Have you ever wondered why you behave a certain way? A team of scientists from the University of Tokyo have used guide dogs to determine how much of our behaviour is based on our genes.
The area of human behavioural genetics has exploded in recent years. Increased studies are being performed on the links between universal behavioural patterns such as violence and passiveness and heritable genes. However due to ever increasing technological advancements especially in the areas of media, it has become increasingly hard for scientists to identify meaningful relationships between our behaviour and our genes. For this reason the researchers from Tokyo University choose to study guide dogs due to their decreased cognitive complexity and the ability for them to raised in a fairly consistent environments.
The study revealed that polymorphisms within T471C in the SLC1A2 gene and G216A within the COMT gene were both significantly related to the relative activity levels of the dogs. These same genes in humans are associated with common behavioural disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD and ADHD. Thus these genes are believed to be involved in both aggressiveness and arousal. Overall the researchers concluded that further studies into these genes and other genes associated with behavioural attributes could assist in the selection of the most suitable dogs for vision impairment. Furthermore further studies into these genes could assist in the identification of heritable factors which cause debilitating behavioural and physiological conditions in humans.
The area of human behavioural genetics has exploded in recent years. Increased studies are being performed on the links between universal behavioural patterns such as violence and passiveness and heritable genes. However due to ever increasing technological advancements especially in the areas of media, it has become increasingly hard for scientists to identify meaningful relationships between our behaviour and our genes. For this reason the researchers from Tokyo University choose to study guide dogs due to their decreased cognitive complexity and the ability for them to raised in a fairly consistent environments.
The study revealed that polymorphisms within T471C in the SLC1A2 gene and G216A within the COMT gene were both significantly related to the relative activity levels of the dogs. These same genes in humans are associated with common behavioural disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD and ADHD. Thus these genes are believed to be involved in both aggressiveness and arousal. Overall the researchers concluded that further studies into these genes and other genes associated with behavioural attributes could assist in the selection of the most suitable dogs for vision impairment. Furthermore further studies into these genes could assist in the identification of heritable factors which cause debilitating behavioural and physiological conditions in humans.
Aimee Davidson 41885527
Article found at:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/cgi-bin/fulltext/121645332/PDFSTART
Picture found at:
http://www.famu.edu/TeachingGym/UserFiles/Image/Guide%20Dog2.jpg
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/cgi-bin/fulltext/121645332/PDFSTART
Picture found at:
http://www.famu.edu/TeachingGym/UserFiles/Image/Guide%20Dog2.jpg
