Lorenz imprinting; von Frisch bee-dance; fixed-action patterns; releasers; Marler bird-song learning; Konishi sound-localization owl; electrolocation; Griffin-Galambos bat sonar; CPGs locomotion; locust flight control; command neurons;…
Neuroethology
Lorenz imprinting (filial)
Lorenz 1935 critical-period learning: greylag goslings follow first moving object after hatching; foundational ethology Nobel 1973 (Lorenz…
Von Frisch bee waggle dance
Bees encode food-source distance and direction in waggle-dance angle and duration; sun-azimuth reference frame; decoded by von Frisch…
Fixed-action pattern (FAP)
Stereotyped innate motor sequence triggered by sign-stimulus; once initiated runs to completion (Lorenz hydraulic model); e.g. graylag…
Releaser / sign stimulus
Tinbergen 1948 dummy experiments: red belly of male stickleback releases attack; supernormal stimulus (oversized red dummy elicits stronger…
Bird-song learning (Marler)
Marler 1970 white-crowned sparrow: critical-period (10-50 days) for tutor-song learning; sensorimotor template; cross-fostered birds learn…
Sound localization (barn owl, Konishi)
Konishi-Knudsen 1978 barn-owl auditory map in MLD inferior colliculus; ITD interaural time-difference (microseconds) encoded by Jeffress…
Electrolocation (weakly-electric fish)
Weakly-electric fish (Apteronotus mormyrid) emit EOD electric-organ-discharge and detect distortions to identify objects + prey; Lissmann…
Bat sonar (Griffin-Galambos)
Griffin-Galambos 1938 first proved bat echolocation; CF-FM signal types; Doppler-shift-compensation in horseshoe-bat (Schnitzler 1973);…
Central pattern generator (CPG) locomotion
Brown 1911 / Grillner 1985: spinal CPG generates rhythmic limb-pattern without descending input; lamprey swimming model; mammalian…
Locust flight control (Wilson)
Wilson 1961 desert-locust dorsal nerve cord generates flight-rhythm without sensory feedback; refuted Sherrington's pure-reflex view;…
Command neuron (Mauthner cell)
Mauthner 1859 / Faber-Korn 1978: single giant neuron in fish hindbrain triggers C-start escape via single AP; fastest reflex (~5 ms…
Jamming avoidance (electric fish, Heiligenberg)
Heiligenberg 1991 Eigenmannia: when conspecific EOD frequency near own, fish shifts EOD-frequency away; algorithm encoded in distributed…
Releaser stimulus (Tinbergen 1951)
N Tinbergen 1951 (Nobel 1973) sign-stimuli + IRMs; modern Hailman 2014 release-mechanism updates.
Echolocation (Griffin 1944)
D Griffin 1944 bat echolocation; modern Suga 1990 cortical-tonotopic-map for FM-bat sound-processing.
Electrosensory (Bullock 1973)
T Bullock 1973 + Heiligenberg 1991 jamming-avoidance-response; modern Aplostosus + Apteronotus species.
Magnetoreception (Wiltschko 1972)
Wiltschko-Wiltschko 1972 bird-magnetic-compass; modern radical-pair vs magnetite hypotheses; cryptochrome + light-dependent.
Song learning (Marler 1970)
P Marler 1970 song-learning critical-period in zebra-finch + white-crowned-sparrow; modern HVC-RA-AreaX + FOXP2.
Crayfish escape (Edwards)
Wine-Krasne 1972 + Edwards 1999 crayfish lateral-giant escape; modern command-neuron + sensory-motor decision-circuit model.