H Hill Goldsmith, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Published online: July 2006
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005232
The ‘gene-to-behavior' pathway is a concept meant to counter overly deterministic ways of thinking about the effects of genes on behavior. Gene-to-behavior pathways incorporate mechanisms of gene action, endophenotypes and variable behavioral expression, as well as notions of the complexity of biological systems.
Keywords: endophenotype; probabilistic epigenesis; multigene disorders; quantitative trait loci; dynamic systems
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Figure 1. The genes-to-behavior pathway for intelligence. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs; hypothetical relevant genes) are depicted at the bottom, and the large tubes represent endophenotypes. (Reproduced from Gottesman II (1997) Twins: en route to QTLs for cognition. Science 276(5318): 1522–1523.)
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| References | |
| book Gottesman II and Shields J (1972) Schizophrenia and Genetics: A Twin Study Vantage Point. New York, NY: Academic Press. | |
| proceedings Greenough WT, Klintsova AY, Irwin SA, et al. (2001) Synaptic regulation of protein synthesis and the fragile X protein. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98: 7101–7106. | |
| John B and Lewis KR (1966) Chromosome variability and geographic distribution in insects. Science 152: 711–721. | |
| Meaney MJ (2001) Maternal care, gene expression, and the transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity across generations. Annual Review of Neuroscience 24: 1161–1192. | |
| Meehl PE (1972) Specific genetic etiology, psychodynamics, and therapeutic nihilism. International Journal of Mental Health 1: 10–27. | |
| Further Reading | |
| book Emde RN and Hewitt JK (eds) (2001) The Transition from Infancy to Early Childhood: Genetic and Environmental Influences in the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. | |
| Francis D, Diorio J, Liu D and Meany MJ (1999) Nongenomic transmission across generations of maternal behavior and stress responses in the rat. Science 286: 1155–1158. | |
| book Goldsmith HH and Gottesman II (1995) "Heritable variability and variable heritability in developmental psychopathology". In: Lenzenweger MF, Haugaard J (eds) Frontiers in Psychopathology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. | |
| Gottesman II (1997) Twins: en route to QTLs for cognition. Science 276: 1522–1523. | |
| book Kauffman SA (1993) The Origins of Order: Self-organization and Selection in Evolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. | |
| Kiberstis P and Roberts L (2002) It's not just the genes. Science 296: 685. | |
| Leboyer M, Bellivier F, Nosten-Bertrand M, et al. (1998) Psychiatric genetics: search for phenotypes. Trends in Neuroscience 21: 102–105. | |
| book McGuffin P, Owen MJ, O'Donovan MC, Thapar A and Gottesman II (1994) Seminars in Psychiatric Genetics. London, UK: Royal College of Psychiatrists. | |
| Strohman R (2002) Maneuvering in the complex path from genotype to phenotype. Science 296: 701–703. | |
| Wahlsten D (1999) Single-gene influences on brain and behavior. Annual Review of Psychology 50: 599–624. | |
| Web Links | |
| ePath http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=2332 Fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1); LocusID: 2332. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?309550 | |
| other Fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1); MIM number: 309550. OMIM: | |
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