The mouse: genetics meets behaviour.
Genetic studies in the mouse are important in the elucidation of molecular pathways that underlie behaviour. The advantages of the mouse for behavioural studies include an extensive array of genetic technologies and an elaborate behavioural repertoire that can be used to create models of human disease. This review discusses the relative advantages of forward and reverse genetic approaches to studying the genetic basis of behaviour in the mouse, and the complexities that behavioural studies need to address, such as phenotypic variability, genetic background effects and pleiotropy.
Bućan
Maja
M
Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Clinical Research Building, Room 111A, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. bucan@pobox.upenn.edu
Abel
Ted
T
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable