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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 28, 2004, 24(30):6733-6740; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1650-04.2004
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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Common Genetic Effects on Variation in Impulsivity and Activity in Mice
Anthony R. Isles,
Trevor Humby,
Eurof Walters, and
Lawrence S. Wilkinson
Neurobiology and Developmental Genetics Programmes, The Babraham Institute, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, United Kingdom
Impulsivity is a complex psychological construct that impacts on behavioral predispositions in the normal range and has been shown to have a genetic element through the examination of hereditary patterns of abnormal conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. In this study, we took advantage of the isogenic nature of inbred strains of mice to determine the contribution of genes to impulsive behaviors by examining the performance of four separate mouse strains in a novel murine delayed-reinforcement paradigm, during which the animals had to choose between rewards that were relatively small but available immediately and larger but progressively delayed rewards. To control for maternal effects, all the mice were cross-fostered to a common strain immediately after birth. Under these conditions, we found significant differences between the strains on behaviors indexing impulsive choice and on independent measures of locomotor activity, which subsequent heritability analysis showed could be related, in part, to genetic effects. Moreover, the two aspects of behavior were found to co-vary, with the more active animals also displaying more impulsive behavior. This was not attributable to mundane confounds related to individual task requirements but instead indicated the existence of common genetic factors influencing variation in both impulsivity and locomotor activity. The data are discussed in terms of the coexistence of impulsivity and hyperactivity, interactions between environmental and genetic effects, and possible candidate genes.
Key words: impulsivity; activity; heritability; delayed reinforcement; mice; AD/HD
Received Feb 25, 2004;
revised June 16, 2004;
accepted June 17, 2004.
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