Tag Animal research

Mouse study reveals genetic component of empathy

February 12, 2009

The ability to empathize with others is partially determined by genes, according to new research on mice from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU).

After 30 years, tamarins ride off into retirement

January 28, 2009

At an institution like UW–Madison, good research programs ebb and flow, the vagaries of funding and the involvement of the people who drive them. But sometimes ramping down a program of research presents special problems that require extraordinary actions for closure. Such was the dilemma for Chuck Snowdon, a professor of psychology who for decades has studied the behavior of the cottontop tamarin, an endangered New World primate.

New study shows persistence of anxiety

July 2, 2008

We all know people who are tense and nervous and can't relax. They may have been wired differently since childhood.

In young mice, gregariousness seems to reside in the genes

April 4, 2007

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found evidence that social interactions among young mice result from basic motivations to be with one another. What's more, the researchers say, the extent of a young mouse's gregariousness is influenced by its genetic background.