Genetically-determined abnormal behavior in dogs: Some implications for psychiatry

This paper discusses the neglect of behavioral genetics by psychiatry; summarizes experiments on a stable and an unstable strain of the pointer dog (reported in detail in a companion article); and points up the value of the obtained results for models of mental illness. The importance of genetically-determined extreme variations in temperament in shaping the individual's responses to particular environments is emphasized. These variations occur spontaneously among animals, and probably are relatively favored for procreation among civilized man and domesticated animals. Various dimensions of temperament and of inborn perceptual, cognitive, and integrational deficiencies are placed alongside early experience and later-life stresses, as equally important in contributing to mental breakdowns.