SYLLABUS FOR GENES AND BEHAVIOR
EEOB 507/BIOL 495 AT – SPRING 2014 – 3 CREDITS
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:10-2:30 in 334 Bessey Hall
Description of the Course
In this discussion-based course, we will examine the genetic underpinnings of animal
behavior, and how behavior evolves on a genetic level. Topics will include
aggressiveness, social behavior, personality, parental care, communication, mating
behavior, novelty seeking behavior, and foraging. We will examine these behaviors at
multiple levels, including genomics, population genetics, molecular genetics,
epigenetics, endocrinology, and neurobiology. The course will primarily rely on readings
from the primary literature, using examples from laboratory model organisms, animals in
their natural habitats, and humans. There will be frequent readings from review papers,
journal articles, and book chapters. Grades will be heavily based on participation in
course discussions, student presentations, and an original research proposal. The
course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates with previous
coursework in animal behavior and/or psychology. If there is something you do not
understand, it is your responsibility to come and talk to me about it right away so that
you don’t fall behind. I am happy to work with you to make sure you get the most out of
this course!
Course goals and learning objectives
- To understand the different ways in which genes can affect complex phenotypes,
including behavior
- To appreciate the importance of both genes and environment, and their
interaction, in affecting behavior
- To have a basic understanding of quantitative and molecular genetic techniques,
including modern genomic approaches, for understanding the genetic basis of
behavior
- To be able to critically read and understand behavioral genetics papers from the
primary literature
- To understand how genes that underlie behavior can be deeply conserved
across animals, but still evolve and contribute to the evolution of new forms of
behavior
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor:
Dr. Amy Toth
Office: 309 Bessey Hall, Phone: 294-3121
Email: Contact me via email at amytoth@iastate.edu.
Office hours: Wednesdays at 2 pm in my office
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COURSE MATERIALS
Reading: As a “Frontier” area in biology, there is still no suitable textbook for this course.
We will mainly be reading book chapters, primary literature, and newspaper articles (for
the latter, read with caution!). All of the readings are available through the Blackboard
course site. Pdf files for each reading have been posted on this site.
Keep up on the reading for this course! It is very important for understanding the
material and your preparedness will affect your participation grade.
Blackboard Learn resources: Blackboard Learn will be used to post the syllabus,
assignments for readings, and grades for the course. The lecture presentations will be
available on Blackboard Learn; these will sometimes be made available in advance.
Note that even if the notes are available in advance some changes may be made after I
upload the files. Students will be able to use their user ID and password to access
information in Blackboard Learn.
GRADING
Your final grade in the course will be based on the following point allocations.
There will be no extra credit.
THING
2 Exams
Attendance and Class Participation in
Discussions
Student-led paper discussions (2)
Final Project Paper
Final Project Presentation
GRAND TOTAL
POINTS PER
50
POINTS TOTAL
100
50
25
50
50
50
300
Exams
The first exam will be held during regular class time, and the second will be during finals
week. Both will be short answer and essay based. Exam questions will draw heavily
from class discussions and lectures, but all of the readings and additional readings are
also fair game. You will have 90 minutes to complete each exam. Make sure you make
it to the exams, I cannot promise that make-up exams will be available.
GENERAL COURSE POLICIES AND ETIQUETTE
1. Be punctual. This class is scheduled from 1:10 pm to 2:30 pm. We will begin
promptly and will generally go for the entire 80 minutes. I expect you to be in your seats,
awake, and ready to begin at this time, and for you to give me your undivided attention
for the entire time. This means no phone calls, texting, rustling of papers, packing up
early, etc.!
2. Be considerate to your classmates. Students should refrain from unnecessary use
of electronic devices, chattering, whispering, note-passing, snoring (I hope not!) etc. Any
student whose behavior is distracting to me or to the class will be asked to leave.
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Academic Dishonesty
The class will follow Iowa State University’s policy on academic dishonesty. Anyone
suspected of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students Office.
http://www.dso.iastate.edu/ja/academic/misconduct.html
Disability Accommodation
Iowa State University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Sect 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act. If you have a disability and anticipate needing accommodations
in this course, please contact (instructor name) to set up a meeting within the first two
weeks of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your need. Before meeting
with (instructor name), you will need to obtain a SAAR form with recommendations for
accommodations from the Disability Resources Office, located in Room 1076 on the
main floor of the Student Services Building. Their telephone number is 515-294-7220 or
email disabilityresources@iastate.edu . Retroactive requests for accommodations will
not be honored.
Dead Week
This class follows the Iowa State University Dead Week policy as noted in section 10.6.4
of the Faculty Handbook http://www.provost.iastate.edu/resources/faculty-handbook .
Harassment and Discrimination
Iowa State University strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for
faculty, staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and
harassment based upon race, ethnicity, sex (including sexual assault), pregnancy, color,
religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual
orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or status as a U.S. veteran. Any student
who has concerns about such behavior should contact his/her instructor, Student
Assistance at 515-294-1020 or email dso-sas@iastate.edu, or the Office of Equal
Opportunity and Compliance at 515-294-7612.
Religious Accommodation
If an academic or work requirement conflicts with your religious practices and/or
observances, you may request reasonable accommodations. Your request must be in
writing, and your instructor or supervisor will review the request. You or your instructor
may also seek assistance from the Dean of Students Office or the Office of Equal
Opportunity and Compliance.
Contact Information
If you are experiencing, or have experienced, a problem with any of the above issues,
email academicissues@iastate.edu.
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Tentative Course Schedule
This schedule is subject to change if it becomes apparent that we need to spend more or
less time on a given subject. Reading assignments are also subject to change.
(Class) Topic
Reading
Date
Foundations
(1)
Intro to Course
Pinker
Jan. 14
(2)
Exploring Gene-Behavior Relationships Sapolsky, Robinson 1,
Jan. 16
Holden
(3)
Principles of Behavioral Genetics 1:
Greenspan, Carroll,
Jan, 21 Genetics basics review
Leeper
(4)
Principles of Behavioral Genetics 2:
Kyriacou, Willis-Owen
Jan. 23 Forward and reverse genetic approach
(5)
Principles of Behavioral Genetics 3:
Wright, Flint, Rietveld,
Jan. 28 Twins, heritability, and whole genomes
(6)
Principles of Behavioral Genetics 4:
Bell, Dobbs, Kang
Jan. 30 Gene expression
(7)
What about the brain? Filling in the
Landis, Schafer,
Feb. 4
“black box”
Thomson
(8)
The fallacy of eugenics
Eggen, Severson,
Feb. 6
Roubertoux
Social influences on gene expression and behavior
(9)
GUEST LECTURE
TBA
Feb. 11
(10)
GUEST LECTURE
TBA
Feb 13
(11)
Acoustic communication in song birds
WashU, Dong,
Feb. 18
Clayton
(12)
Behavioral maturation in honey bees
Dobbs, Alaux, Zayed
Feb. 20
(13)
Dominance in cichlid fish
Renn, Shwartz,
Feb. 25
Maruska
(14)
Epigenetics
Hall, Miller, Goldberg
Feb. 27
(15)
Maternal Care in Rodents
Weaver, Champagne,
Mar. 4
Hurley
(16)
MIDTERM EXAM
Mar. 6
The influence of genes on social behavior
(17)
Genotype-environment interactions
Breed, Bendesky,
Mar. 11
Bakermans
(18)
Courtship communication in fruit flies
Greenspan, Wheeler,
Mar. 13
Dickson
(19)
Monogamy in prairie voles
Donaldson, Lim,
Mar. 25
Vedantam
(20)
Social foraging in honey bees
Ben-Shahar, Barron,
Mar. 27
Angier
(21)
Aggression: amine genes = “mean”
Alia-Klein, Horgan,
Presenter
Toth
Toth
Toth
Toth
Toth
Toth
Toth
Toth
Jennifer
Jandt
Adam
Dolezal
Karri, Jillian
Toth
Kaitlin,
Giselle
Rebecca,
Megan
Jessie,
Amber
Toth
Jillian, Alex
Heather,
Eric
Alex, Giselle
Kaitlin,
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Apr. 1
(22)
Apr. 3
(23)
Apr. 8
(24)
Apr. 10
(25)
Apr. 15
(26)
Apr. 17
Apr. 22
Apr. 24
Apr. 29
May 1
May 6
genes?
Speech in humans and animals and its
roots
Personality genes
Sexuality in humans
Evolutionary conservation of genes
related to behavior
Beyond nature vs nurture
Final Presentations
Final Presentations
Final Presentations
No class, guest lecture possible TBA
FINAL EXAM, 12:00-2:00
Ferguson
Enard, Yong, Fisher
Bell 2, Okuyama,
Kraus
Horton, Bogaert,
Alanko
O’Connell, Toth, Katz
Robinson 2,
Robinson3, Tyson
Megan
Jessie,
Amber
Karri,
Heather
Rebecca,
Eric
Toth
Toth
Students
Students
Students
**Papers due!**
** Note: The less technical, popular or new articles are underlined.
Class Participation and Discussion
Your attendance will be noted, so please let me know if you need to miss a class. All
classes will involve discussions of the primary literature as well as the news articles.
Coming prepared for these discussions by doing your reading, as well as noting
questions or things that needed clarification, will contribute to better and more informed
participation!!
Student Led Paper Discussions
Students will be responsible for “presenting” 2 papers per semester. Can work in groups
of 2-3. I suggest pairing an undergrad with a grad. Read paper together and give an
overview for the class. All students within a group should put in equal effort and all
should try to speak and present roughly the same amount. Here are some suggestions
about what you will present:
1) What was the major question?
2) What was the hypothesis or hypotheses being tested?
3) How were the hypotheses tested?
4) Show and interpret each figure.
5) Do the results support the hypothesis/es?
6) What are the main conclusions?
7) What was good about this study?
8) What could be improved about this study?
9) What would be a good follow-up study?
Final Projects:
Each student will independently come up with a behavior they are interested in and write
a research proposal on how they would go about studying the genetics of this behavior.
The projects will culminate in both a Final Paper (5 pages) and a Final Presentation.
Students will need to consult with me about their idea during office hours or make a
separate appointment.
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Final Papers
Papers will be written in the format of a research proposal. Students will be responsible
for a literature search in which they review what is known about a particular form of
behavior that has not yet been studied on the genetic level. Then, they will propose an
experiment or set of experiments to examine some aspect of how genes relate to that
behavior. A specific rubric for the proposal will be provided closer to the end of the
semester.
Final Presentations
Each student will give a 15-20 minute presentation of their final project. More details will
be provided on how to structure this presentation closer to the date.
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