Douglas Wahlsten

Last updated
Douglas Wahlsten
Born (1943-10-13) October 13, 1943 (age 79)
CitizenshipCanadian
Alma mater Alma College
University of California, Irvine
Scientific career
Fields Behavioral neuroscience, psychology
Institutions University of Waterloo
University of Alberta
Thesis Direct Comparisons of Classical and Avoidance Training of Leg Flexion in Dogs (1969)
Doctoral advisor Michael Cole
Website www.psych.ualberta.ca/~wahlsten/

Douglas Leon Wahlsten (born October 13, 1943) is a Canadian neuroscientist, psychologist, and behavior geneticist. He is a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Alberta. [1] [2] As of 2011, he was also a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in North Carolina, United States. [3] He is known for his laboratory research on the behavior of mice, and for his theoretical writings on a wide range of other topics. [4] [5] His laboratory research has included studies of the effects of different laboratory environments and experimenter characteristics on the results of mouse studies. [6] [7] He and his colleagues have also developed an altered form of the rotarod performance test involving wrapping sandpaper around the rod, to reduce the ability of mice to grip the rod and ride around on it. [5] He has criticized some of his fellow behavior geneticists for trying to separate the effects of genes and the environment on human intelligence, an endeavor he considers futile. [8] He also met and became friends with Leilani Muir, later helping to edit her autobiography, A Whisper Past. [9] [10] He was the president of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society from 2000 to 2001. [11]

Wahlsten is a member of the editorial board of Genes, Brain and Behavior , [12] has co-edited a book on Techniques for the Genetic Analysis of Brain and Behavior focussing on the mouse, [13] [14] [15] and authored acclaimed [16] books on mouse behavior testing [17] and human behavioral neurogenetics. [18]

Related Research Articles

The Allen Mouse and Human Brain Atlases are projects within the Allen Institute for Brain Science which seek to combine genomics with neuroanatomy by creating gene expression maps for the mouse and human brain. They were initiated in September 2003 with a $100 million donation from Paul G. Allen and the first atlas went public in September 2006. As of May 2012, seven brain atlases have been published: Mouse Brain Atlas, Human Brain Atlas, Developing Mouse Brain Atlas, Developing Human Brain Atlas, Mouse Connectivity Atlas, Non-Human Primate Atlas, and Mouse Spinal Cord Atlas. There are also three related projects with data banks: Glioblastoma, Mouse Diversity, and Sleep. It is the hope of the Allen Institute that their findings will help advance various fields of science, especially those surrounding the understanding of neurobiological diseases. The atlases are free and available for public use online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behavioral neuroscience</span> Field of study

Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology, is the application of the principles of biology to the study of physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behavior in humans and other animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laboratory mouse</span> Mouse used for scientific research

The laboratory mouse or lab mouse is a small mammal of the order Rodentia which is bred and used for scientific research or feeders for certain pets. Laboratory mice are usually of the species Mus musculus. They are the most commonly used mammalian research model and are used for research in genetics, physiology, psychology, medicine and other scientific disciplines. Mice belong to the Euarchontoglires clade, which includes humans. This close relationship, the associated high homology with humans, their ease of maintenance and handling, and their high reproduction rate, make mice particularly suitable models for human-oriented research. The laboratory mouse genome has been sequenced and many mouse genes have human homologues. Lab mice sold at pet stores for snake food can also be kept as pets.

Neuroinformatics is the field that combines informatics and neuroscience. Neuroinformatics is related with neuroscience data and information processing by artificial neural networks. There are three main directions where neuroinformatics has to be applied:

The International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS) is a learned society that was founded in 1996. The goal of IBANGS is "promote and facilitate the growth of research in the field of neural behavioral genetics".

Genes, Brain and Behavior is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in the fields of behavioral, neural, and psychiatric genetics. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society. The journal was established in 2002 as a quarterly and is currently published monthly. G2B is a hybrid open access journal, but two years after publication all content is available for free online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neurogenetics</span>

Neurogenetics studies the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system. It considers neural characteristics as phenotypes, and is mainly based on the observation that the nervous systems of individuals, even of those belonging to the same species, may not be identical. As the name implies, it draws aspects from both the studies of neuroscience and genetics, focusing in particular how the genetic code an organism carries affects its expressed traits. Mutations in this genetic sequence can have a wide range of effects on the quality of life of the individual. Neurological diseases, behavior and personality are all studied in the context of neurogenetics. The field of neurogenetics emerged in the mid to late 20th century with advances closely following advancements made in available technology. Currently, neurogenetics is the center of much research utilizing cutting edge techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetically modified mouse</span>

A genetically modified mouse or genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) is a mouse that has had its genome altered through the use of genetic engineering techniques. Genetically modified mice are commonly used for research or as animal models of human diseases, and are also used for research on genes. Together with patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), GEMMs are the most common in vivo models in cancer research. Both approaches are considered complementary and may be used to recapitulate different aspects of disease. GEMMs are also of great interest for drug development, as they facilitate target validation and the study of response, resistance, toxicity and pharmacodynamics.

In psychology, genetic memory is a theorized phenomenon in which certain kinds of memories could be inherited, being present at birth in the absence of any associated sensory experience, and that such memories could be incorporated into the genome over long spans of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behavioural genetics</span> Study of genetic-environment interactions influencing behaviour

Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" connotes a focus on genetic influences, the field broadly investigates the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences, and the development of research designs that can remove the confounding of genes and environment. Behavioural genetics was founded as a scientific discipline by Francis Galton in the late 19th century, only to be discredited through association with eugenics movements before and during World War II. In the latter half of the 20th century, the field saw renewed prominence with research on inheritance of behaviour and mental illness in humans, as well as research on genetically informative model organisms through selective breeding and crosses. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, technological advances in molecular genetics made it possible to measure and modify the genome directly. This led to major advances in model organism research and in human studies, leading to new scientific discoveries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotarod performance test</span>

The rotarod performance test is a performance test based on a rotating rod with forced motor activity being applied, usually by a rodent. The test measures parameters such as riding time (seconds) or endurance. Some of the functions of the test include evaluating balance, grip strength and motor coordination of the subjects; especially in testing the effect of experimental drugs or after traumatic brain injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wim Crusio</span> Dutch behavioral neurogeneticist

Wim E. Crusio is a Dutch behavioral neurogeneticist and a directeur de recherche with the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Talence, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Crawley</span> American behavioral neuroscientist

Jacqueline N. Crawley is an American behavioral neuroscientist and an expert on rodent behavioral analysis. Since July 2012, she is the Robert E. Chason Chair in Translational Research in the MIND Institute and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento. Previously, from 1983–2012, she was chief of the Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience in the intramural program of the National Institute of Mental Health. Her translational research program focuses on testing hypotheses about the genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders and discovering treatments for the diagnostic symptoms of autism, using mouse models. She has published more than 275 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and 110 review articles and book chapters. According to Scopus, her works have been cited over 36,000 times, giving her an h-index of 99. She has co-edited 4 books and is the author of What's Wrong With my Mouse? Behavioral Phenotyping of Transgenic and Knockout Mice, which was very well received.

Justin S. Rhodes is an American neuroscientist and a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is affiliated with the Neuroscience Program, Program of Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology, the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and the Neurotech group at Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. After receiving a Bachelor of Science in biology at Stanford University, Rhodes obtained a PhD in zoology in 2002 from University of Wisconsin–Madison, under the supervision of Theodore Garland, Jr. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University, he held a position as an instructor at Lewis & Clark College for a year before accepting a full-time faculty position in 2005 in the biological division of the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois. His lab investigates a broad array of topics in the field of neuroscience with particular emphasis in exercise-induced hippocampal neurogenesis, neural circuitry involved in addictive behaviors, and brain plasticity in clownfish.

A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are important animal models for studying the role of genes which have been sequenced but whose functions have not been determined. By causing a specific gene to be inactive in the mouse, and observing any differences from normal behaviour or physiology, researchers can infer its probable function.

Joe Z. Tsien is a neuroscientist who pioneered Cre/lox-neurogenetics in the mid-1990s, a versatile toolbox for neuroscientists to study the complex relationships between genes, neural circuits, and behaviors. He is also known as the creator of the smart mouse Doogie in the late 1990s while being a faculty member at Princeton University. Recently, he developed the Theory of Connectivity in an effort to explain the origin of intelligence, or the basic design principle underlying brain computation and intelligence. The theory states that brain computation is organized by a power-of-two-based permutation logic in constructing cell assemblies - the basic building blocks of neural circuits. The theory has received initial validation from experiments. The discovery of this basic computational logic of the brain can have important implications for the development of artificial general intelligence.

Benson Earl Ginsburg was an American behavior geneticist who taught at the University of Chicago and the University of Connecticut. He was a co-founder of the Behavior Genetics Association.

John C. Crabbe, Jr. is an American neuroscientist and behavior geneticist. He is a professor of behavioral neuroscience at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, where he has worked since 1979. He is also a senior research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. He is also the former director of OHSU's Portland Alcohol Research Center.

Pierre L. Roubertoux is a French behavioral geneticist.

Richard Palmiter is a cellular biologist. He was born in Poughkeepsie, NY and later went on to earn a BA in Zoology from Duke University and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. He is employed with the University of Washington where he is a professor of biochemistry and genome sciences. His current research involves developing a deeper understanding of Parkinson's disease. His most notable research is a collaboration with Dr. Ralph Brinster where they injected purified DNA into a single-cell mouse embryo, showing transmission of the genetic material to subsequent generations for the first time.

References

  1. "Psychology Emeriti". University of Alberta . Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  2. "Biography of Dr. Douglas Wahlsten". University of Alberta. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  3. "D. Wahlsten Homepage". UNCG Department of Psychology. University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Archived from the original on 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  4. "Research Interests of Dr. Douglas Wahlsten". University of Alberta. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  5. 1 2 Crawley, Jacqueline N. (2007-05-11). What's Wrong With My Mouse?: Behavioral Phenotyping of Transgenic and Knockout Mice. John Wiley & Sons. p. 71. ISBN   9780470119044.
  6. Banach, Natalie (2005-08-01). "Genetic Environment". APS Observer. 18 (8). Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  7. Katsnelson, Alla (2014-04-28). "Male researchers stress out rodents". Nature . doi: 10.1038/nature.2014.15106 . S2CID   87534627 . Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  8. Holmes, Bob (1995-03-04). "Why the search for smart genes is doomed". New Scientist . Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  9. Dambrofsky, Gwen (2016-03-16). "Woman who successfully sued Alberta over sterilization dies". CTV News . Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  10. Johnson, Doug (2014-05-28). "In Canada of all places". Edmonton Examiner . Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  11. Kamens, Helen. "Past Officers and Executive Committee Members". IBANGS . Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  12. "Genes, Brain and Behavior". onlinelibrary.wiley.com. Wiley-Blackwell . Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  13. Ehrman, Lee (March 1994). "Techniques for the Genetic Analysis of Brain and Behavior: Focus on the Mouse (Techniques in the Behavioral and Neural Sciences, Volume 8)". Journal of Heredity. 85 (2): 167–168. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111423.
  14. Lipp, Hans-Peter (September 1994). "Book review". Behavior Genetics. 24 (5): 477–479. doi:10.1007/BF01076183. S2CID   189854120.
  15. Goldowith, D.; Wahlsten, D.; Wimer, R.E., eds. (1992). Techniques for the genetic analysis of brain and behavior : focus on the mouse. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN   9780444812490.
  16. Crusio, Wim E. (March 2013). "Mouse behavioral testing. How to use mice in behavioral research - by Douglas Wahlsten". Genes, Brain and Behavior. 12 (2): 288. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-183X.2012.00864.x .
  17. Wahlsten, Douglas (2010-10-22). Mouse Behavioral Testing: How To Use Mice in Behavioral Neuroscience. Academic Press. ISBN   9780123756749.
  18. Wahlsten, Douglas (2019). Genes, Brain Function, and Behavior: What genes do, how they malfunction, and ways to repair damage. San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press. ISBN   978-0-12-812832-9.