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Mind Lecture 2: gene by environment interaction1/16/2014 8:07:00 AM

Need to start thinking Implicit and Explicit. Nature and Nurture. Ect.
Lamarck: inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Lamarck: biology is dynamic. Darwin:
Put vole in, see the aggression rate.
Control condition: let the vole hang out.
If you allow vole to mate in between the vole intruding, aggression
substantially increases.
Prairie Volesfirst experiment.
Meadow Vole: genomes are very similar.
Same test to the Meadow Voles.
They have the same baseline aggression levels.
Mating experience does not alter meadow vole aggression.
Difference in behavioral experience of aggression is related to their
mating habits.
Polygamous, monogamous(prairie)
Sequence codes for protein, first part is the sequence that determines if the
protein is made.
Different in the amount of times the A and T repeats. Same code: different
times the ATs repeat
300AT repeats vs. 85AT repeats. Meadow voles have the smaller number of
repeats, and the prairie voles larger number.
Monogamous- long gene- mating.
Gene is vasopressin, receptor called V1aR.
Ligands bind to cell receptor. Cellular signals can have widespread and
meaningful effects on neural function.
Look at repeat number in certain genes. Repeat length polymorphism
2 copies of every gene: each copy is an allele. You can have short allele and
long allele.
Darwin: come with a genome, come with a certain number of repeats,
somewhat determined.
Other dude: Genome is dynamic, altered by environment (social
experience), genome alterations can be region-specific, Dynamic genome is
a mechanism
How do we know the dynamic neurogenome has behavioral effects?
Songbirds(zebra finches): learn their songs from a tutor. Young males learn
from adult males.
1. Disrupting genome activation in the brain during experience
affects future behavior.
2. Can measure changes in genome structure that correlate with early
expereiecne and adult behavior.

Can the genome be dynamic: social experience changing. Nueral gene
expression can be experience-dependent (genome is dynamic)
Within 30 minutes of hearing the song, increased gene expression in
the brain.
Can those dynamic changes alter behavior?
Put a blocker in the cage: female.
Blocker infusion into brain creates specific and temporary lesion. Block
genome from copying song.
Tutee birds need genomic activation in their brain during tutor experience to
learn tutors song. Blocker nearly same as birds with no tutor.
Having a dynamic genome during tutoring session is imperative in
mating.
Sequence is NOT being changed over your lifetime. But only between
Regulatory region promoter: enhance or repress gene expression
(first part- if it gets activated or not)
Lamarck
Rat maternal behavior: licking and grooming.
The rats level of grooming is consistent across 3 generations.
Take the pups from a High LG mom to Low LG mom.
HL: high lg genetic moms- low lg foster mom
L-H: low LG genetic mom- high LG foster mom.
Effect due to early life experience with licking-grooming NOT genetics-
offsprings behavior based on cross foster moms behavior.
Being licked/groomed as a young rat puts marks on DNA (the
regulatory region promoter. CG-Lollipop. Only go where there is a CG.
Dna marks can be inherited (Lamarck)
Genome can be dynamically altered by the environment.
If we dont know how the environment acts to influence our
genome, its hard to predict how the genome makes us who we
are.
What are the implications of these genotypes? Pretend that the reader
knows NOTHING.
1/16/2014 8:07:00 AM

1/16/2014 8:07:00 AM

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