PubMed · 13525964
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C PECHTEL, T McAVOY, M LEVITT, A KLING, J H MASSERMAN. 1958. The cingulates and behavior.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-195802000-00003
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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.
Much of the work on well-being and positive emotions has tended to focus on the adult, partly because this is when problems are manifest and well-being often becomes an issue by its absence. However, it is pertinent to ask if early life events might engender certain predispositions that have consequences for adult well-being. The human brain undergoes much of its growth and development postnatally until the age of seven and continues to extend its synaptic connections well into the second decade. Indeed, the prefrontal association cortex, areas of the brain concerned with forward planning and regulatory control of emotional behaviour, continue to develop until the age of 20. In this article, I consider the significance of this extended postnatal developmental period for brain maturation and how brain evolution has encompassed certain biological changes and predispositions that, with our modern lifestyle, represent risk factors for well-being. An awareness of these sensitive phases in brain development is important in understanding how we might facilitate secure relationships and high self-esteem in our children. This will provide the firm foundations on which to develop meaningful lifestyles and relationships that are crucial to well-being.
Careful descriptions of dysmorphic features have led to the delineation of hundreds of specific syndromes and patterns of congenital anomalies. The defining of unusual behavior had largely been neglected by clinical geneticists until the study of the natural history of microdeletions revealed that each has unique and characteristic behavior(s). In this study, a simple tool to describe behavior is presented that is to be used in the genetics clinic as part of routine evaluation. The form is meant to simplify recording and does not require the formal training needed for psychological assessments. It is hoped that routine recording of behavior among individuals seen in the genetics clinic will lead to better recognition of unusual behavior among individuals with known conditions, as well as the recognition of conditions characterized only by unusual behavior. Better description of behavioral patterns should lead to the ascertainment of homogeneous groups of affected individuals with abnormalities in the functional pathways that generate patterns of reaction. The genetic and biochemical basis for these patterns of reaction (abnormal behavior) should then be available for both natural history and molecular studies. The tool consists of 12 categories of behavioral features that can be assessed by the medical geneticist. The list was built to allow the observation of as many behavioral aspects as possible, but to keep it to a practical size and to use those features that are simple to describe and quantitate. We expect that its use will produce a rich source of behavioral profiles and will eventually contribute to the better understanding of unusual behavior.