Molecular geneticists have recently been using targeted gene line mutations so as to effectively isolate certain genes as being the cause of a specific phenotype. However the effects of a gene can be a result of complex interactions within its genetic background. Scientist have tried to maintain and isogenic genetic background. However in choosing the appropriate isogenic background it is important that all of the effects of it be documented so that the appropriate selection of genetic background can be chosen for an expected phenotype and so that the results can be interpreted properly.
The effects of different strains on the performance of various different tests of an animal’s behavior are documented here. A well established measure of mouse behavior is open field locomotion. In this measurement a mouse’s amount of movement, rate of movement and other behaviors are measured. These measurements are proposed to suggest specific levels of emotionality and anxiety in mice as well as other underlying traits. The levels of activity and anxiety have been measured for specific strains. The best choice for a strain when trying to assess the level of activity or anxiety for a mutation is the strain that is known to produce the opposite level of anxiety or activity.
There are two types of learning tasks that have been assessed for. Complex learning tasks involve and animal using multiple pieces of information simultaneously and Avoidance tasks which involve the animal avoiding a location where they have previously received a shock. Other behavioral traits that have been assessed are aggressiveness, reproductive behavior and the effects of acoustic startle where the reaction of a mouse to a loud noise is measured as well as its reaction when the sound is preceded by a relatively quiet sound
The effects of genetic strains have also been studied with regard to their effects on certain drugs. The effects of drugs such as ethanol show that it is very hard to generalize the effects of a specific drug on a specific strain since the reactions vary with the dose given and with the reinforcing effect that it has on the mice. In some studies it was shown that despite the noticeable mean effect of ethanol on a strain it did not have the same effect with a different dose. However certain generalizations of strains sensitivity to ethanol have shown themselves to be robust across several procedural variations.
Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
To test if the fear had been learned specifically for the white rat or was generalized, Watson brought in similar stimuli. First, Albert was tested to make sure he still experienced fear with the rat and he did. Then, a white rabbit was placed in front of him and he experienced fear almost immediately. Many other stimuli were tested (dog, white fur coat, and cotton) and the same response, fear was present.
Animals can learn interesting and complex behaviors through the means of conditioning and other training methods. The two types of conditioning are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Conditioning incorporates both reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement will increase the likelihood or a behavior, where punishment, and extinction will decrease it. Lee and Belfiore stated that “reinforcement is one of the most misused and misunderstood terms in the analysis of behavior” (1997). Along with these types of conditioning are other factors that help one train an organism. Habituation, magazine training, shaping, and different schedules of reinforcement help one reach the desired behavior. All these factors are part of training an organism to reach a desired behavior.
In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two men, George and Lennie, find a new job at a ranch and many problems occur while they are there. Being migrant workers, George and Lennie find themselves traveling a lot, looking for new jobs. This pair of men find it even harder that it is to find new jobs because of the disability that Lennie has. Lennie’s disability doesn’t allow him to process ideas and situations in his brain as well as many others. Because of this, many problems happen when the men find new jobs which then causes them to get fired and lose their jobs. At their most recent job, a lot of problems and events occur and many characters there face the problem of discrimination. How do you think it feels to be discriminated
Discrimination is a problem that plagues those whose qualities are vulnerable. There are many examples of discrimination in the novel, Of Mice and Men. The characters face discrimination in many different ways including racial, age, gender, and disability. Crooks, the black stable buck, is the victim of racial discrimination. Candy, the old swamper, is a victim of the age discrimination. The victim of gender discrimination is Curley's wife because she is a woman. Life of the victims is hard because of the things they have to go through. Lastly, Lennie is mentally handicap so he discriminated against because of that.
Fear conditioning is a commonly used behavioral paradigm to test an organism’s ability to create associations and learn to avoid aversive stimuli. There are two methodologies: cue and contextual fear conditioning (Kim & Jung, 2006). In cued fear conditioning, a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) which activates a strong unconditioned fear responses (UR). After a continued training period, the neutral CS is now able to activate a conditioned response (CR). Similarly, context conditioning occurs when the background or context cues, during the condition training, is able to predict the US and activate the fear response. For example, a mice can be placed in a novel environment and given an aversive stimulus (e.g. footshock). When the mice is returned to that same environment, it will display a CR (e.g. freezing). The mice’s ability for contextual fear conditioning is dependent on whether it was able to learn and associate its environment with the aversive stimulus. (Curzon, Rustay, and Browman, 2009)
Lewis, Ricki, (2014), Human Genetics, 11th Edition, Chapter 12. Gene Mutation. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
“I believe discrimination still exists in society and we must fight it in every form.” (Andrew, Cuomo) It’s true, discrimination is everywhere, but was it in Of Mice and Men? It was extremely evident, for example, with Lennie, Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and so on. All the minorities were discriminated against, but why? Discrimination is a serious issue in the world today that runs through the veins of every group of people. People are always pointing fingers at other people who, from themselves, are different politically, racially, and religiously, so why do we do it? It’s because discriminating against other people makes us feel more secure. But what was discrimination like in the 1930’s? Discrimination, in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, impacted the lives of Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife by altering the way people viewed them, which restricted their freedom on the ranch.
linked to individual genes, and genetic disorders are effects of nature that can cause drastic
Learning can be quantified through observable behaviour and is adaptive to a creature’s specific environment at an individual level rather than species level. Behaviour can be broken down into two main categories, respondent behaviour, which is impacted by events that preceded it and operant behaviour, which is behaviour that is influenced by events that follow it. Behaviour can be analysed using a three term contingency of ABC. A is the antecedent, which can increase or decrease a behaviour depending on what is desired, B is the observed behaviour and C is the consequence of that behaviour, certain consequences increase behaviour whilst some decrease it. There are many different ways we learn behaviour and many different types of conditioning. Operant conditioning influences operant behaviour and uses the principles of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment to strengthen desired behaviours whereas instrumental conditioning involves making a response that is instrumental, it is an activity that is voluntary which elicits a consequence. A third type of conditioning is classical conditioning, which can be defined as an association being made between one stimulus and another, resulting in a relationship. For the purpose of this essay, classical conditioning will be the focus.
Taylor, J., Loney, B. R., Bobadilla, L., Loacono, W.G., & McGue, M. (2003). Genetic and
Human behavior is a loosely defined foundation for individuality, generally considered to be influenced and developed by the environment. However, recent molecular studies have exposed genetic factors that suggest a more biological origin for behavior. Gene segments in the genome of humans and other animals have been identified and associated with particular behavioral traits. Is it possible that the presence or absence of even a single gene may predispose one to alcoholism, increased irritability, or enhanced intelligence? Clearly exploration of the nature versus nurture argument with regard to genetic predisposition has social, political, and legal significance.
Behaviorism is the point of view where learning and behavior are described and explained in terms of stimulus-response relationships. Behaviorists agree that an individual’s behaviors is a result of their interaction with the environment. Feedback, praise and rewards are all ways people can respond to becoming conditioned. The focus is on observable events instead of events that happen in one’s head. The belief that learning has not happened unless there is an observable change in behavior. “The earliest and most Ardent of behaviourists was Watson (1931; Medcof and Roth, 1991; Hill 1997). His fundamental conclusion from many experimental observations of animal and childhood learning was that stimulus-response (S-R) connections are more likely to be established the more frequently or recently an S-R bond occurs. A child solving a number problem might have to make many unsuccessful trials before arriving at the correct solution” (Childs, 2004).
Learning through operant conditioning allows a conditioned behaviour to increase or decrease in the presence of reinforcement or punishment. However, this process can be affected by instinctive behaviours that would disrupt the conditioned behaviour. According to a study conducted by Breland and Breland (1961) they tried to condition a raccoon to pick up coins and drop them into a container. The raccoon however spent time rubbing the coins together and rubbing the coin on the inside of the container before finally dropping it in and receiving its food reinforcement. Even after conditioning, the raccoon’s need to rub the coins together became worse as he spent more and more time just rubbing the coins. This is known as instinctive drift where the raccoon’s instinctive behaviours limited its ability to perform the conditioned response. Therefore the raccoon failed to learn due to its innate tendencies that acted as a biological constraint and operant conditioning failed in teaching the raccoon through reinforcement.
...ary part in genotypes of potential interest that human geneticists breeders, as well as evolutionary geneticists are investigating. However, although we have the capability to unravel experiments that the founders of quantitative genetics would have never imagined, but their basic, un-computational machinery that they developed is most easily adaptable to the latest analyses that will be needed. We are far from ‘letting-go’ molecular biologists from the mathematical techniques/systems, because this age in respect to genomics has been forced into accepting gratitude due to the major importance of quantitative methods as opposed to the new molecular genetics. As geneticists tend to map molecular variation as well as genomic data, quantitative genetics will be moving to the front position because of its relevance in this age of rapid advancement in molecular genetics.