Describes how a behavioral system in Aplysia (marine snail) can be used to examine mechanisms of several forms of learning at different levels of analysis: behavioral, cell-physiological, ultrastructural, and molecular. Focusing on short-term sensitization, suggests how molecular mechanisms can be extended to explain long-term memory and classical…

Discussed are some of the strategies required to try to detect and explain DNA markers that account for small amounts of behavioral variation. Situations in both animal and human behavior are described. The link between molecular biology and behavior is highlighted. (CW)

Analogies can be useful in the study of behavior, physiology, and comparative evolution. Dangers in mistaking a homology for an analogy are discussed. (RH)

Reports on research related to the theory that the nervous systems, and hence the behavior, of animals may be permanently modified during initial periods of early life in response to environmental stimuli. (GS)

Presents models that ascribe social behavior, such as altruism and parental sacrifices for the young, to a kind of genetic imperative wherein individuals maximize their genetic contribution to the next generation. (GS)

Provides an overview of basic and applied studies for which primates are appropriate subjects. Summarizes the advantages, limitations, and constraints of using nonhuman primates in research. (RT)

Presents the idea that social systems evolve to increase the genetic fitness of individuals in specific environments. Cites examples of animal behavior and environmental influences that may indicate why different social systems have evolved. (GS)

Through the use of learned symbols, two chimpanzees accurately specified 11 foods by name to one another when the food item's identity was known by only one and requested specific food of one another by name. Requests resulted in cooperative and reciprocal symbolically mediated food exchange. (Author/MA)