Behavior genetics, and specifically the study of learning and memory, has benefitted immensely from the development of powerful forward- and reverse-genetic methods for investigating the relationships between genes and behavior. Application of these methods in controlled laboratory settings has led to insights into gene-behavior relationships. In this perspective article, we argue that the field is now poised to make significant inroads into understanding the adaptive value of heritable variation in behavior in natural populations. Studies of natural variation with several species, in particular, are now in a position to complement laboratory studies of mechanisms, and sometimes this work can lead to counterintuitive insights into the mechanism of gene action on behavior. We make this case using a recent example from work with the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

中文翻译：

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实验心理学遇到行为生态学：学习多态性的实验室研究对自然条件下的学习意味着什么，反之亦然。

行为遗传学，特别是学习和记忆的研究，从研究基因和行为之间关系的强大正向和反向遗传方法的发展中受益匪浅。这些方法在受控实验室环境中的应用导致了对基因-行为关系的深入了解。在这篇观点文章中，我们认为该领域现在已准备好在理解自然种群中行为的可遗传变异的适应性价值方面取得重大进展。特别是对几个物种的自然变异的研究，现在可以补充机制的实验室研究，有时这项工作可能会导致对基因对行为的作用机制的反直觉见解。我们使用最近与蜜蜂一起工作的例子来说明这个案例，