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PubMedDate not supplied

[Propensity for feeding on blood under laboratory conditions and chromosomal polymorphism in Anopheles stephensi].

Propensity to blood feeding under laboratory conditions was studied in females of A. stephensi carriers of different arrangements of a polymorphic paracentric inversion of chromosome 2R (+/+, +/b, b/b). One hour experiments were performed at various hours of the day, in continuous light, with temperature between 26 and 28 degrees C and relative humidity between 65 and 75%, using unfed mosquitoes 4-5 days old and guinea pigs as hosts. The frequency of blood fed females was found to be constantly much lower in the +/+ homokaryotypes, than in the other two karyotypes. Smaller differences in biting activity were observed between the heterokaryotypes and the b/b homokaryotypes, the latter appearing significantly more active at least during the scotophase hours. The evidence of a lower activity of the +/+ homokaryotypes was confirmed when the mosquitoes were stimulated by a human arm. Such marked and constant behavioural difference is tentatively considered as the expression of a diversified response to the environmental conditions whose deterrent effect on biting activity would be more pronounced on the +/+ homokaryotypes than on the carriers of the 2Rb arrangement.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Genetic models for the study of aggressive behavior.

The analysis of genetic contributions to aggressive behavior is both conceptually and methodologically difficult, so that substantive findings remain sparse. Like other major psychiatric disease states, inappropriately aggressive behavior must be considered a multifactorial disorder, with both genetic and environmental contributions required for clinical expression. The documented heterogeneity of these determinants suggests the futility of searching for unitary causes. This contribution reviews studies of major gene effects in inbred strains of mice with high aggressivity, and considers the relevance of some rare single-gene disorders in man which include uncontrollably aggressive behavior as part of the phenotype.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Issues and strategies in the genetic analysis of alcoholism and related addictive behaviors.

Research into the genetics of alcoholism susceptibility and related behaviors has become highly contentious for a number of reasons: at issue is the identification of factors that may ultimately determine human behaviors, the limitations of the technologies being used to conduct relevant studies have not been assessed exhaustively, and independent studies have produced widely different results. Addressing these and other questions of relevance in the dissection of the genetic basis of alcoholism susceptibility will be nothing if not difficult. In this article, we consider issues related to one not-so-minor research angle being used more and more in investigations of alcoholism and related disorders: the identification of susceptibility loci through the use of anonymous (or seemingly anonymous) DNA markers. We also consider issues that might promote (or resist) the reconcilability of independent study results, and describe some basic strategies that might help make study results more compelling in light of the complexity of alcoholism and related behaviors.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed2025

The inversion In(2L)t impacts complex, environmentally sensitive behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic variation in behavioral traits allows organisms to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. Genetic variation in behavior is often affected by many genes and thus has a complex genetic basis. Inversions, the reorientation of genes along the chromosome, tightly link genetic variants together because they suppress recombination. Therefore, inversions are believed to have a major impact on phenotypic variation because they combine the effects of multiple genes, which can pleiotropically alter multiple aspects of behavior. This study investigates how the inversion In(2L)t, found in Drosophila melanogaster populations around the world, impacts different aspects of behavior in an environment-sensitive manner. We test the activity, foraging, and startle-induced behavior of flies with different In(2L)t genotypes across sex and temperatures. We observe that Drosophila homozygous for In(2L)t sleep less frequently, spend more time away from a food source, and have a longer duration of startle response. Additionally, the impacts of In(2L)t on aspects of behavior can be sex-specific and are largely consistent across temperatures. Taken together, our research demonstrates that inversions can regulate aspects of behavior, and suggests hypotheses explaining the distribution of In(2L)t across space and time.

Behavior↗
PubMed2000

A genetic analysis of smoking behavior in family members of older adult males.

AIMS: To conduct a genetic study of smoking behavior in 493 three-generation families. DESIGN: Complex segregation analysis and maximum likelihood statistics were used to describe the familial clustering of ever-smoking under several transmission models. SETTING: The Western Collaborative Group Study, an ageing and health study currently in its 39th year of follow-up. PARTICIPANTS: Probands were male participants who were of mean age 71.6 years at the time of the family history interview in 1986-88. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected via an interview that focused on the family smoking history of participants. Smoking histories of all first-degree relatives were obtained from probands. FINDINGS: Evidence for genetic transmission was indicated by rejection of both the environmental and sporadic models in favor of a Mendelian genetic model with residual familial effects from spouses and both parents. CONCLUSIONS: The best-fitting model was that of a dominant major gene with low estimated frequency and residual familial correlations. This is the first study to date to model the familial transmission of ever-smoking in three-generation families.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Influence of genetic background on alcohol drinking and behavioral phenotypes of 5-HT3 receptor over-expressing mice.

Behavioral effects of genetic manipulations are influenced by the background genetics of mouse strains used for the creation of transgenic mice. One strategy to address whether background genes may compromise interpretation of phenotype is the production of congenics. 5-HT3 receptor over-expressing mice have been behaviorally characterized on a B6SJL/F2 background (B6SJL/F2-OE mice), and were found to consume less ethanol failed to develop conditioned place preference to moderate doses of cocaine and demonstrate improved hippocampal-dependent learning. To assess the contribution of parental strain genetics to these behaviors, we bred the transgene onto two well-defined backgrounds that differ in ethanol consumption and contextual fear conditioning, C57Bl/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) strains. The behavioral phenotype of B6SJL/F2-OE was recapitulated in C57Bl/6J-OE mice. However, the effect of transgene over-expression on behavior was only apparent for one aspect of the novelty test using DBA/2J-OE mice. Results underscore the need to consider the genetic environment conferred by strain selection on the effects of genetic manipulation in mice.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1975

A genetic analysis of phototactic behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. II. Hybridization of divergent populations.

Artificial selection has produced populations of Drosophila melanogaster which show either positive or negative phototactic behavior. Selection was carried out in the presence of various marked multiple inversions used to suppress genetic recombination. Reciprocal hybridizations between photopositive and photonegative populations of flies have revealed the X chromosome of D. melanogaster to be important in phototactic behavior regardless of conditions which restricted genetic recombination during selection.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Genetic basis of male sexual behavior.

Male sexual behavior is increasingly the focus of genetic study in a variety of animals. Genetic analysis in the soil roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has lead to identification of genes and circuits that govern behaviors ranging from motivation and mate-searching to courtship and copulation. Some worm and fly genes have counterparts with related functions in higher animals and many more such correspondences can be expected. Analysis of mutations in mammals can potentially lead to insights into such issues as monogamous versus promiscuous sexual behavior and sexual orientation. Genetic analysis of sexual behavior has implications for understanding how the nervous system generates and controls a complex behavior. It can also help us to gain an appreciation of how behavior is encoded by genes and their regulatory sequences.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior in adolescence: a common genetic liability.

Recent reviews of research on child and adolescent psychopathology have highlighted the consistently high rates of co-occurring dimensions of psychopathology, particularly between internalizing and externalizing disorders, and have suggested that further research examining the causes of co-occurring syndromes is needed. The authors examined this question in a national sample of 720 same-sex adolescent siblings between 10 and 18 years of age consisting of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, full siblings, half siblings, and unrelated siblings. Composite measures of adolescent and parent reports and observational measures of depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior were subjected to behavioral genetic models that examine the genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in each dimension as well as in the co-occurrence between dimensions. Results indicated that approximately half of the variability in depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior is attributed to genetic factors; shared and nonshared environmental influences were also significant. The co-occurrence of depressive and antisocial symptoms was explained by genetic and shared and nonshared environmental influences. Specifically, approximately 45% of the observed covariation between depressive and antisocial symptoms could be explained by a common genetic liability. Results are interpreted in light of contribution of genetic studies to debates on child and adolescent psychopathology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Quantitative classification and natural clustering of Caenorhabditis elegans behavioral phenotypes.

Genetic analysis of nervous system function relies on the rigorous description of behavioral phenotypes. However, standard methods for classifying the behavioral patterns of mutant Caenorhabditis elegans rely on human observation and are therefore subjective and imprecise. Here we describe the application of machine learning to quantitatively define and classify the behavioral patterns of C. elegans nervous system mutants. We have used an automated tracking and image processing system to obtain measurements of a wide range of morphological and behavioral features from recordings of representative mutant types. Using principal component analysis, we represented the behavioral patterns of eight mutant types as data clouds distributed in multidimensional feature space. Cluster analysis using the k-means algorithm made it possible to quantitatively assess the relative similarities between different behavioral phenotypes and to identify natural phenotypic clusters among the data. Since the patterns of phenotypic similarity identified in this study closely paralleled the functional similarities of the mutant gene products, the complex phenotypic signatures obtained from these image data appeared to represent an effective diagnostic of the mutants' underlying molecular defects.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

A factor analytic--genetic approach to the relation between obesity and behavior in mice.

Genetically heterogenous mice (N = 377) were reared on either high- or low-fat diets for the first 40 days of life. The mice were cross fostered to permit the separation of genetic and environmental effects in a sibling analysis. A total of 26 measures were taken on these mice, including oxygen consumption, activity, sucrose consumption, body weight changes when bitter or high-fat diets were given as the only food, and various morphological measures. A principal-factor analysis of these measures produced eight factors, most of which appeared to be "instrument" factors rather than general factors. Analyses of variance on the factor scores indicated that genetic influences contributed to five of the factors and sex contributed to three of the factors. However, none of the main effects of diet, gene by environment interactions, or sex by environment interactions were significant. Although obesity and behaviors were correlated, the magnitudes of the correlations were generally small.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Autism and tuberous sclerosis.

Autism is a behavior disorder with genetic influences indicated from twin and family studies and from the co-occurrence of autism with known genetic disorders. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a known genetic disorder with behavioral manifestations including autism. A literature review of these two disorders substantiates a significant association of autism and TSC with 17-58% of TSC subjects manifesting autism and 0.4-3% of autistic subjects having TSC. In initial data collected on 13 TSC probands and 14 autistic probands in our family study of autism and TSC, we identified 7 TSC subjects with autism. The seven TSC autistic probands are similar to non-TSC autistic probands on the Social and Communication domains of the Autism Diagnostic Inventory (ADI) (Le Couteur et al., 1989), but show fewer Repetitive Rituals. There are more male TSC probands with autism than female, despite an equal sex ratio among TSC probands. The TSC probands with autism have significantly more seizures and mental retardation than those without autism; however, the extent and etiology of associations require further study. Our preliminary findings suggest that a fruitful approach for delineating genetic influences in autism may come from further investigation of possible mechanisms underlying the association of autism and TSC.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastrin in the mechanisms of genetic determination of feeding behavior in rabbits.

Spreading of a dominant motivation to the molecular intracellular mechanisms of genetic memory was studied. Blockage of protein synthesis in the nervous system selectively abolishes food motivation in rabbits during stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus but exerts no noticeable effect on avoidance responses during stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus. During protein synthesis blockage, food motivation returns to normal upon pentagastrin intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection. Intracerebroventricular administration of antigastrin immunoglobulin inhibits feeding reaction to lateral hypothalamic stimulation but not avoidance response to ventromedial hypothalamic stimulation. It was concluded that feeding motivation translates into feeding behavior in the following stages: motivational excitation, gene activation, mRNA synthesis, formation of a gastrin-like peptide, and expression of feeding behavior.

Animals↗