Pfaff D W
The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Dec 23;94(26):14213-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.26.14213.
With assays of hormone-sensitive behaviors, it is possible to demonstrate both direct and indirect actions of genes on mammalian social behaviors. Direct effects of estrogen receptor gene expression and progesterone receptor gene expression figure prominently in well analyzed neuroendocrine mechanisms for sex behavior, operating through a neural circuit that has been delineated. Indirect effects, notably the consequences of sexual differentiation, display complex dependencies. In a human condition, Kallmann syndrome, the data show a clear, indirect genetic influence on an important human social behavior, in which damage at chromosome Xp-22.3 works through at least six discrete steps to affect libido. Altogether, simplistic extrapolations from lower animals, especially during brief summaries for nonscientists, do not appear justified as we discover and conceptualize genetic influences on mammalian brain and behavior.
通过对激素敏感行为的检测，有可能证明基因对哺乳动物社会行为的直接和间接作用。雌激素受体基因表达和孕激素受体基因表达的直接作用在经过充分分析的性行为神经内分泌机制中显著体现，通过已明确的神经回路发挥作用。间接作用，尤其是性分化的后果，表现出复杂的依赖性。在人类疾病卡尔曼综合征中，数据显示出对一种重要人类社会行为有明确的间接遗传影响，其中Xp - 22.3染色体的损伤通过至少六个离散步骤来影响性欲。总之，当我们发现并概念化基因对哺乳动物大脑和行为的影响时，从低等动物进行的简单推断，尤其是在向非科学家进行简要总结时，似乎并不合理。
