Publications by authors named "P Schuette"

Prey depletion threatens many carnivore species across the world and can especially threaten low-density subordinate competitors, particularly if subordinates are limited to low densities by their dominant competitors. Understanding the mechanisms that drive responses of carnivore density to prey depletion is not only crucial for conservation but also elucidates the balance between top-down and bottom-up limitations within the large carnivore guild. To avoid predation, competitively subordinate African wild dogs typically avoid their dominant competitors (lions) and the prey rich areas they are associated with, but no prior research has tested whether this pattern persists in ecosystems with anthropogenically-reduced prey density, and reduced lion density as a result.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has broadly supported quality by design initiatives for clinical trials - including monitoring and data validation - by releasing two related guidance documents (FDA 2013 and 2019).

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Investigative exploration and foraging leading to food consumption have vital importance, but are not well-understood. Since GABAergic inputs to the lateral and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (l/vlPAG) control such behaviors, we dissected the role of vgat-expressing GABAergic l/vlPAG cells in exploration, foraging and hunting. Here, we show that in mice vgat l/vlPAG cells encode approach to food and consumption of both live prey and non-prey foods.

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Article Synopsis
  • Social hierarchies significantly influence behavior, but the brain mechanisms behind this are not fully understood, particularly at the neural circuit level.
  • Researchers used advanced methods to study the activity of specific brain cells in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during social competition among mice.
  • Findings indicate that these brain cells signal learned social rankings and are crucial for subordinate mice when displaying social behaviors, especially after experiencing social stress, highlighting their role in managing social interactions based on past experiences.
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Article Synopsis
  • Animals detect threats quickly and activate survival behaviors like escaping or freezing; the dorsomedial VMH is key in this response.
  • Research using calcium recordings in mice shows that VMH activity responds to the proximity of predators, encoding future escape rather than freezing behaviors.
  • Altering VMH activity influences avoidance and defensive reactions, demonstrating its significant role in how animals respond to predatory threats.
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