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08/11/1996 |
Mutant Mice May Hold Key To Human Violence--An ExcessOf Serotonin, A Chemical That Helps Regulate Mood And Mental Health, Causes Mayhem |
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Portland Press Herald A Tg8 is born with its brain awash in an excess of serotonin, a neurotransmitter chemical that helps regulate mood and mental health, and [Jean Chen] Shih and her co-workers believe that that excess greatly contributes to the mouse's fierce temper. The scientist grabs Mutant 9 by the tail, lifts the mouse out of its cage, and lowers it into another, identical container, the reeking, sawdust-floored home of Mutant 4. Blind and jittery, the mice are freaks of nature, products of a genetic engineering experiment that did not go exactly as planned. But, oddly, their encounter in this fifth-floor laboratory at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy may reveal something vital about human nature. This odd little spectacle is part of the quest for answers to the violence clawing at America's soul. A Tg8 is born with its brain awash in an excess of serotonin, a neurotransmitter chemical that helps regulate mood and mental health, and [Jean Chen] Shih and her co-workers believe that that excess greatly contributes to the mouse's fierce temper. |
