Genes and Behavior

In this major new book, eminent scientist Professor Sir Michael Rutter gets behind the hype of the behavioral genetics debate to provide a balanced and authoritative overview of the genetic revolution and its implications for understanding human behavior. Written by one of the world's leading figures in child psychology and psychiatry, Professor Sir Michael Rutter Provides non-technical explanation of genetics to diffuse the sensational debates surrounding the topic Sets out in layman's terms what genes do, how much is nature and how much is nurture Argues that nature and nurture are not truly separate and gives examples of how the two interact Looks at the implications of genetic findings for policy and practice The book will inform public debate about the implications of the Human Genome Project and, more broadly, the field of genetic science

Preface. Acknowledgments. Chapter 1: Why is the topic of genes and behavior controversial?. Chapter 2: Concepts of behavior and of mental disorder. Chapter 3: Environmentally mediated risks. Chapter 4: Patterns of inheritance. Chapter 5: How much is nature and how much nurture?. Chapter 6: The heritability of different mental disorders and traitsChapter 7: Finding and understanding specific susceptibility genes. Chapter 8: What genes do. Chapter 9: Nature-nurture interplay and causal pathways from genes to psychopathology. Chapter 10: What environments do to genes. Chapter 11: Conclusions. Complete reference list. Glossary. Index