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The Neuromechanisms Of Resilience & Why It Is Vital To Dog Behaviour - Simply Behaviour - Applied Behaviour Analysis

The Neuromechanisms Of Resilience & Why It Is Vital To Dog Behaviour

Following a recent lecture given by one of the worlds experts in resilience we felt the need to explore possible applications, treatments and strategies that can be adopted to help our animals make better decisions. We are particularly keen to explore the way sentient beings can be provided with a support framework, that will help them be more resilient to potential stressful events and understand what processes we need to put in place. The aim is to help animals feel secure and less stressed. We can achieve this by being more consistent and by communicating via reinforcement. Whilst building a mutual understanding of the needs that need to be met which are for the good of the animal.

The more control an animal feels he has over his own environment and the ability to be able to communicate (training) his needs, the easier he will find it to make good decisions and the more resilient he will be.
Dr Dennis Charney gives a great lecture which is simplistic in its delivery and easy to follow.

Animal models provide great evidence for our understanding of behaviour. The similarities between the two, bring about a prescription of resilience, from a neurobiological perspective and gives a compelling argument to our world of pets, particularly our canines. After-all, they really do depend on us for everything. Animal models that are used to provide evidence for the resilience prescription can be applied to our canine friends.

So, what is resilience?

It is the adaptation of an organism to maintain normal physiological and behavioural systems, despite being exposed to significant psychological stress.

The animal and human models look at the way that the peripheral and central systems are coordinated throughout the organism. Particularly focusing on immunity, neurobiological, endocrine, the central nervous systems and how behaviour brings about resilience to stress.

The bodies successful application of adaptive stress response systems serves to maintain homeostasis. The biological mechanisms are collectively termed “allostasis”. This essentially means that physiological variations have to occur to maintain a state of dynamic equilibrium (homeostasis) in response to stressful situations. When allostasis becomes disproportionate to the situation, or does not cease, the mechanisms that once served a protective function, become pathological. This is called “allostatic load”. In the dog world, we often talk about trigger stacking. The result of this is damage both psychologically and physiologically. The organism will have an enhanced susceptibility to many disorders/reactions (Charney 2004).

We have put together an essential dog training resource pack with posters, training schedules, socialisation posters, habituation protocols and information resources for dog trainers, vets and behaviour people etc. Please go to the following link to get your posters http://www.simplybehaviour.com/course/essential-dog-trainers-resource-guide/

See samples below:

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Having a comprehension of these allostatic mechanisms will help us to protect and prevent unwanted problems before they occur. According to Charney (who is a great fan of mothers) having some stress, particularly in the developmental stages (for dogs this is the first 12 weeks) will help the animal to build up resilience. This is the critical time where you can expose his little brain to varying degrees of context, sound, sight, noise etc. This is the basis of the 7 day survival series for dog owners. This will get them on the right tracks with their resilience training.

The puppy 7 day survival guide takes us through the first 7 days of owning a pup and it is the crucial time to get that pup used to many different environments, potty training, basic training etc. All of the training schedules are available throughout the 7 day series. The format of this series is to give you a short video every day, a training task to complete and then the next day you will move onto a new exercise. At the end of the course you will get a certificate to say you have survived the first 7 days of owning a puppy, setting your dog up to be left etc.

According to Charney, we need to put our little ones in situations of some stress in order for them to be able to adapt. Whilst the concept of this is relative (we all have our own view of what is and what is not stressful) with dogs there are key things you can look out for that will tell you how he is feeling about his current situation. Step by step body language instructions are shown in day seven of this series. This includes an interaction with an unfamiliar dog, body language explanation etc. The recall guide is vital for any dog owner and teaching a default recall-sit protocol, in the presence of ANY perceived trigger, will prevent your dog from getting into nasty situations. That way you can assess the safety of the situation yourself and you can help set your dog up to make great decisions. He will learn to trust your judgement, it will make his environment more stable, more predictable, it enhances your communication/bond and then he will learn that he can always defer to you.

There is a whole topic here to consider and we suggest you look at the neurobiological mechanisms of attachment article if you want to find out more Attachment, Development and Emotion- A Neurobiological Perspective

The Seven Day Series:

Remember, prevention is better than cure. Setting him up to succeed is paramount for helping him to build resilience. The earlier you start the more chance you will have of him succeeding.

7 Day Recall Survival Guide (owner/enthusiast/professional)

7 Day Puppy Survival Guide (owner/enthusiast/professional)

7 Day Separation Anxiety Survival Guide (owner/enthusiast/professional)

7 Day Retrieve Survival Guide (owner/enthusiast/professional)

Resilience comes from the allostatic mechanisms in the HPA axis (hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal) and the interplay between the nervous system, immune system, endocrine system and the brain. Organisms adapt through the complex interplay within these system to help build psychological resilience to stress.

Early Experiences:

Inoculation against stress can be carried out in a number of ways. Please see our 7 day puppy survival guide to find out more about setting your dog up in the early stages. Habituation, socialisation & training  are essential tools in our handbook that will help animals promote resistance to stress.

These methods are centred around early exposure in the pre- and post-natal periods. Stress that is related to prenatal periods are those associated with the glucocorticoid system and for example food deprivation. Postnatal stress can be issues surrounding care, separation, altered glucorticoid activity. If early life stress is prolonged this affects he HPA axis and the glucocorticoid response. The brain structure is altered affecting emotion, learning, cognitive processes and behaviour (Lupien et al 2009).

To use a chemists analogy, if you add an acid and a base together quickly you will get an explosion. If you slowly titrate them you will get a salt plus water which is relatively inert. What we are saying, is that moderate stress will give more adaptive responses later in life than those exposed to severe stress. This has been demonstrated with experiments in primates and rodents. Parker et al 2005 demonstrated using squirrel monkeys that were separated from there mothers for periods, actually show great enhanced development during their cognitive stages. They showed emotional, cognitive, tolerance to novel environments, were more exploratory and were resilient to stressors.

Studies in rats have shown that early separation gives them a blunted HPA axis response to stress when they are older and improves cognitive abilities. Too much separation created the opposite effect and created despair type responses particularly in monkeys (Young et al 1973). To understand the neuroscience of puppy development please find the following article (please note the ages at which pups leave their home, varies across the world, in the UK it is about 6-8 weeks currently and other places in Europe are around 16 weeks, this has been a matter of debate with this article, so seemed poignant to point this out, so as to inoculate against the time that could be better spent understanding the neuro-mechanisms rather than this one small part of the article- ENJOY): The Neuroscience of puppy development. Start before you get him home

We have two pre-recorded seminars which focus on the neuroscience of behaviour: They will earn you CEU’s if you are a trainer and they cover the neuro mechanisms of training, behaviour and relating this to our practice. We talk about punishment, why we do not use it and what works from a neuro perspective to help us to teach the concept of replacing unwanted behaviour. We have a beginner and degree level seminar. You get a certificate of attendance which is downloadable once you have watched the seminar:

Introduction To the Science Of Behaviour (Beginners) Seminar

Introduction To the Neuroscience of Behaviour On-line Seminar (Degree level)

Stress that is chronic and unpredictable (CUS) has been a useful to help us understand resilience in animal models. Krishnan 2011 exposed animals to stress for a period up to 7 weeks. This included shocks, restraining, light disruption, food disruption and water restriction. I.e. the environment was made unsafe, unpredictable and unstable. What comes to mind here is the use of punishment and aversives in training our dogs. Things like shock collars and corrections serve no purpose to help an animal deal with stress and they do not teach the animal anything other than the fact that the environment is unsafe, please find explanation in the following article: http://www.simplybehaviour.com/fear-or-pain-inducing-techniques-the-facts/

Stress which is brought about by chronic social defeat (termed CSDS) has similar phenotype to the CUS. A study conducted by Golden et al in 2011 used exposure to an aggressive rodent. They found that the bullied rodent developed depressive symptoms, metabolic problems, weight gain and insulin insensitivity. They found that there was a milder phenotype in the more resilient mice. This was only treatable with anti-depressants.

Evidence shows that there are sex and age differences in rats and how much stress males can undergo, compared to females. This type of stress causes depression and anxiety related behaviour, anhedonia, dispair, less approach to novel items, decreased grooming, aggression and decreased sexual behaviour. The only way to reverse this behaviour (according to Willner 1997) is chronic antidepressant treatment. Due to the sex and age differences that seem to correlate with resilience it makes sense that investigation of the neural and hormonal basis of stress needs further exploration.

Cryan and Mombereau 2004 looked at the learned helplessness model. They exposed rodents to inescapable foot shocks and found that more susceptible animals displayed helplessness and were less likely to move away from the shock. There are behaviour and physiological changes associated with this paradigm, including weight loss, HPA dysregulation, hippocampus reduction (in the synapses). This model is reversible with anti-depressant treatment and does not last as long.

The neuroendocrine explanation of resilience:

Stress induces the autonomic nervous system and the pre-ganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system in the spine that project to the pre and paravertebral ganglionic neurons. The neurons stimulate the release of adrenaline from the adrenal medulla (where they terminate) and noradrenaline from the sympathetic nerve fibers (they terminate on the cardiovascular and visceral organs). These bring about activation of the autonomic nervous system in response to stress and lead to a change in the heart rate and vasoconstriction.

functional-organization-of-peripheral-nervous-system

Stress activates neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus to secrete corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopression (AVP). This is in the HPA axis. CRF and AVP are released into the hypophyseal portal system via the median eminence. This is important because it connects the hypothalamus with the pituitary gland. The anterior pituitary gland is then stimulated and releases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone).

ACTH helps to mobilise energy stores during stress, by activating glucocorticoid synthesis and release from the adrenal cortex. The adrenal cortex is innervated by the sympathetic nervous system. The ANS and HPA communicate and glucorticoids bring about the stress response which is dependant on the mediation of the ANS and is also responsible for vasoconstriction. Kearns et al 2012 have used the administration of glucocorticoids as a treatment they believe could possibly control the fear response and fear memory consolidation.

*Please remember the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the fight or flight response

Dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA releases cortisol in response to stress. This counters the effects of glucocorticoids. Human studies have looked at the ratio of DHEA/Cortisol and how they correlate negatively with the severity of symptoms (Yehuda et al 2006). It is thought that DHEA has a protective role in times of stress.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is co-released with noradrenaline from sympathetic nerves. This has a major role in emotion processing and depressive symptoms. Negatively perceived stimuli activate the prefrontal cortex (PFC), low expression of NPY increases neural responses to negative stimuli within the mPFC (medial prefrontal cortex) and antierior cingualte cortices. This appears to be genetically influenced.

The reproductive hormones in the Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal (HPG) axis have a prominent role in resilience to stress. The age and sex related evidence indicates that there are hormone fluctuations during growth and development that have a major part to play.

Oestrogen supports cognitive processes, is involved n catecholamine and monoamine neurotransmission, regulates expression of transcription factors and neurotrophins (Epperson 2014). It is also involved in the activation of the stress response in the brain and influences the reward circuitry. This is dependant on the menstrual cycle stage. Oestrogen levels when low or when they fluctuate lead to vulnerability. This could be due to the increasing levels of A MAO-A. This is an enzyme involved in programmed cell death and oxidative stress.

Testosterone is potentially a positive resilience factor for males. It has a strong correlation to social connections, feelings of positivity and low levels have been found in males suffering stress.  Testosterone has emerged as a potential pro-resilience factor in men (Russo et al., 2012). Some studies have suggested testosterone as a treatment mechanism (Pope et al 2003)

hakira amri phd

Image from Hakima Amri PhD

Liu et al 1997 showed that handled rats display more licking and grooming behaviour. This correlated with the stress induced plasma levels of ACTH and Corticosterone. The hippocampus expresses more glucorticoid receptors, greater sensitivity and feedback on the CRF & AVP. Further research has implicated the role of thyroid nerve growth factors, transcription factors, epigenetic factors and serotonin activity. This effectively attentuates the way that the HPA deals with its response to stress.

There is evidence to suggest that the sex hormones have an effect on resilience and organisms vulnerability to stress. This is a highly complicated, time dependant and developmental. Studies using animal models show that females have greater cognitive resilience to stress. This is due to the sex differences in hippocampus morphology & corticosteroid receptor sensitivity between the sexes. Stress effects learning, immunoreactivity (male rat hippocampus) and dentritic growth. It was shown in male, but not female rats. Most research has focused on the maternal environment. Rodgers et al 2013 showed the role of paternal stress in susceptibility, mice with fathers who were exposed to CUS showed HPA hypoactivity and his affects paternal sperm and expression of RNA. There is a complex interplay between genetics, environment and epigenetics in stress resilience.

The immune system has been considered with the proposal of the “cytokine hypothesis of depression” Maes et al., 2009. This simply states that the abnormalities which are observed such as HPA axis activity, decreased neurogenesis, neurodegeneration, serotinergic dysfunction of signals and oxidative stress. This would indicate that there is some kind of inflammatory response and cytokine release in response to psychological stress. Cytokines are released by leukocytes and they are proteins which get released at the site of infection. They cross the blood brain barrier and are involved in sickness behaviour such as withdrawal, disinterest in food etc.

Corticosterone works to repress the immune system when stressed, this is compromised in more vulnerable mice but resilience is maintained in more confident mice. Studies provide evidence for animals which links stress and vulnerability to the sympathetic nervous system and how it mediates leukocytosis. Trying to elucidate the immune mechanisms of resilience is an interesting prospect, as it would be feasible to target peripheral systems with monoclonal antibodies and this could be are much more targeted approach. Therefore giving us more exact answers to the mechanisms involved.

Cytokines get into the CNS via Vagal nerves (the Vagus nerve is cranial nerve X and responsible for keeping the parasympathetic nervous system in check, it is responsible for the gut instinct and the only nerve that has fibers going to the brain, it seems to work independantly- see the neuroscience seminars for further explanation on this)  and the neural pathway. They go across the humoral pathway and are within the microglia and resident brain macrophages. Inflammation influences behaviour by activating the HPA axis, glucocorticoid-induced atrophy and excitatory plasticity of synapses. Stress induced inflammatory responses involve the Interleukins (these are a group of cytokines and involved in the immune response).  Sapolsky et al 1987 showed that stress induced by IL-1B (a type of Interleukin) modulates HPA Axis, stimulates release of CRF from the hypothalamus and then release of ACTH.

The mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry, is the main area of interest when we discuss resilience. It serves adaptive mechanisms that help to focus attention on rewards that will ensure the survival of the individual. This brain area contains neurons from the hippocampus, Nucleus Accumbens (NAc), amygdala, Ventral tegmental area (VTA), Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), lateral hypothalamus and the lateral habenula.

Please see image of the brain circuitry involved in resilience and stress. Image from Charney et al

brain circuitry

 

 

The VTA neurons release dopamine (in response to reward, consumption and also in response to aversive stimuli). These neurons project into the GABAergic MSNs (medium spiny neurons) of the NAc within the ventral striatum. There are two pathways that travel between the NAc and VTA direct and indirect. This pathway has been implicated in depressive states. This has been represented by a reduction in activity and also volume.

There are epigenetic and transcription factors in the reward circuitry that implicate resilience to stress and behaviour. One of the factors is called FosB. This is upregulated in the NAc in response to stress. Over expression is associated with behavioural resilience and antagonism is involved with susceptibility. Phasic firing of neurons in the NAc, projecting to the VTA, brought on by stress, is sufficient to bring about depressed behaviour. Normal dopamine firing, activation and signally seem to be allostatically maintained in resilient mice. The mechanisms driving the susceptibility seem less understood. There seems to be some involvement in the potassium channel currents (K+ channels play a crucial role in action potentials, bringing cells back to their resting state). This is a potential therapeutic angle.

For a basic understanding of the neuroscience of behaviour, using evidence from current animal models, further explanation of the brain areas discussed and the relevance to behaviour, please go to the following pre-recorded online seminars:
Introduction To the Science Of Behaviour (Beginners) Seminar

Introduction To the Neuroscience of Behaviour On-line Seminar (Degree level)

Glutamate and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been shown through genetic mapping to be involved in the neurotransmitter response to signalling stress and therefore in susceptibility to anxiety. The interaction between genes and environment is a better way to explain individual variations in stress resilience. Polymorphisms (single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNP’s) were most significantly observed in the enzyme glutamate decarboxylase. NPY is also a factor in determining susceptibility. The great news is, that findings from rodent models are generally consistent with other animals. An animal in a state of chronic stress will have a loss of synapses on the glutamatergic neurons in the PFC and remodelling of synapses also occurs in the NAc, Christoffel et al 2011. Mice that are vulnerable, show increased density in the NAc MSN’s glutametergic synapses which indicates that the pre-synaptic release is altered.

Shown below: Courtesy of Charney et al

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Evidence from the PFC shows agreement with the models current for resilience to stress. The parameters of anatomy, physiology, allostatic mechanisms and firing patterns needs further understanding in more resilient animals so we can fully understand the changes that occur in the reward circuitry.

Colin Stopper at the University of British Columbia has identified a brain region called the Lateral Habenula (LH). It is very small and sits near the pineal gland. It has been shown to link to negative behaviour and is fundamental to the process of how decisions are made.

Image courtesy of Nature

lateral habenula rodent

The LH it would seem is responsible for potentially life altering choices. It was originally thought to be part of some kind of punishment system, but it was found to be the area responsible for subjective preference. When the LH was inactivated, it was found that rats did not really have a preference for the larger or smaller rewards on offer.

It is not necessarily a breakthrough as a treatment model for stress related behaviour, more of a relay node that seems to play a critical role. It connects several brain regions that are implicated in mood control (such as the VTA and the Raphe Nucleus). We know it plays a role in mediating states relating to mood, reward and motivation that are negative or aversive. There has been some evidence that it has shown some antidepressant action when its activity is manipulated. In a food shock experiment with rodents it was found that there was an increased activity in the habenula and this was correlated with activity in other brain regions such as VTA, Hypothalamus etc. There seems to be a group of brain regions that are involved in sensitivity to stress and this involves the habenula and lateral septum.

Please see suggested pathways:

Image from Nature

reward processing lateral habenula image courtesy of nature

There are several pathways involving habenula. Neurotransmitters that on the LH are glutamate, GABA, acetylecholine and vasopressin. Some evidence suggests that dopamine and 5-HT are involved. What we need to know is, how these systems regulate motivational behaviour and how this could help us gain more of an insight into therapeutic strategies.

In summary:

  • Psychological stress is shown to alter the way that the brain functions
  • There are psycho-biological mechanisms involved in the way animals are resilient to stress
  • You can use training, habituation and support networks (social groups) to support and enrich any organism to enable resilience.
  • Please see our instructor level training courses which will provide a support framework to enable your clients to make better decisions with their dogs, reinforcing desired behaviours and promoting more consistency and resilience in their every day lives.

Heel Work Instructor Course

Puppy Training Classes Instructor Course

Recall Instructor Course

Introduction To the Science Of Behaviour (Beginners) Seminar

Introduction To the Neuroscience of Behaviour On-line Seminar (Degree level)

This is the chart that Charney suggested (based on his research) to be the elements important for resilience.

resilience prescription southwick and charney

Our adaptation to his prescription for your canine friends:

He suggests training regularly in multiple areas (contexts). Training rigorously brings about change and it requires systematic and disciplined activity. This will help to build emotional intelligence and physical endurance. These are important aspects in the ability of an organism to cope and be resilient. So, having a dog and not training him is not giving him the best environment to become resilient. People do not have to go overboard, just ten minutes a day, or whatever people an manage, but something is better than nothing and doing it in a reward only based way will be great for his self esteem!!.

Training will also help to build consistent boundaries that give the  environment more stability and making it more predictable (as mentioned in the stress inducing tasks earlier- an unpredictable environment with lots of uncertainty can lead to stress)

Recognise the character strengths in your animal. What does he enjoy doing? can you find a way to engage with him with something he enjoys. Please learn that there can be a fine line between this and obsession to the point of constant over arousal states (as frequently seen in people who think that throwing a ball for hours for their dog is doing them good, sometimes this is making a problem and stressing the dog out).

Ideas are:

Kongs, scentwork, training the basic commands with food, hiding things, affection, verbal praise (these last two should always be in your tool kit), finding things that you hide, tricks etc..

Learn to recognise when your dog is needing space, teaching him a nice safe place to settle where he might benefit from not being disturbed. Never allow your children to jump all over him or treat him like a toy, this is where bites come out of nowhere (they never do)- See ladder of aggression:

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We have developed the essential dog trainers resource guide to help trainers, vets etc. educate dog owners.

Go to: Essential Training Resource Guide

Studies on rats that are habituated to being handled show that they demonstrate more affectionate behaviour towards each other. This is great evidence to show how the benefits of affectionate, compassionate handling will greatly enhance the quality of your dogs life and teach him how to pay it forward.

A satisfactory, respectful relationship which is supportive, understanding and mutually beneficial is far more likely to bring about a more resilient pup. As mentioned in the lecture, some stress (with these foundations in place obviously) will help provide them with more of a foundation of resilience. Charney says it is not necessarily time specific. However, with dogs,evidence shows that in the critical period there are some things (like bite inhibition) that have to be learnt before a certain time (see critical periods for puppy development, taken from the essential training resource guide- also available in all of the other courses):

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It is also found that, if there is a lack of social support, functioning relationships, insecure attachments, poor socialisation and communication there is  greater cognitive avoidance and less resilience to stress.

Strength is obtained through relationships, friendships, communication and a perceived safety net in times of stress. This is one of the reasons why it is imperative not to punish your dog if he vocalises in the presence of other dogs. You can teach him to avoid, you can show him to give another behaviour and you can even avoid interactions all together. Inhibiting any desire to communicate (because that is basically what he is doing- even if you think he is being aggressive) is going to suppress and make the behaviour worse. If you give him the perception that he cannot communicate (turning off his signals with punishment) and make him feel that he does not have a safety net in a times of  potential stress, he will be less resilient and probably more reactive.

Charney promotes the importance of physical exercise. This improves mood, increases self esteem and has many knock on effects such as neurogenesis, cognition, regulation of emotion, immune function etc.

Role models are important. Always lead by example. You will be surprised just how much great behaviour you can foster in your pup if you show him love, affection and understanding. Never serving to turn off his behaviour.

Practise to face fears. This would be useful only with a qualified trainer who does not subscribe to flooding. Please see iaabc.org or ISCP to find out more about his. We are great fans of learning and practising the skills necessary to move through fear. This has to be done so that allostatic load is not reached (or trigger stacking). The habituation schedule in the critical period should be worked through to help with stress inoculation. Remember, if your dog is showing disproportionate responses, take him home, give him a cortisol holiday and call a behaviour professional who does not subscribe to alpha, dominance or pack theory.

By punishing reactivity (which is communication) you are not helping your animal to develop active coping skills. You can train and reinforce an alternate behaviour and above all, the outcome should be that you minimize the appraisal of threat and create a positive rewarding environment which is consistent and has predictability.

To develop resilience then it is likely that exposure to manageable stress in the developmental stages (seen in squirrels, rodents, dogs etc) is associated with reduced behaviour and hormonal responses later in life. The higher degree of control an animal has over his own stress the better the outcome.

The more rewarding the environment the less likely you are to get learned helplessness (which comes with punishment experiments). The more optimistic your animal will be about exploring and the more resilient he will be to stress.

As humans we seem to be more resilient if we embrace a moral compass, have set core beliefs, have faith and spiritual beliefs. Obviously dogs do not have that. You are their world and your are their set of core beliefs. They need you to provide a stable framework for them to develop their own moral/social compass…

In Summary:

Resilience comes from environmental, genetic, physiological, developmental and psychological factors. If there is a genetic predisposition the environment seems to play an important part. Development is always key, but not necessarily a determining factor. Social support networks and a safe environment with plenty of training and physical stimulation are all factors determining resilience. In the HPA axis, genes related to certain types of receptors have been shown to be involved. Increases in noradrenaline increases anxiety, decreases in NPY, increases in cortisol, increased CRH contribute in some way. Increases in DHEA leads to resilience and the genetic factors involved in the serotonin transporter gene has behavioural and genetic implications in resilience too. Testosterone levels are shown to decrease in extreme stress, not to mention the immunological responses that seems to play a major factor. The mechanisms still need much understanding, but the take home message from Charney is that the environment alone could reverse earlier chronic stress experiences if the support and appropriate training is achieved ( and pharmacological intervention where appropriate). He is a great fan of mothers and a great fan of helping animals work outside their comfort zone. This is only relevant without impingement on the cognitive load of the animal. Allostatic loads has many negative effects including brain plasticity. Communication, socialisation, exercise, challenge and training seem to be the key factors pertaining to resilience, from a behavioural perspective.

 Published Articles:

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positive reinforcement training in dogs

 Please Click On: Authors Biography, to find out more.

Upcoming Articles:

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Upcoming Courses:

  • Neuroscience Of Puppy Development- A short course to cover the neural mechanisms of puppy development.
  • The Neuroscience Of Emotions In Training/Behaviour – A course covering the basics to help you understand and consider affective states to help you approach your training from the emotional perspective of the animal.
  • Clinical Aggression (protocols, understanding, training) A practical course, covering all of the latest research to give you a science based approach to understanding these challenges.
  • 6 Week Gundog Course- This covers the basics to set your dog up with the foundations. This will get him ready to go into the field. We use clicker training and science methods only. We help you build your dog from reliable foundations of trust and a solid bond.
  • How To Market Your Animal Business- How to win, maintain, grow your business with effective marketing & business development strategies. How to work as a team with your client to build solution based understanding and employ realistic & effective protocols. We will cover an interactive role play (workshop) to help develop your “influencing” skills and to help build your confidence in client based environments. How to go that extra mile but making sure you get a return on your efforts and reduce time wasted.
  • Resource Guarding- A working protocol with practical tips. This will cover dog-dog & dog-human resource management and modification techniques to build trust and build positive associations

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References:

Coping and PTSD symptoms in Pakistani earthquake survivors: Purpose in life, religious coping and social support

Adriana Federcorrespondence1email, Samoon Ahmad1, Elisa J. Lee, Julia E. Morgan, Ritika Singh, Bruce W. Smith, Steven M. Southwick, Dennis S. Charney
1Both authors contributed equally.
Received: October 2, 2012; Accepted: October 23, 2012;

Donner], Sipild T, Ripatti 5, Kananen L, Chen X, Kend/er K5, Ldnnqvist J, Pirkola S, Hettema JM, Hovatta I. 59
2012. Am J Med Genet Part B 159B:316—327.

Mickey BJ, Zhou Z, Heitzeg MM, Heinz E, Hodgkinson CA, Hsu DT, Langenecker SA, Love TM, Pecifia M, Shafir T, 50
Stohler CS, Goldman D, Zubieta J-K, Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 February;68(2):158-166

Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak RH, Southwick SM., Psychiatry, 2012 Summer; 75(2).’135-49

Lateral Habenula in Stress and Resilience Neumaier, John F. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

Increased metabolic activity in the septum and habenula during stress is linked to subsequent expression of learned helplessness behavior.
Mirrione, Schulz D, Lapidus K, Zhang S, Goodman W, Henn F.

The Role of Habenula in Motivation and Reward 2014 Marc Fakhoury and Sergio Domínguez López

svsporngames.com