Genetic Contributions to Generalized Arousal of Brain and Behavior (Pfaff, 2003)

Genetic Contributions to Generalized Arousal of Brain and Behavior (Pfaff, 2003)

Garey, Goodwillie, Frohlich, Morgan, Gustafsson, Smithies, Korach, Ogawa

Contributed by D. W. Pfaff

We have identified a generalized arousal component in the behavior of mice. Analyzed by mathematical/statistical approaches across experiments, investigators, and mouse populations, it accounts for about 1/3 of the variance in arousal-related measures.

http://www.pnas.org/content/100/19/11019.full.pdf

we propose that neurophysiological and behavioral responsivity to external stimuli constitute elementary requirements for animal life. But whether there is a generalized arousal function has been hotly debated. Electrophysiological evidence from recordings across the cerebral cortex after manipulations of the brainstem said ‘‘yes’’ (1–3). However, some cognitive neuroscientists argued (4) that the concept of arousal has become hopelessly subdivided. A clear theoretical resolution can be found, for the first time, in an equation

A = F(KgAg + Ks1As1 + Ks2As2 + KS3As3 + ... + KSnASn),

which combines both generalized (Ag) and various specific forms of arousal [As(1 to n)]

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