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Results for “Behavioural genetics”

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PubMed1999

Genetics of early cancer detection behaviours in Australian female twins.

Early detection of cervical and breast cancers is an important component of women's health strategy. Screening programmes, health professional interventions and preventive behaviours such as breast self-examination provide the means to this end. Our twin study sought to identify the relative influence of environmental and genetic factors on liability to early cancer detection behaviours, including use of cervical smear tests, mammograms, and breast examination. Additive genetic and random environmental effects models gave the best, most parsimonious fit to the data for each early cancer detection behaviour. The heritability of liability to Pap smear use was 66%, mammogram use 50%, breast examination by a doctor or nurse 38% and breast self-examination 37%. Genetic influences were behaviour-specific; there was no evidence for a common genetic influence on the four behaviours. Potential covariates investigated included age, amount of contact between co-twins, educational level and personality traits such as harm avoidance, novelty seeking, reward dependence, neuroticism, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, perceived control, interpersonal dependency and ways of coping. None were significant. The study was carried out before the implementation of national screening programmes with media campaigns to increase participation rates. Hence follow-up investigation, including data on regularity of behaviours, would be informative.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Aggressiveness is associated with genetic diversity in landlocked salmon (Salmo salar).

The amount of intraindividual genetic variation has often been found to have profound effects on life history traits. However, studies concerning the relationship between behaviour and genetic diversity are scarce. Aggressiveness is an important component of competitive ability in juvenile salmonids affecting their later performance and survival. In this study, we used an experimental approach to test the prediction that juveniles with low estimated genetic diversity should be less aggressive than juveniles with high estimated genetic diversity in fry from a highly endangered population of land-locked salmon (Salmo salar). This was achieved by using a method enabling the accurate estimation of offspring genetic diversity based on parental microsatellite genotype data. This allowed us to create two groups of offspring expected to have high or low genetic diversity in which aggressive behaviour could be compared. Salmon fry with low estimated genetic diversity were significantly less aggressive than fry with high estimated genetic diversity. Closer analysis of the data suggested that this difference was due to differences in more costly acts of aggression. Our result may reflect a direct effect of genetic variation on a fitness-related trait; however, we cannot rule out an alternative explanation of allele-specific phenotype matching, where lowered aggression is expressed towards genetically more similar individuals.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Genetic correlates of social behaviour in wild chimpanzees: evidence from mitochondrial DNA

This study explored some aspects of chimpanzee social behaviour using mitochondrial DNA sequence data as an index of matrilineal relatedness. The hypothesis tested was that matrilineal relatedness predicts social affiliative preference in wild chimpanzees. Several behavioural measures of individual social preference were examined for chimpanzees from Kanyawara community in Uganda's Kibale Forest. None of the four pairs of strongly affiliative males in this community could have been maternal brothers, since no pair shared the same mitochondrial DNA sequence. Fourteen chimpanzee communities outside Kibale, for which no direct behavioural data were available, were also studied by using communal nesting as a rough index of affiliative preference. Again, chimpanzees that nested together did not tend to be matrilineally related. The results suggest that kin selection is weaker than previously thought as a force promoting intra-community affiliation in chimpanzees.1997The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Genetic differences in maternal behaviour patterns in mice administered phenobarbital during pregnancy.

In a study designed to examine the role of the genotype on sensitivity to drug-induced behavioural changes, pregnant C57BL/6J and CBA mice were administered 60 mg/kg phenobarbital (PHB) intraperitoneally during days 10-16 of gestation. Following a balanced intrastrain fostering procedure, the behaviour of lactating dams was observed in their home cage at 2, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days postpartum. As the pups became older, maternal behaviour declined in control groups, whereas PHB dams of the CBA strain persisted in nursing their pups. C57 dams were generally affected in an opposite way by PHB exposure. For example, treated dams spent significantly less time in licking behaviour. Nest quality score was especially elevated in PHB dams of the CBA strain, while in C57 dams, nest-building was inhibited and nest quality unaffected by the previous PHB exposure. These results indicate that specific items of maternal behaviour can be differently affected by PHB exposure, and that the responses are affected by the genotype. To summarise, pups raised by treated dams may receive either exaggerated or insufficient maternal attention, as a result of changes in neurotransmitter systems and behavioural regulation following phenobarbital exposure. These results point to the need for a better understanding of mother/pup interactions in studies aimed at characterizing drug and toxicant effects on postnatal development.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The central complex and the genetic dissection of locomotor behaviour.

The central complex is one of the most prominent, yet functionally enigmatic structures of the insect brain. Recently, behavioural, neuroanatomical and molecular approaches in Drosophila have joined forces to disclose specific components of higher locomotion control in larvae and adult flies, such as those that guarantee the optimal length and across-body symmetry of strides and an appropriate activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Changes in health-related behaviours following BRCA 1/2 genetic testing: the case of hormone replacement therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine hormone replacement therapy (HRT)use among women at high risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, before genetic testing for the cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, and 1 year following disclosure of the test results. METHODS: Participants were 209 French-Canadian women (from 67 high-risk families) who were tested for BRCA1/2 mutations as part of the multidisciplinary research program INHERIT BRCAs (INterdisciplinary HEalth Research International Team on BReast CAncer susceptibility). Use of HRT was recorded at the first genetic counselling session and through a self-administered questionnaire 1 year after result disclosure. RESULTS: At the genetic counselling session, approximately 15% of women (31/209) reported using HRT, a proportion that is significantly lower than the 25% observed among similarly aged women from the general Quebec population (P < .001). Further analyses, based on the generalized estimating equations models, were carried out to evaluate variations in HRT use from the first genetic counselling session up to 1 year post-disclosure of BRCA1/2 test results. These analyses indicated a trend toward decreased HRT use among BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (P = .08). CONCLUSIONS: Women at high risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer tend to avoid HRT when BRCA1/2 mutations are either suspected or confirmed. Further studies are needed to assess the actual risk of HRT use among women at high risk of breast cancer, and to develop clinical guidelines regarding its use in this population of women.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Procreational attitudes and behaviour: some problems of genetic counseling effectiveness.

Some results of the study of genetic counseling effectiveness, conducted in 1980-1981, are the subject of this paper. The main group under the study consisted of 187 families with the Down syndrome child, who in the period 1974-1979 visited the Genetics Clinic of NRIMC and received genetic counseling there. The relation between genetic counseling and the procreation sphere among the studied families is presented. Procreation plans have been analysed with special emphasis made on changes related to genetic counseling. The influence of this counseling as a factor reducing fear of having a child with a disease has been confirmed. It has been found that procreation plans have changed after the counseling especially among those women who did not plan pregnancy earlier. Some psychological aspects of genetic counseling as are essential for forming procreation attitudes of the consulting families have also been discussed.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2001

Foraging behaviour in Drosophila larvae: mushroom body ablation.

Drosophila larvae and adults exhibit a naturally occurring genetically based behavioural polymorphism in locomotor activity while foraging. Larvae of the rover morph exhibit longer foraging trails than sitters and forage between food patches, while sitters have shorter foraging trails and forage within patches. This behaviour is influenced by levels of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PGK) encoded by the foraging (for) gene. Rover larvae have higher expression levels and higher PGK activities than do sitters. Here we discuss the importance of the for gene for studies of the mechanistic and evolutionary significance of individual differences in behaviour. We also show how structure-function analysis can be used to investigate a role for mushroom bodies in larval behaviour both in the presence and in the absence of food. Hydroxyurea fed to newly hatched larvae prevents the development of all post-embryonically derived mushroom body (MB) neuropil. This method was used to ablate MBs in rover and sitter genetic variants of foraging to test whether these structures mediate expression of the foraging behavioural polymorphism. We found that locomotor activity levels during foraging of both the rover and sitter larval morphs were not significantly influenced by MB ablation. Alternative hypotheses that may explain how variation in foraging behaviour is generated are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Genetic analysis of male reproductive success in relation to density in the zebrafish, Danio rerio.

BACKGROUND: We used behavioural and genetic data to investigate the effects of density on male reproductive success in the zebrafish, Danio rerio. Based on previous measurements of aggression and courtship behaviour by territorial males, we predicted that they would sire more offspring than non-territorial males. RESULTS: Microsatellite analysis of paternity showed that at low densities territorial males had higher reproductive success than non-territorial males. However, at high density territorial males were no more successful than non-territorials and the sex difference in the opportunity for sexual selection, based on the parameter Imates, was low. CONCLUSION: Male zebrafish exhibit two distinct mating tactics; territoriality and active pursuit of females. Male reproductive success is density dependent and the opportunity for sexual selection appears to be weak in this species.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Conservation and divergence of the genetic structure of larval foraging behaviour in two species of the Drosophila simulans clade.

Larvae of the sibling species Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana have rates of locomotor and feeding activity that are closely similar. Comparisons of the trait means for intra- and interspecific hybrids show that significant epistatic interactions affect both characters when the genomes of the two species are combined. The phenotypic variances of progenies obtained by backcrossing the interspecific hybrids to their respective parent species show that appreciable genetic turnover affecting foraging behaviour has occurred since their two phylogenetic lines diverged.

Analysis of Variance↗