can a brain be domesticated? 36: Cognitive abilities of birds 37: Issues of animal welfare
