Mammals as model organisms for the study of the biologic basis of human behavior

Behavioral phenotypes that are studied in mammals are seldom specific for the understanding of the biologic basis of human behavior. Phenomenologic comparisons primarily demonstrate the existence of genetically determined variabilities and do not allow for any further interpretations. A satisfactory state--using systems of lower complexity--will be reached when neuromorphologic or neurochemical variations can be traced back to phenomenologic differences with single-gene modes of inheritance. In a new study extensive data prove the single-gene inheritance of active avoidance learning. A correlated study carried out in a behavioral genetics and neuroanatomical laboratory showed that, owing to strain differences in mice, there is some probability of a multiple allelic system correlating with the hippocampal mossy fiber distribution.