What is the science behind animal mimicry and being trained to do what humans want them to

do?

Animals in behavioral tests have long been a staple of psychological study, but whether

the findings are applicable to human behavior has remained a question. Researchers at Weill

Cornell Medical College have discovered a mutation in the DNA of a gene that causes anxiety-

related behavior in both humans and mice, indicating that laboratory animals can be used to

accurately investigate human behavior. Researchers may be able to use the data to develop

new treatment procedures for treating anxiety problems in humans, such as phobias and post-

traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. B.J. Casey, co-senior author of the study and professor of

psychology and psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, adds, "We observed that humans

and mice with the same human genetic change likewise had greater difficulty in extinguishing an

anxious-like response to unpleasant stimuli."

Humans and mice with a mutation in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene

showed similar behavioral reactions, according to the researchers. The mice had a human

genetic variant put into their genome, making them genetically changed. To perform their

comparison, the researchers used a non-aversive stimulus and an aversive stimulus that

triggers an anxious-like reaction known as conditioned fear. Following fear learning, participants

usually destroy their fear response by being exposed to multiple exposures of the harmless

stimuli alone in the absence of the unpleasant stimulus. That is, the person should eventually

quit reacting anxiously to the innocuous stimuli.