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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse
Published on: November 10, 2010
Genetic contributions to generalized arousal of brain and behavior
J Garey1, A Goodwillie, J Frohlich
1Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Abstract:
We have identified a generalized arousal component in the behavior of mice. Analyzed by mathematical/statistical approaches across experiments, investigators, and mouse populations, it accounts for about 1/3 of the variance in arousal-related measures. Knockout of the gene coding for the classical estrogen receptor (ER-alpha), a ligand-activated transcription factor, greatly reduced arousal responses. In contrast, disrupting the gene for a likely gene duplication product, ER-beta, did not have these effects. A combination of mathematical and genetic approaches to arousal in an experimentally tractable mammal opens up analysis of a CNS function of considerable theoretical and practical significance.
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