Escape behaviours are not only simple stimulus-reactions but are under cognitive control, allowing the study of processes such as decision-making and action selection in tractable organisms in ethological settings.
Successful escape relies on integrating multiple external and internal variables, such as for computing flight trajectories towards shelter, and implementing trade-offs by choosing between actions that satisfy competing motivations.
Some neural mechanisms of escape are innate and conserved across species, but are subject to control and modification by multiple systems, including the neocortex, which allow experience to be flexibly incorporated into escape behaviour.
New tools to quantify behaviour while recording neural activity enable analysis of ethologically-relevant behaviours in complex environments, and will advance our understanding of the neural basis of natural behaviours.