Selectively manipulating genes can lead to a greater understanding of molecular and cellular brain functions and behaviors. However these specific gene mutations may trigger compensatory changes that mask a phenotype or adds to it. Therefore it might be difficult to determine the specific effect of a mutation on behavior. This is especially true since a mutation may be affected by the environment or a specific genetic background.
Because of this it is important to find the best way to understand and interpret behavioral data. The Morris Swimming task is a task where the animals are encouraged to find a platform in a water tank. Through careful examination it was found that there where several behavioral trends. One of them is called thigmotaxis and it refers to the mice swimming near the wall without even trying to find the platform. This has to be overcome in order to achieve the goal. If it is not overcome then the stage where the animal learns the location of the platform cannot be reached. A generalized interpretation of the mutant animal’s behavior might lead us to believe that it cannot achieve its task because of learning and memory impairment however it can be observed that the reason for its failure might be its inability to overcome its initial behavior. To verify that this is the cause of the animal’s behavior there is a technique called PCA. This technique allows researchers to correlate specific measures of the animal’s movements with various factors such as thigmotaxis to understand the specific causes of the behavior and how the mutation affects the animals. It has been found that 50% of the source of variation of the animal’s behavior is the inability to overcome thigmotaxis and is not related to its inability to perform learning tasks.
To understand the specific effects of the mutation on animals one must also be careful to eliminate genetic background and environment as affecting performance. A Meta analysis of the data for the water task has shown that both environmental and genetic effect produce sufficient variation to account for the range of almost all behavioral measures. It is hard to determine the effects of the mutation alone without it being confused with effects from other sources. It is helpful to test inbred animals where heterozygous animals are mated to produce wild-type and homozygous offspring.
neurodegenerative disorder in humans, affecting between two to eight per 100,000 inhabitants of Western countries. Huntington’s also has a slow onset with an average age of onset around 40 (Wider & Luthi-Carter, 2006). Wider and Luthi-Carter (2006) note the cause of this disease to be a mutation in the huntingtin gene, which can be characterized by distinct symptoms. Chorea, from the Greek “to dance”, is the main distinguishing feature of this mutation and is described by Wider and Luthi-Carter (2006) as rapid
treatment are necessary to identify potential methods for treating the disease on a greater scale. Alzheimer’s disease causes unstoppable mental regression and produces irrational behaviors in its victims ("Alzheimer's disease"). Memory failures appear commonly among all people with normal mental development. People suffering from Alzheimer’s disease also frequently iterate their behaviors and struggle in remembering matters important to them such as their friends, family, and themselves. People with
Shining blue light (473 nm wavelength photons) on these cells, in vitro, would cause them to send a nerve impulse 1-2 milliseconds later. Once the light was turned back off, the cells returned to normalcy. In their resting state, a electrical potential exists between the interior of the cell and outside. When ChR2 was activated, its channel would open and cause an influx of positive ions to increase the internal negative charge. This is a similar process to what is occurring
grow more plants and for a cheaper price. (Key) Risks are being found out all the time due to the newness of this science. It has been found the any genetic engineering can cause severe mutations and changing of genes and their behavior. They can be permanently turned on or off and well as completely removed. The changes can cause allergies and diseases in many people.( Smith). There is also risks when it comes to labeling. Since a final decision has yet to be made many consumers do not know what they
doctors started to see the increase in the diagnosis of the disease in older adults. The cureless disease, Alzheimer’s is affecting many elders and their families; it is the sixth leading cause of death in the Unites States (“About Alzheimer’s”). Many researchers and scientists have been trying to find what causes this disease and they have found that it has to do with neurological brain functions or genetics. Alzheimer’s disease falls into two categories: risk genes and deterministic genes. Risk genes
rule out the other, but instead, should compliment one another. Both arguments should be heard and acknowledged before any decision is made towards this new area of study. For example, many people think that their fears are unanswerable and should cause the absolute ban on cloning. Although many scientists are in the field of cloning, many other people have scientific reasons why this shouldn’t happen. One reason is that if a human clone were ever successfully made, it wouldn’t be an exact clone
Recent advent of transgenic technology and pharmacology allowed the role of microglia during development and their correlation with neural development disorder to be investigated extensively. For instance, pharmacologically knockout or inactivation of embryonic microglia resulted in increases of neural precursor cells pool (Cunningham et al., 2013). Similar phenomenons were also observed in genetically knockout of microglial in mice. Colony stimulating factor 1R-deficient (Csf1r−/−) mice w... ... middle
substance discovered that can replicate in the absence of nucleic acids, prions defy one of the most central biological doctrines. The similarities between TSEs and dementia disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and “findings of proteins with a prion-like behavior in yeast and other fungi” (Soto, 2006, 143) suggest that prions and proteins like them may be much more common than ever expected (Soto, 2006, 154). 10 Bibliography Baker, Harry F., & Ridley, Rosalind M. (1996). Prion Diseases. Totowa, New Jersey:
Should animals have the same rights as humans? The answer is simply an opinion, but before someone decides whether or not animals have rights they must first take into consideration a few things. First, one must decide what the term “rights” is referring to: moral rights or legal rights. Secondly, one must determine what the term animal is referring to: are humans considered animals? Thirdly, one must ask are animals’ sentient beings: Can animals feel pain and suffer? The next element is to take