Basic concepts in behaviour genetics. Main genome sequencing techniques and their application to behaviour genetics. Genome Wide Association Studies.
Genome, evolution and behaviour. Nature and nurture. Molecular markers and their application to behavioural biology. Molecular fingerprinting. Transgenic animals. Genes involved in metabolism of neurotransmitters. Molecular bases of anxiety, depression and aggressiveness in different organisms.
-Most recent scientific articles provided by the teacher.
-Genetica del comportamento | Plomin - DeFries - Knopik - Neiderhiser | Raffaello Cortina Editore |
Learning Objectives
Knowledge acquired: The course will provide students with knowledge on the theoretical and technical concepts of behaviour genetics.
Competence and skills acquired: students will acquire the theoretical and technical competences on the current methodologies for the study of genetic and environmental influences on organisms’ behavior.
The applications of this approach to the analysis of real-world case-studies will be illustrated.
Frequency of lectures:
The attendance of the lessons is strongly recommended.
Teaching tools: slides of the lessons; scientific publications.
Office hours: to be set according to the student needs.
Type of Assessment
Oral exam
Course program
Human genome organization. Unique, repeated and “junk” DNA sequences. Genome variability. Genetic polymorphism, (VNTR, SNPS, CNV). Polymorphisms and their link with complex phenotypes (multi-factor pathologies). GWAS, Genome-wide association studies. Characterization of human genome variability, 1000 Genomes. Identification of major human haplotypes. HMAP project. Quantitative genetics. Evaluation of genetic and environmental influences on human behaviour. Twin-based studies. Correlation between gene interaction and environment. The role of epigenetic.