BehavioralGenetics—培训课件.pptVIP

Behavioral Genetics What is genetics? Genetics is the study of heredity. Heredity is a biological process where a parent passes certain genes onto their children or offspring（后代）. Every child inherits genes from both of their biological parents and these genes in turn express specific traits（特性）. --Part 1 What is behavioral genetics? Human behavioral genetics, a relatively new field, seeks to understand both the genetic and environmental contributions to individual variations in human behavior. The father of behavioral genetics Sir Francis Galton(1822-1911) was the first scientist to study heredity and human behavior systematically. An explorer and anthropologist, Francis Galton is known for his pioneering studies of human intelligence. He devoted the latter part of his life to eugenics. Francis Galton (弗朗西斯.高尔顿) However, the study of behavioral genetics is not an easy task, for the following reasons. 1）It often is difficult to define the behavior in question. Intelligence is a classic example. During the late summer of 1999,a Princeton molecular biologist(普林斯顿分子生物学家) published the results of an impressive research in which he enhanced the ability of mice to learn by inserting(嵌入) a gene that codes for a protein in brain cells known to be associated with memory. 2)The investigator must measure the behavior with acceptable degrees of validity and reliability. 3)Behaviors, like all complex traits, involve multiple genes that complicates the search for genetic contributions. 4)Studies of genes and behavior require analysis of families and populations for comparison of those who have the trait in question with those who do not. --Part 2 What indications are there that behavior has a biological basis? 1)Behavior often is species specific. 举个例子，山雀会衔着从饲养员那里得到的向日葵种子到一个安全的地方才会开始啄食，但是相反地，其他的雀类却会直接在饲养员面前啄食向日葵的种子。生物学家们利用这些不同来说明近缘物种间也存在行为差异。 2)Behaviors change in response to alterations in biological structures or processes. 例如，脑部的损伤可以使一个人的行为与受伤前相比大相径庭。最近，遗