Asbury and Wai ("Journal of School Choice," 2019) perform a valuable service by summarizing much available behavior--genetic research on academic achievement. However they consider that no specific policies stem from the research body at this time. Here we do propose a policy based on some of our research using twins, namely that…

Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the use of optogenetic tools to test whether specific cells, regions, and projection pathways are necessary or sufficient for initiating, sustaining, or altering behavior. However, the use of such tools can result in side effects that can complicate experimental design or interpretation.…

It is well established that fear memory formation requires de novo gene transcription in the amygdala. We provide evidence that epigenetic mechanisms in the form of histone lysine methylation in the lateral amygdala (LA) are regulated by NMDA receptor (NMDAR) signaling and involved in gene transcription changes necessary for fear memory…

Presents Michael J. Meaney as one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions (2012). Michael J. Meaney has taken the phenomenon of "handling" of newborn rats and opened a new area of investigation that has given new meaning to epigenetics via his work demonstrating transgenerational…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share about 50-72% of their genetic factors, which is the most likely explanation for their frequent co-occurrence within the same patient or family. An additional or alternative explanation for the co-occurrence may be (cross-)assortative mating, e.g.,…

Autism has become one of the most heavily researched topics in the field of mental health and education. While genetics has been the most studied of all topics, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has also received a great deal of attention, and has arguably yielded the most promising results of any research area to date. The current paper provides a…

This article presents an introduction to "The Behavior-Analytic Origins of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy: An Example of Behavioral Neurorehabilitation," by Edward Taub and his colleagues (Taub, 2012). Based on extensive experimentation with animal models of peripheral nerve injury, Taub and colleagues have created an approach to overcoming…

The burden of disease in the United States is high. Mental illness is currently the leading cause of disease burden among 15- to 44-year-olds. This phenomenon is occurring despite the many advances that have been made in clinical research. Several efficacious interventions are available to treat many of these disorders; however, they are greatly…

Ahmad R. Hariri, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, is cited for pioneering contributions to understanding the neurobiological mechanisms driving individual differences in complex behavior traits. Hariri has integrated molecular genetics, neuropharmacology, neuroimaging, and psychology in…

Behavioural genetics was initially concerned with partitioning population variance into that due to genetics and that due to environmental influences. The implication was that the two were separate and it was assumed that gene-environment interactions were usually of so little importance that they could safely be ignored. Theoretical…

Previous research has shown that Lewis rats make more impulsive choices than Fischer 344 rats. Such strain-related differences in choice are important as they may provide an avenue for exploring genetic and neurochemical contributions to impulsive choice. The present systematic replication was designed to determine if these findings could be…

The notion that phenotypic traits, including behavior, can be predetermined has slowly given way in biology and psychology over the last two decades. This shift in thinking is due in large part to the growing evidence for the fundamental role of developmental processes in the generation of the stability and variations in phenotype that researchers…

Portrays sociobiology in a rational light and examines its human implications in the area of sexual selection and mating systems. Sociobiology is the analysis of social behavior in terms of its revolutionary and genetic origins and consequences. Concludes with a discussion of the potential contributions of sociobiology toward understanding of…

In this article we discuss the traditional behavioral models of depression and some of the challenges analyzing a phenomenon with such complex and varied features. We present the traditional model and suggest that it does not capture the complexity of the phenomenon, nor do syndromal models of depression that dominate the mainstream…

Social competence is a complex human behaviour that is likely to involve a system of genes that interacts with a myriad of environmental risk and protective factors. The search for its genetic and environmental origins and influences is equally complex and will require a multidimensional conceptualization and multiple methods and levels of…