CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behaviour, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2023 Nov;24(11):655-671. doi: 10.1038/s41583-023-00736-3. Epub 2023 Sep 20.
Most animals live under constant threat from predators, and predation has been a major selective force in shaping animal behaviour. Nevertheless, defence responses against predatory threats need to be balanced against other adaptive behaviours such as foraging, mating and recovering from infection. This behavioural balance in ethologically relevant contexts requires adequate integration of internal and external signals in a complex interplay between the brain and the body. Despite this complexity, research has often considered defensive behaviour as entirely mediated by the brain processing threat-related information obtained via perception of the external environment. However, accumulating evidence suggests that the endocrine, immune, gastrointestinal and reproductive systems have important roles in modulating behavioural responses to threat. In this Review, we focus on how predatory threat defence responses are shaped by threat imminence and review the circuitry between subcortical brain regions involved in mediating defensive behaviours. Then, we discuss the intersection of peripheral systems involved in internal states related to infection, hunger and mating with the neurocircuits that underlie defence responses against predatory threat. Through this process, we aim to elucidate the interconnections between the brain and body as an integrated network that facilitates appropriate defensive responses to threat and to discuss the implications for future behavioural research.
大多数动物生活在持续受到捕食者威胁的环境中，捕食一直是塑造动物行为的主要选择压力。然而，针对捕食威胁的防御反应需要与其他适应行为（如觅食、交配和从感染中恢复）相平衡。在与行为学相关的背景下，这种行为平衡需要大脑和身体之间复杂的相互作用，充分整合内部和外部信号。尽管存在这种复杂性，但研究往往认为防御行为完全由大脑处理通过感知外部环境获得的与威胁相关的信息来介导。然而，越来越多的证据表明，内分泌、免疫、胃肠道和生殖系统在调节对威胁的行为反应方面发挥着重要作用。在这篇综述中，我们重点关注捕食威胁防御反应是如何受到威胁迫近的影响，并回顾了参与介导防御行为的皮质下脑区之间的回路。然后，我们讨论了与防御捕食威胁的神经回路相关的与感染、饥饿和交配相关的内部状态的外周系统的交叉点。通过这个过程，我们旨在阐明大脑和身体作为一个整合网络的相互联系，以促进对威胁的适当防御反应，并讨论对未来行为研究的影响。
