Glossary / Lexicon

Imprinting refers to the process by which some animals exhibit the fixed action pattern (FAP ) of Attachment in response to a releasing stimulus. the FAP occurs during a Critical period and i s difficult to modify.

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Other /More definition:
Imprinting is defined as:

(1) The process of forming a strong social attachment at some point after birth;

(2) A condition in which genes from either the mother or the father are silenced. At present, 83 imprinted genes have been identified, but many more are expected to be discovered. Under conditions of imprinting, the genes from both parents are present on the DNA strands and are copied by the RNA but only the genes from one parent are used in making proteins. As a result, even though there are two different alleles in the genotype, only the mother's or the father's allele is expressed in the phenotype.

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Other /More definition:
Imprinting refers to strong tendency, an innate or instinctual form of learning in which the young of certain species will follow, to bond and become attached to the first moving objects they encounter which is usually their mothers, example are a geese and ducks.