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Trends in Genetics : TIG Jun 2013Variation in voluntary exercise behavior is an important determinant of long-term human health. Increased physical activity is used as a preventative measure or... (Review)
Review
Variation in voluntary exercise behavior is an important determinant of long-term human health. Increased physical activity is used as a preventative measure or therapeutic intervention for disease, and a sedentary lifestyle has generally been viewed as unhealthy. Predisposition to engage in voluntary activity is heritable and induces protective metabolic changes, but its complex genetic/genomic architecture has only recently begun to emerge. We first present a brief historical perspective and summary of the known benefits of voluntary exercise. Second, we describe human and mouse model studies using genomic and transcriptomic approaches to reveal the genetic architecture of exercise. Third, we discuss the merging of genomic information and physiological observations, revealing systems and networks that lead to a more complete mechanistic understanding of how exercise protects against disease pathogenesis. Finally, we explore potential regulation of physical activity through epigenetic mechanisms, including those that persist across multiple generations.
Topics: Animals; Epigenesis, Genetic; Exercise; Gene Expression; Gene Regulatory Networks; Genetic Determinism; Genome-Wide Association Study; Humans; Quantitative Trait Loci
PubMed: 23351966
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2012.12.007 -
American Journal of Human Genetics Jun 1997The field of behavioral genetics has enormous potential to uncover both genetic and environmental influences on normal and deviant behavior. Behavioral-genetic methods... (Review)
Review
The field of behavioral genetics has enormous potential to uncover both genetic and environmental influences on normal and deviant behavior. Behavioral-genetic methods are based on a solid foundation of theories and methods that successfully have delineated components of complex traits in plants and animals. New resources are now available to dissect the genetic component of these complex traits. As specific genes are identified, we can begin to explore how these interact with environmental factors in development. How we interpret such findings, how we ask new questions, how we celebrate the knowledge, and how we use or misuse this knowledge are all important considerations. These issues are pervasive in all areas of human research, and they are especially salient in human behavioral genetics.
Topics: Adoption; Behavioral Research; Bioethics; Biometry; Family; Female; Genetic Counseling; Genetic Research; Genetics, Behavioral; Genetics, Medical; Humans; Male; Models, Genetic; Twin Studies as Topic
PubMed: 9199545
DOI: 10.1086/515473 -
Journal of Neurogenetics 2020Following prolonged swimming, cycle between active swimming bouts and inactive quiescent bouts. Swimming is exercise for and here we suggest that inactive bouts are a... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Following prolonged swimming, cycle between active swimming bouts and inactive quiescent bouts. Swimming is exercise for and here we suggest that inactive bouts are a recovery state akin to fatigue. It is known that cGMP-dependent kinase (PKG) activity plays a conserved role in sleep, rest, and arousal. Using EGL-4 PKG, we first validate a novel learning-based computer vision approach to automatically analyze locomotory behavior and an edge detection program that is able to distinguish between activity and inactivity during swimming for long periods of time. We find that EGL-4 PKG function impacts timing of exercise-induced quiescent (EIQ) bout onset, fractional quiescence, bout number, and bout duration, suggesting that previously described pathways are engaged during EIQ bouts. However, EIQ bouts are likely not sleep as animals are feeding during the majority of EIQ bouts. We find that genetic perturbation of neurons required for other sleep states also does not alter EIQ dynamics. Additionally, we find that EIQ onset is sensitive to age and DAF-16 FOXO function. In summary, we have validated behavioral analysis software that enables a quantitative and detailed assessment of swimming behavior, including EIQ. We found novel EIQ defects in aged animals and animals with mutations in a gene involved in stress tolerance. We anticipate that further use of this software will facilitate the analysis of genes and pathways critical for fatigue and other behaviors.
Topics: Aging; Animals; Artificial Intelligence; Biomechanical Phenomena; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; Escherichia coli; Fatigue; Genetics, Behavioral; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Movement; Pharynx; Physical Exertion; Rest; Sleep; Swimming
PubMed: 32811254
DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1804565 -
International Journal of Law and... 2017The role of behavioral genetic evidence in excusing and mitigating criminal behavior is unclear. Research has suggested that a low activity genotype of the enzyme... (Review)
Review
The role of behavioral genetic evidence in excusing and mitigating criminal behavior is unclear. Research has suggested that a low activity genotype of the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAOA-L) may increase the risk for aggressive and antisocial behavior. By examining criminal proceedings in which MAOA-L genotype evidence was introduced, we explored the forensic uses of behavioral genetic science. Westlaw and LexisNexis legal databases were electronically searched for cases from 1995 to 2016 to identify court documents from cases involving the MAOA-L genotype. Evidence of the MAOA-L genotype was included in records from 11 criminal cases (9 U.S. and 2 Italian). In the guilt phase, genotype evidence was ruled admissible in one of two cases, and may have contributed to a conviction on a lesser charge. In the sentencing phase, genotype evidence was admissible in four of five cases, one of which ended with a lesser sentence. Five cases used genotype evidence for post-conviction appeals, two of which resulted in sentence reductions. Even when charges or sentences are reduced it is difficult to gauge the effect of evidence of the MAOA-L genotype. Genotype evidence may lack persuasive effect because the impact of the allele on a particular accused is difficult to establish.
Topics: Aggression; Alleles; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Forensic Psychiatry; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genetics, Behavioral; Genotype; Homicide; Humans; Insanity Defense; Male; Monoamine Oxidase; Polymorphism, Genetic; Risk Factors
PubMed: 27823806
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2016.09.005 -
Die Naturwissenschaften Apr 2007The honeybee has been the most important insect species for study of social behavior. The recently released draft genomic sequence for the bee will accelerate honeybee... (Review)
Review
The honeybee has been the most important insect species for study of social behavior. The recently released draft genomic sequence for the bee will accelerate honeybee behavioral genetics. Although we lack sufficient tools to manipulate this genome easily, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence natural variation in behavior have been identified and tested for their effects on correlated behavioral traits. We review what is known about the genetics and physiology of two behavioral traits in honeybees, foraging specialization (pollen versus nectar), and defensive behavior, and present evidence that map-based cloning of genes is more feasible in the bee than in other metazoans. We also present bioinformatic analyses of candidate genes within QTL confidence intervals (CIs). The high recombination rate of the bee made it possible to narrow the search to regions containing only 17-61 predicted peptides for each QTL, although CIs covered large genetic distances. Knowledge of correlated behavioral traits, comparative bioinformatics, and expression assays facilitated evaluation of candidate genes. An overrepresentation of genes involved in ovarian development and insulin-like signaling components within pollen foraging QTL regions suggests that an ancestral reproductive gene network was co-opted during the evolution of foraging specialization. The major QTL influencing defensive/aggressive behavior contains orthologs of genes involved in central nervous system activity and neurogenesis. Candidates at the other two defensive-behavior QTLs include modulators of sensory signaling (Am5HT(7) serotonin receptor, AmArr4 arrestin, and GABA-B-R1 receptor). These studies are the first step in linking natural variation in honeybee social behavior to the identification of underlying genes.
Topics: Animals; Bees; Chromosome Mapping; Cloning, Molecular; Feeding Behavior; Genetics, Behavioral; Genome; Nesting Behavior; Quantitative Trait Loci
PubMed: 17171388
DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0183-1 -
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental... Jun 2012Human laboratory studies have a long and rich history in the field of alcoholism. Human laboratory studies have allowed for advances in alcohol research in a variety of... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Human laboratory studies have a long and rich history in the field of alcoholism. Human laboratory studies have allowed for advances in alcohol research in a variety of ways, including elucidating neurobehavioral mechanisms of risk, identifying phenotypically distinct subtypes of alcohol users, investigating the candidate genes underlying experimental phenotypes for alcoholism, and testing mechanisms of action of alcoholism pharmacotherapies on clinically relevant translational phenotypes, such as persons exhibiting positive-like alcohol effects or alcohol craving. Importantly, the field of human laboratory studies in addiction has progressed rapidly over the past decade and has built upon earlier findings of alcohol's neuropharmacological effects to advancing translational research on alcoholism etiology and treatment.
METHODS AND RESULTS
To that end, the new generation of human laboratory studies has focused on applying new methodologies, further refining alcoholism phenotypes, and translating these findings to studies of alcoholism genetics, medication development, and pharmacogenetics. The combination of experimental laboratory approaches with the recent developments in neuroscience and pharmacology has been particularly fruitful in furthering our understanding of the impact of individual differences in alcoholism risk and in treatment response.
CONCLUSIONS
This review of the literature focuses on human laboratory studies of subjective intoxication, alcohol craving, anxiety, and behavioral economics. Each section discusses opportunities for phenotype refinement under laboratory conditions, as well as its application to translational science of alcoholism. A summary and recommendations for future research are also provided.
Topics: Alcoholic Intoxication; Alcoholism; Behavior, Addictive; Central Nervous System Depressants; Ethanol; Genetics, Behavioral; Humans; Pharmacogenetics; Research Design; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
PubMed: 22309888
DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01704.x -
Biodemography and Social Biology 2014
Topics: Genetics, Behavioral; Humans; Social Sciences
PubMed: 25343361
DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2014.955078 -
Psychiatria Polska Dec 2016The aim of this paper is to describe how Polish print news media frame relations between genetics and human behaviors and what images of behavioral genetics dominate in...
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this paper is to describe how Polish print news media frame relations between genetics and human behaviors and what images of behavioral genetics dominate in press discourse.
METHODS
A content and frame analysis of 72 print news articles about behavioral genetics published between 2000 and 2014 in four major Polish weekly magazines: "Polityka", "Wprost", "Newsweek" and "Przekrój" was conducted.
RESULTS
Twenty one different behaviors were mentioned in the sample and six major analytic frames were identified: essentialist, materialistic, deterministic, probabilistic, optimistic and pessimistic. The most common was the tendency to describe human behaviors in terms of genetic essentialism, reductionism and determinism, as almost one half of the articles was focused solely on genetic determinants of human behaviors and lacked any reference to polygenetic and/or environmental conditioning. Although most of the articles were balanced in tone, benefits were stressed more often than potential risks. Stories that confirmed existence of genetic determinants of human behavior were favored over those that did not. One third of the articles stressed the social or ethical consequences of the development of behavioral genetics.
CONCLUSIONS
The complex and abstract character of genetic knowledge results in a simplistic portrayal of behavioral genetics in the press, which may lead to a misunderstood interpretation of the complicated interplay between behavior, genetics and environment by the public. Consequently, print news media contribute to geneticization of behaviors. It is important to improve the quality of science reporting on behavioral genetics and to educate researchers how to communicate with the media more effectively.
Topics: Female; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genetics; Genetics, Behavioral; Humans; Male; Mass Media; Mental Processes; Periodicals as Topic; Poland; Public Opinion
PubMed: 28211559
DOI: 10.12740/PP/62690 -
International Journal of Epidemiology Jun 2011One of the most important findings that has emerged from human behavioral genetics involves the environment rather than heredity, providing the best available evidence... (Review)
Review
One of the most important findings that has emerged from human behavioral genetics involves the environment rather than heredity, providing the best available evidence for the importance of environmental influences on personality, psychopathology, and cognition. The research also converges on the remarkable conclusion that these environmental influences make two children in the same family as different from one another as are pairs of children selected randomly from the population. The theme of the target article is that environmental differences between children in the same family (called "nonshared environment") represent the major source of environmental variance for personality, psychopathology, and cognitive abilities. One example of the evidence that supports this conclusion involves correlations for pairs of adopted children reared in the same family from early in life. Because these children share family environment but not heredity, their correlation directly estimates the importance of shared family environment. For most psychological characteristics, correlations for adoptive "siblings" hover near zero, which implies that the relevant environmental influences are not shared by children in the same family. Although it has been thought that cognitive abilities represent an exception to this rule, recent data suggest that environmental variance that affects IQ is also of the nonshared variety after adolescence. The article has three goals: (1) To describe quantitative genetic methods and research that lead to the conclusion that nonshared environment is responsible for most environmental variation relevant to psychological development, (2) to discuss specific nonshared environmental influences that have been studied to date, and (3) to consider relationships between nonshared environmental influences and behavioral differences between children in the same family. The reason for presenting this article in BBS is to draw attention to the far-reaching implications of finding that psychologically relevant environmental influences make children in a family different from, not similar to, one another.
Topics: Child; Child Behavior; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Family Relations; Female; Genetics, Behavioral; Human Characteristics; Humans; Individuality; Intelligence; Male; Personality; Siblings; Social Environment
PubMed: 21807642
DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyq148 -
American Journal of Human Genetics Jan 2008An astonishing amount of behavioral variation is captured within the more than 350 breeds of dog recognized worldwide. Inherent in observations of dog behavior is the... (Review)
Review
An astonishing amount of behavioral variation is captured within the more than 350 breeds of dog recognized worldwide. Inherent in observations of dog behavior is the notion that much of what is observed is breed specific and will persist, even in the absence of training or motivation. Thus, herding, pointing, tracking, hunting, and so forth are likely to be controlled, at least in part, at the genetic level. Recent studies in canine genetics suggest that small numbers of genes control major morphologic phenotypes. By extension, we hypothesize that at least some canine behaviors will also be controlled by small numbers of genes that can be readily mapped. In this review, we describe our current understanding of a representative subset of canine behaviors, as well as approaches for phenotyping, genome-wide scans, and data analysis. Finally, we discuss the applicability of studies of canine behavior to human genetics.
Topics: Animals; Breeding; Dogs; Genetic Variation; Genetics, Behavioral; Genome
PubMed: 18179880
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.12.001