Explain why mice are appropriate animal models for human behavioral genetics researc What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER: One way to study the genetics of human behavior is to ask whether this behavior can be
studied in model systems. If so, then results from experimental organisms can be used to
study human behavior. The mouse has been the primary animal used in the study of human
psychiatric and other behavioral disorders. Mouse models include strains created by artificial
selection for a specific behavior, such as alcohol consumption, and strains created by
insertion of a human gene to create a transgenic model of a human behavioral disorder. The
genetic similarity between humans and mice (the two species have over 90% of their genes in
common) and the application of genomics including genome-wide association studies
(GWAS) have increased interest in using the mouse as a model to study illnesses such as
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These models are being used to investigate the biological
mechanisms that underlie specific behaviors, with the expectation that similar mechanisms
exist in humans.
You might also like to view...
In the cAMP pathway, the G protein activates ____
a. adenylyl cyclase b. diacylglycerol (DAG) c. phospholipase C d. inositol triphosphate e. phosphodiesterase
Places that are home to species found nowhere else and are under great threat of destruction are called:
a. hot spots b. endemic c. threatened d. endangered e. exotic
Which of the following is not a way that humans have increased the carrying capacity of the environment?
a) agriculture b) using large amounts of natural resources c) domestication of animals d) use of language
Which of the following items demonstrates radial symmetry?
A) a glove B) a tennis racket C) a pair of sunglasses D) an apple pie