Exploratory locomotion, a predictor of addiction vulnerability, is oligogenic in rats selected for this phenotype.

ABSTRACT: Artificially selected model organisms can reveal hidden features of the genetic architecture of the complex disorders that they model. Addictions are disease phenotypes caused by different intermediate phenotypes and pathways and thereby are potentially highly polygenic. High responder (bHR) and low responder (bLR) rat lines have been selectively bred (b) for exploratory locomotion (EL), a behavioral phenotype correlated with novelty-seeking, impulsive response to reward, and vulnerability to addiction, and is inversely correlated with spontaneous anxiety and depression-like behaviors. The rapid response to selection indicates loci of large effect for EL. Using exome sequencing of HR and LR rats, we identified alleles in gene-coding regions that segregate between the two lines. Quantitativ

SUBMITTER: Zhou Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6600920 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature