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GENETICS AS A TOOL IN ALCOHOL RESEARCH
Author(s) -
McClearn Gerald E.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1972.tb28114.x
Subject(s) - citation , behavioural genetics , library science , annals , nature versus nurture , psychology , computer science , sociology , classics , history , anthropology
A recurrent theme at this conference has been that nature and nurture cannot profitably be viewed as alternative categories, one and only one of which can be invoked with respect to a particular characteristic. An appreciation of the joint action of genetic factors and environmental ones can but accelerate the understanding of etiological forces in alcoholism. In addition to this very important improvement in theoretical perspective, the study of genetic factors in alcohol preference, sensitivity to alcohol, and other alcohol-related behavior in experimental animals has made available a very powerful tool to those researchers who employ animal models in studying environmentally or experientially derived aspects of alcohol behavior. Briefly stated, genes may be employed as variables, to be controlled or manipulated as other variables. This control derives basically from the ability of the experimenter to assign matings. Two types of mating procedure have been used most extensively with respect to alcohol research, inbreeding and selective breeding, A third procedure, random mating, has been used hardly at all as yet, although its potential utility is a( least equal to that of inbreeding and selective breeding.