Read the Article by Heiming and Colleagues (2013), "To Attack

Read the article by Heiming and colleagues (2013), "To Attack, or Not to Attack? The Role of Serotonin Transporter Genotype in the Display of Maternal Aggression" (Behavioural Brain Research, vol. 242, pp. 135-141). Which molecular genetic technique did these authors use to examine the relationship between the serotonin transporter and maternal aggression in lactating female mice? What is the function of the serotonin transporter? Why do you think that both homozygous and heterozygous 5HTT-knockout mice showed less offensive aggression than wild-type controls? Based on your readings from Chapter 3 of Principles of Animal Behavior, develop at least two hypotheses regarding how reduced serotonin transporter activity might mediate offensive maternal aggression.