Defensive Behavior Research Articles

Beyond Blame: Fostering an Accountability Culture Through Shared Leadership

This article discusses how organizations can move beyond a toxic "blame culture" and instead foster an "accountability culture" where teams share responsibility for both successes and failures. It explains how attribution biases and a lack of psychological safety enable defensive behaviors in blame cultures. Strategies are provided for leaders to establish accountability, including distributing leadership through cross-functional teams, facilitating regular feedback sessions, promoting data-driven problem solving, framing failures in terms of customer impact, and role modeling transparency. Case studies of Toyota, IDEO product design, and patient safety initiatives demonstrate how accountability cultures prioritize continual learning and collaboration over fault-finding. When teams focus on understanding root causes and preventing future mistakes rather than assigning blame, organizations can sustain high performance through innovation and resilience.

Eyespots: Supernatural or supernormal? A case study from Papua New Guinea

AbstractEyespots are found across many taxa, usually for predator intimidation. In human artefacts, eye designs have been presumed to have an apotropaic function (warding off supernatural evil and envy) rather than an evolutionary function related to protection from agonistic interactions. We hypothesised that, instead, eyespot designs may have been used in human cultures for intimidation of opponents (deimatic display). We examined 1,070 objects from Papua New Guinea, where eyespots are frequently displayed on various objects. We predicted that objects used for guarding or protection would be more likely to have eyespots than domestic objects. Chi-square tests of independence showed that significantly more canoe prows and shields and fewer domestic objects had eyespots than expected. Furthermore, we surveyed 81 respondents, showing objects with and without eyespot patterns. Chi-square tests showed that objects with eyespots elicited significantly more fear and anxiety related emotions, and non-eyespot designs elicited more calm and relaxed emotions than expected. Thus, objects with eyespots were considered more intimidating than those displaying geometric, or plain designs. This research provides empirical evidence for the use of eyespot designs for deimatic display in humans and possible convergent evolution of eyespots due to gene – culture coevolution.

Football Defensive Actions Development in Small-Sided and Conditioned Games With Offensive Goals

With the use of small-sided and conditioned games (SSCGs), non-linear pedagogy (NLP), which is based on the ecological dynamics approach, has arisen with the aim of fostering a holistic perspective and optimizing players’ tactical offensive and defensive behavior’s. Given the potential injury and health risks associated with insufficiently structured training, such as overtraining or inadequate tactical preparation, the implementation of evidence-based approaches like NLP is crucial. In this study, the indirect impacts of an NLP-based intervention program (task design based on tactical attack principles and assaulting team’s numerical advantage) were examined in decision-making (DM) and execution (Ex) in U14 football defense technical-tactical actions. Twelve training sessions, split over two phases—preintervention and intervention—involved eighteen players (aged U14). 600 defensive actions measured during competitive matches were examined using the Game Performance Evaluation Tool (GPET) tool. The results revealed significant gains in marking (to the player with the ball: DM, p = 0.001; Ex, p = 0.001; and to the player without the ball: DM, p = 0.039; Ex, p = 0.046), blocking (DM, p = 0.015), and help- coverage (Ex, p = 0.014) actions. The interception and tackle actions did not differ noticeably. According to the results of this study, the NLP approach provides a suitable theoretical framework for fostering the development of defensive tactical behavior in football. Not all acts, though, saw improvements. In order to build technical-tactical training processes based on the phases of the football game (offensive and defensive) and taking the level of opposition into consideration, trainers should design representative tasks.

Amygdalar involvement in respiratory dysfunction.

The brainstem has long been recognized as the major respiratory control center, but it has become increasingly appreciated that areas upstream of the brainstem modulate respiration and airway defensive behaviors. This review aims to define the role of the amygdala, a key temporal brain region essential for limbic function, in respiration and airway defenses. We summarize literature describing roles for the amygdala in control of respiration, swallow, cough, airway smooth muscle contraction, and mucus secretion. We emphasize the need to understand how the amygdala regulates these functions both at a local scale and network scale and identify knowledge gaps for current and future investigations. Lastly, we highlight literature suggesting that amygdala dysfunction may contribute to respiratory dysfunction.

Astrocyte-derived dominance winning reverses chronic stress-induced depressive behaviors

Individuals with low social status are at heightened risk of major depressive disorder (MDD), and MDD also influences social status. While the interrelationship between MDD and social status is well-defined, the behavioral causality between these two phenotypes remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the behavioral relationships between depressive and dominance behaviors in male mice exposed to chronic restraint stress and the role of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) astrocytes in these behaviors. Chronic restraint stress induced both depressive and submissive behaviors. Chemogenetic mPFC astrocyte activation significantly enhanced dominance in chronic stress-induced submissive mice by increasing the persistence of defensive behavior, although it did not affect depressive behaviors. Notably, repetitive winning experiences following mPFC astrocyte stimulation exerted anti-depressive effects in chronic restraint stress-induced depressive mice. These data indicate that mPFC astrocyte-derived winning experience renders anti-depressive effects, and may offer a new strategy for treating depression caused by low status in social hierarchies by targeting mPFC astrocytes.

An escape-enhancing circuit involving subthalamic CRH neurons mediates stress-induced anhedonia in mice

Chronic predator stress (CPS) is an important and ecologically relevant tool for inducing anhedonia in animals, but the neural circuits underlying the associated neurobiological changes remain to be identified. Using cell-type-specific manipulations, we found that corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the medial subthalamic nucleus (mSTN) enhance struggle behaviors in inescapable situations and lead to anhedonia, predominately through projections to the external globus pallidus (GPe). Recordings of in vivo neuronal activity revealed that CPS distorted mSTN-CRH neuronal responsivity to negative and positive stimuli, which may underlie CPS-induced behavioral despair and anhedonia. Furthermore, we discovered presynaptic inputs from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) to mSTN-CRH neurons projecting to the GPe that were enhanced following CPS, and these inputs may mediate such behaviors. This study identifies a neurocircuitry that co-regulates escape response and anhedonia in response to predator stress. This new understanding of the neural basis of defensive behavior in response to predator stress will likely benefit our understanding of neuropsychiatric diseases.

First record of male-male combat in the Yellow-bellied Puffing Snake Spilotes sulphureus (Wagler, 1824)

Abstract Male ritual combat is an intraspecific agonistic interaction associated with competition for food, mating and territory and has been described for several neotropical snakes. Here, we provide the first record of male-male combat in Spilotes sulphureus in Brazilian Atlantic Forest based on one fortuitous videotaped encounter. Males remained partially coiled in a vertical position during combat and performed various displays (e.g., downward push, tumble, vertical display and orientation, dorsal hyperextension, pinning and lyre-shaped) including some that were also observed during defensive behaviour (e.g., gular inflation, neck S-coil and latero-lateral flattening). Our observations bring new information about the natural history of S. sulphureus and show that this species shares some aspects of male-male combat with other colubrids, including S. pullatus, but a more in-depth study is necessary to understand the reproductive biology of this species.

Peripersonal space: why so last-second?

A vast range of neurophysiological, neuropsychological and behavioural results in monkeys and humans have shown that the immediate surroundings of the body, also known as peripersonal space (PPS), are processed in a unique way. Three roles have been ascribed to PPS mechanisms: to react to threats, to avoid obstacles and to act on objects. However, in many circumstances, one does not wait for objects or agents to enter PPS to plan these behaviours. Typically, one has more chances to survive if one starts running away from the lion when one sees it in the distance than if it is a few steps away. PPS makes sense in shortsighted creatures but we are not such creatures. The crucial question is thus twofold: (i) why are these adaptive processes triggered only at the last second or even milliseconds? And (ii) what is their exact contribution, especially for defensive and navigational behaviours? Here, we propose that PPS mechanisms correspond to a plan B, useful in unpredictable situations or when other anticipatory mechanisms have failed. Furthermore, we argue that there are energetic, cognitive and behavioural costs to PPS mechanisms, which explain why this plan B is triggered only at the last second. This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.

Reproductive Biology and Rearing Improvements of Apanteles opuntiarum, Potential Biocontrol Agent of the Argentine Cactus Moth, Cactoblastis cactorum.

The cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is native to South America and has been used as a biocontrol agent of Opuntia (Cactaceae) in Australia and South Africa. Its invasion in North America has raised concerns for the native Opuntia in the USA and Mexico. We investigated the reproductive biology and rearing procedures of a host-specific potential biocontrol agent, Apanteles opuntiarum Martínez and Berta (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Given the gregarious nature of the parasitoid larvae, we studied the morphology of the immature stages and evaluated evidence of polyembryony and superparasitism. We also investigated the effects of host exposure arena and host density on parasitism rates and wasp production. The morphological descriptions provide a basis for comparison with other species. Early larval instars of A. opuntiarum are similar to other microgastrine immature stages. However, the mature larva exhibits placoid sensilla in the epistomal region, a unique character not previously reported. We provide evidence that A. opuntiarum eggs are not polyembryonic; females frequently superparasitize and have an oviposition preference for larvae parasitized 1-2 d previously. Exposing larvae of C. cactorum to wasps while inside the cactus resulted in lower parasitism and fewer offspring from each host than exposing larvae in the arena without the cactus. Parasitism and mortality rates were higher at lower host densities, possibly due to reduced host group defensive behavior. These results suggest that preference for superparasitism, host defensive behavior, and interactions with the cactus may play an important role in per-host wasp production under laboratory conditions.

MSPB: a longitudinal multi-sensor dataset with phenotypic trait measurements from honey bees

We present a one-year-long multi-sensor dataset collected from honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) with rich phenotypic measurements. Data were collected non-stop from April 2020 to April 2021 from 53 hives located at two apiaries in Québec, Canada. The sensor data included audio features, temperature, and relative humidity. The phenotypic measurements contained beehive population, number of brood cells (eggs, larva and pupa), Varroa destructor infestation levels, defensive and hygienic behaviors, honey yield, and winter mortality. Our study is amongst the first to combine a wide variety of phenotypic trait measurements annotated by apicultural science experts with multi-sensor data, which facilitate a broader scope of analysis. We first summarize the data collection procedure, sensor data pre-processing steps, and data composition. We then provide an overview of the phenotypic data distribution as well as a visualization of the sensor data patterns. Lastly, we showcase several hive monitoring applications based on sensor data analysis and machine learning, such as winter mortality prediction, hive population estimation, and the presence of an active and laying queen.

Nitric oxide-signalling affects panic-like defensive behaviour and defensive antinociception neuromodulation in the prelimbic cerebral cortex

Rationale: The prelimbic division (PrL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key structure in panic. Objectives: To evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in defensive behaviour and antinociception. Methods: Either Nω-propyl-L-arginine (NPLA) or Carboxy-PTIO was microinjected in the PrL cortex, followed by hypothalamic treatment with bicuculline. The exploratory behaviours, defensive reactions and defensive antinociception were recorded. Encephalic c-Fos protein was immunolabelled after escape behaviour. Results: NPLA (an inhibition of nNOs) decreased panic-like responses and innate fear-induced antinociception. The c-PTIO (a membrane-impermeable NO scavenger) decreased the escape behaviour. PrL cortex pre-treatment with c-PTIO at all doses decreased defensive antinociception. c-Fos protein was labelled in neocortical areas, limbic system, and mesencephalic structures. Conclusion: The NPLA and c-PTIO in the PrL/mPFC decreased the escape behaviour and defensive antinociception organised by medial hypothalamic nuclei. The oriented escape behaviour recruits neocortical areas, limbic system, and mesencephalic structures. These findings suggest that the organisation of defensive antinociception recruits NO-signalling mechanisms within the PrL cortex. Furthermore, the present findings also support the role of NO as a retrograde messenger in the PrL cortex during panic-like emotional reactions.

A “head-like” component of a terrestrial robot promotes anxiety-like and defensive behaviors

A “head-like” component of a terrestrial robot promotes anxiety-like and defensive behaviors

D-Limonene reduces depression-like behaviour and enhances learning and memory through an anti-neuroinflammatory mechanism in male rats subjected to chronic restraint stress.

D-limonene is a widely used flavouring additive in foods, beverages and fragrances due to its pleasant lemon-like odour. This study aimed to investigate the effects of D-limonene on the central nervous system when subjected to chronic restraint stress in rats for 21 days. Forty rats were randomly divided into five groups: i) control, ii) D-limonene, iii) restraint stress, iv) restraint stress+D-limonene and v) restraint stress+fluoxetine. Following the induction of restraint stress, the sucrose preference test, the open field test, the novel object recognition test and the forced swimming test were performed. The levels of BDNF, IL-1β, IL-6 and caspase-1 were measured from hippocampal tissue using the ELISA method. Sucrose preference test results showed an increase in consumption rate in the stress+D-limonene and a decrease in the stress group. The stress+D-limonene group reversed the increased defensive behaviour observed in the open-field test compared to the stress group. In the novel object recognition test, the discrimination index of the stress+D-limonene group increased compared to the stress group. BDNF levels increased in the stress+limonene group compared to the stress group. In contrast, IL-1β and caspase-1 levels increased in the stress group compared to the control and decreased in the stress+limonene group compared to the stress group. In this study, D-limonene has been found to have antidepressant-like properties, reducing anhedonic and defensive behaviours and the impairing effects of stress on learning and memory tests. It was observed that D-limonene showed these effects by alleviating neuroinflammation induced by chronic restraint stress in rats.

Assessing the effects of temperature, diet and threat conditions on defensive behaviour and venom regeneration in scorpion (Buthusatlantis)

Understanding animal's behaviour and adaptation in the face of threats and predators under different biotic and abiotic conditions is fundamental in ecology. In this study we examined defensive behaviour of Buthus atlantis scorpion in order to assess how various factors such as temperature, prey type, and threatening conditions influence stinging behaviour, venom usage and regeneration. Our study had revealed that stings frequency was significantly lower in cooler temperature compared to the medium and warm temperature. Threatening condition had no significant effect in medium and warmer temperature, the difference between the two conditions was only significant in the cooler temperature. Conversely, we had shown that venom expenditure in B. atlantis is regulated by both temperature and threatening conditions. Our results show that scorpions maintained in higher temperatures yielded the greatest amount of venom compared to those in lower temperatures. Analyses of proteins concentration according to temperature and diet variation had revealed that scorpions placed in intermediate (25 °C) and warmer temperature (40 °C) had a significantly higher venom proteins concentration when compared to the cooler temperature (10 °C). Results also showed that scorpions adjust their venom usage based on their perception of danger, which can be influenced by temperature.

Who should be responsible? Responsibility attribution and public response to data security risks in China’s intelligent connected vehicles

As the global Internet of Vehicles (IoV) industry continues to expand, the associated risks, such as data security, software vulnerabilities, communication hijacking, and privacy breaches in intelligent connected vehicles, have become increasingly severe. This issue has emerged as an urgent concern for governments worldwide. Understanding the public's attribution of responsibility for these risks, the factors influencing such attributions, and how these attributions affect public response behaviors is crucial for creating an effective risk communication environment and promoting the healthy development of the IoV industry. Our study categorizes public response behaviors into defensive and positive coping behaviors on the basis of attitudes toward risk. We conduct surveys within and empirical analyses of major Chinese cities where intelligent connected vehicles are predominantly used and perform a heterogeneity analysis among cities of different administrative levels to explore how the public attributes responsibility and reacts to these risks. Data from 523 respondents indicate that while both types of response behaviors are influenced by risk perception and sources of information, only positive coping behaviors are affected by the attribution of responsibility. Responsibility attribution itself is influenced by risk perception, an individual's occupation, and information sources. Additionally, cities of different administrative levels show slight variations in the relationships among responsibility attribution, information sources, and response behaviors.

Understanding and managing the link between firms’ strategic risk-taking and salespeople’s defensive behavior in price negotiations

This study investigates how firms’ strategic risk-taking affects salespeople’s defensive behavior in price negotiations with clients, a major performance driver for firms. Despite the importance of firms’ strategy for salespeople’s job activities, research has thus far neglected it as an antecedent of salespeople’s negotiation behavior. Drawing on the expectancy theory, we theorize and test (1) how a firm’s risk-taking strategy affects a salesperson’s defensive behavior in price negotiations and (2) which levers sales managers must handle to control this relationship to the firm’s benefit. To this end, we conduct a multi-method investigation comprising a scenario experiment with 134 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople and an online survey with 377 B2B salespeople. The results reveal that in negotiations with clients, salespeople tend to show lower effort in defending their firm’s position when they perceive the firm’s strategy as risk-oriented. Importantly, sales managers can counteract this negative effect by bolstering salespeople’s instrumentality and expectancy of defending the firm’s position during price negotiations: When salespeople receive outcome-based compensation, particularly combined with pricing authority, the negative impact of the firm’s risk-taking strategy on salespeople’s defensive behavior is reduced.

Inhibitory effects of toxic Dolichospermum flos-aquae and anatoxin-a on inducible defenses of Daphnia magna

Cyanobacterial blooms, resulting from serious eutrophication, can produce various cyanotoxins and severely disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Inducible defenses are adaptive traits developed by prey in response to predation risks. However, the effects of the increasing proportion of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins produced during cyanobacterial blooms on the inducible defenses of cladocerans, particularly in terms of behavioral defenses, remain unclear. In this study, we selected Daphnia magna and investigated the defensive traits against predation risks by the predator Rhodeus ocellatus under different ratios of cyanobacteria (Dolichospermum flos-aquae) and green algae (Scenedesmus obliquus), as well as varying concentrations of anatoxin-a (ATX), a cyanotoxin. We recorded the inducible defensive traits involving to morphology, behavior, and offspring production of D. magna. Results showed that the body length of D. magna at sexual maturity and the number of offspring in the first brood were significantly reduced by the presence of D. flos-aquae. Moreover, when the proportion of D. flos-aquae reached 75% and 100%, D. magna did not develop to sexual maturity. Furthermore, D. flos-aquae inhibited the formation of inducible behavioral defense of D. magna, with a stronger inhibitory effect as the proportion of D. flos-aquae increased. In this experiment, the effects of ATX on the morphological traits at sexual maturity and offspring production of D. magna were minor, but ATX still had the potential to inhibit the formation of inducible behavioral defense. We confirmed that changes in the proportion of cyanobacteria and green algae as well as the production of ATX by cyanobacteria during cyanobacterial blooms can affect the growth, development, and inducible defensive traits of cladocerans, potentially altering their population dynamics during such events.

Effects of Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Modulation of Lateral Habenula Excitability and Motivated Behavior.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a significant health burden due to mTBI-related chronic debilitating cognitive and psychiatric morbidities. Recent evidence from our laboratory suggests a possible dysregulation within reward/motivational circuit function at the level of a subcortical structure, the lateral habenula (LHb), where we demonstrated a causal role for hyperactive LHb in mTBI-induced motivational deficits in self-care grooming behavior in young adult male mice when exposed to mTBI during late adolescence (at ∼8 weeks old). In this study, we extended this observation by further characterizing neurobehavioral effects of this repetitive closed head injury model of mTBI in both young adult male and female mice on LHb excitability, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) modulation of LHb activity, and behavioral responses of motivation to self-care behavior and approach versus avoidance behavior in the presence of a social- or threat-related stimulus. We show that mTBI increases LHb spontaneous tonic activity in female mice similar to what we previously observed in male mice, as well as promoting LHb neuronal hyperexcitability and hyperpolarization-induced LHb bursting in both male and female mice. Interestingly, mTBI only increases LHb intrinsic excitability in male mice coincident with higher levels of the hyperpolarization-activated cation currents (HCN/Ih) and reduces levels of the M-type potassium currents while potentiating M-currents without altering intrinsic excitability in LHb neurons of female mice. Because persistent dysregulation of brain CRF systems is suggested to contribute to chronic psychiatric morbidities and that LHb neurons are highly responsive to CRF, we tested whether the LHb CRF subsystem becomes engaged following mTBI. We found that in vitro inhibition of CRF receptor type 1 (CRFR1) within the LHb reverses mTBI-induced enhancement of LHb tonic activity and hyperexcitability in both sexes, suggesting that an augmented intra-LHb CRF-CRFR1-mediated signaling contributes to the overall LHb hyperactivity following mTBI. Behaviorally, mTBI diminishes motivation for self-care grooming in female mice as in male mice. mTBI also alters defensive behaviors in the looming shadow task by shifting the innate defensive behaviors toward more passive action locking rather than escape behaviors in response to an aerial threat in both male and female mice, as well as prolonging the latency to escape responses in female mice. While this model of mTBI reduces social preference in male mice, it induces higher social novelty seeking during the novel social encounters in both male and female mice. Overall, our study provides further translational validity for the use of this pre-clinical model of mTBI for investigation of mTBI-related reward circuit dysfunction and mood/motivation-related behavioral deficits in both sexes while uncovering a few sexually dimorphic neurobehavioral effects of this model that may differentially affect young males and females when exposed to this type of mTBI during late adolescence.

Hive Defensive Behavior in Japanese Honey Bees: The Bees Slap Ants with Their Wings to Prevent Intrusion

Hive Defensive Behavior in Japanese Honey Bees: The Bees Slap Ants with Their Wings to Prevent Intrusion

Cross-modal enhancement of defensive behavior via parabigemino-collicular projections

Effective detection and avoidance from environmental threats are crucial for animals' survival. Integration of sensory cues associated with threats across different modalities can significantly enhance animals' detection and behavioral responses. However, the neural circuit-level mechanisms underlying the modulation of defensive behavior or fear response under simultaneous multimodal sensory inputs remain poorly understood. Here, we report in mice that bimodal looming stimuli combining coherent visual and auditory signals elicit more robust defensive/fear reactions than unimodal stimuli. These include intensified escape and prolonged hiding, suggesting a heightened defensive/fear state. These various responses depend on the activity of the superior colliculus (SC), while its downstream nucleus, the parabigeminal nucleus (PBG), predominantly influences the duration of hiding behavior. PBG temporally integrates visual and auditory signals and enhances the salience of threat signals by amplifying SC sensory responses through its feedback projection to the visual layer of the SC. Our results suggest an evolutionarily conserved pathway in defense circuits for multisensory integration and cross-modality enhancement.