Stress and animal health

Aim

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• describe the function, phylogeny and development of stress mechanisms in vertebrates.
• design, implement and analyze a practical study to evaluate stress markers in experimental animals.
• critically review and present scientific studies on stress physiology and the impact on behavior in experimental animals.

Content

Stress consists of an evolutionarily conserved interplay of physiological and behavioral responses to challenges during an individual's lifetime. Stress can cause effects on an individual's biology in both the short and long term, and can affect a wide array of biological properties, ranging from cognitive ability to reproduction. Understanding the biology of stress is therefore central to understanding welfare in vertebrates.

The course covers

• the history and context of the concept of stress
• the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and its regulation
• the sympathetic-adrenal axis and its regulation
• chronic and acute stress
• individual differences in stress responses: coping patterns
• methods for measuring and assessing stress

Students will use R for data visualization.