Douglas Leon Wahlsten (born October 13, 1943) is a Canadian neuroscientist, psychologist, and behavior geneticist. He is a professor emeritus of psychology at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. As of 2011, he was also a visiting professor at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States. He is known for his laboratory research on the behavior of

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, and for his theoretical writings on a wide range of other topics. His laboratory research has included studies of the effects of different laboratory environments and experimenter characteristics on the results of mouse studies. He and his colleagues have also developed an altered form of the rotarod performance test involving wrapping

sandpaper upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)). Sandpaper and glasspaper are names used for a type of coated abrasive that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with abrasive material glued to ...

around the rod, to reduce the ability of mice to grip the rod and ride around on it. He has criticized some of his fellow behavior geneticists for trying to separate the effects of genes and the environment on

human intelligence Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. High intelligence is associated with better outcomes in life. Through intelligence, humans ...

, an endeavor he considers futile. He also met and became friends with Leilani Muir, later helping to edit her autobiography, ''A Whisper Past''. He was the president of the

International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society The International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS) is a learned society that was founded in 1996. The goal of IBANGS is "promote and facilitate the growth of research in the field of neural behavioral genetics". Profile Mission Th ...

from 2000 to 2001. Wahlsten is a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, a ...

of ''

Genes, Brain and Behavior ''Genes, Brain and Behavior'' (also known as ''G2B'') is a peer-reviewed online-only scientific journal covering research in the fields of behavioural genetics, behavioral, neurogenetics, neural, and psychiatric genetics. It is published by Wiley- ...

'', has co-edited a book on ''Techniques for the Genetic Analysis of Brain and Behavior'' focussing on the mouse, and authored acclaimed books on mouse behavior testing and human behavioral neurogenetics.

References

External links

Faculty page
1943 births Living people Canadian psychologists Canadian neuroscientists Academic staff of the University of Alberta Academic staff of the University of Waterloo Alma College alumni University of California, Irvine alumni Behavior geneticists Canadian geneticists Canadian book editors {{Neuroscientist-stub