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Lin SJ, Gillespie NA, Notestine R, Gamst AC, Chen AM, McEvoy LK, Panizzon MS, Elman JA, Glatt SJ, Hagler DJ, Neale MC, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Fennema-Notestine C. The genetic and environmental etiology of novel frequency-driven regional parcellations of abnormal white matter. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2024:e33004. [PMID: 39148448 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.33004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
The prevalence of white matter disease increases with age and is associated with cerebrovascular disease, cognitive decline, and risk for dementia. MRI measures of abnormal signal in the white matter (AWM) provide estimates of damage, however, regional patterns of AWM may be differentially influenced by genetic or environmental factors. With our data-driven regional parcellation approach, we created a probability distribution atlas using Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) data (n = 475, mean age 67.6 years) and applied a watershed algorithm to define separate regional parcellations. We report biometrical twin modeling for five anatomically distinct regions: (1) Posterior, (2) Superior frontal and parietal, (3) Anterior and inferior frontal with deep areas, (4) Occipital, and (5) Anterior periventricular. We tested competing multivariate hypotheses to identify unique influences and to explain sources of covariance among the parcellations. Family aggregation could be entirely explained by additive genetic influences, with additive genetic variance (heritability) ranging from 0.69 to 0.79. Most genetic correlations between parcellations ranged from moderate to high (rg = 0.57-0.85), although two were small (rg = 0.35-0.39), consistent with varying degrees of unique genetic influences. This proof-of-principle investigation demonstrated the value of our novel, data-driven parcellations, with identifiable genetic and environmental differences, for future exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Ju Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Nathan A Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Randy Notestine
- Computational and Applied Statistics Laboratory (CASL) at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Anthony C Gamst
- Computational and Applied Statistics Laboratory (CASL) at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Anna M Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Linda K McEvoy
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Jeremy A Elman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Stephen J Glatt
- Psychiatric Genetic Epidemiology & Neurobiology Laboratory (PsychGENe Lab), Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience and Physiology, and Public Health and Preventive Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Donald J Hagler
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Michael C Neale
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Christine Fennema-Notestine
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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Gillespie NA, Bell TR, Hearn GC, Hess JL, Tsuang MT, Lyons MJ, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Glatt SJ. A twin analysis to estimate genetic and environmental factors contributing to variation in weighted gene co-expression network module eigengenes. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2024:e33003. [PMID: 39126209 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.33003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Multivariate network-based analytic methods such as weighted gene co-expression network analysis are frequently applied to human and animal gene-expression data to estimate the first principal component of a module, or module eigengene (ME). MEs are interpreted as multivariate summaries of correlated gene-expression patterns and network connectivity across genes within a module. As such, they have the potential to elucidate the mechanisms by which molecular genomic variation contributes to individual differences in complex traits. Although increasingly used to test for associations between modules and complex traits, the genetic and environmental etiology of MEs has not been empirically established. It is unclear if, and to what degree, individual differences in blood-derived MEs reflect random variation versus familial aggregation arising from heritable or shared environmental influences. We used biometrical genetic analyses to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on MEs derived from blood lymphocytes collected on a sample of N = 661 older male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) whose mean age at assessment was 67.7 years (SD = 2.6 years, range = 62-74 years). Of the 26 detected MEs, 14 (56%) had statistically significant additive genetic variation with an average heritability of 44% (SD = 0.08, range = 35%-64%). Despite the relatively small sample size, this demonstration of significant family aggregation including estimates of heritability in 14 of the 26 MEs suggests that blood-based MEs are reliable and merit further exploration in terms of their associations with complex traits and diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan A Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia, USA
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tyler R Bell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Gentry C Hearn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jonathan L Hess
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ming T Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Stephen J Glatt
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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Rader L, Reineberg AE, Petre B, Wager TD, Friedman NP. Familial effects account for association between chronic pain and past month smoking. Eur J Pain 2024; 28:1144-1155. [PMID: 38318651 PMCID: PMC11269048 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Smoking is associated with chronic pain, but it is not established whether smoking causes pain or if the link is due to familial effects. One proposed mechanism is that smoking strengthens maladaptive cortico-striatal connectivity, which contributes to pain chronification. We leveraged a twin design to assess direct effects of smoking on pain controlling for familial confounds, and whether cortico-striatal connectivity mediates this association. METHODS In a population-based sample of 692 twins (age = 28.83 years), we assessed past-month smoking frequency (n = 132 used in the past month), presence and severity of a current pain episode (n = 179 yes), and resting-state functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex (NAc-mPFC). RESULTS Smoking was significantly associated with pain, but the association was not significantly mediated by NAc-mPFC connectivity. In a co-twin control model, smoking predicted which families had more pain but could not distinguish pain between family members. Pain risk was 43% due to additive genetic (A) and 57% due to non-shared environmental (E) influences. Past-month smoking frequency was 71% genetic and 29% non-shared environmental. Smoking and pain significantly correlated phenotypically (r = 0.21, p = 0.001) and genetically (rg = 0.51, p < 0.001), but not environmentally (re = -0.18, p = 0.339). CONCLUSIONS Pain and smoking are associated; however, the association appears to reflect shared familial risk factors, such as genetic risk, rather than being causal in nature. The connectivity strength of the reward pathway was not related to concurrent pain and smoking in this sample. SIGNIFICANCE Smoking does not appear to directly cause chronic pain; rather, there may be shared biopsychosocial risk factors, including genetic influences, that explain their association. These findings can be integrated into future research to identify shared biological pathways of both chronic pain and smoking behaviours as a way to conceptualize pain chronification.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Rader
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - A E Reineberg
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - B Petre
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - T D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - N P Friedman
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
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Carstensen CV, Bjerager J, Belmouhand M, Eckmann-Hansen C, Rothenbuehler SP, Dabbah S, Dalgård C, Laigaard P, Larsen M. Ocular and systemic associations and heritability of retinal arterial wall-to-lumen ratios in a twin cohort. Acta Ophthalmol 2024; 102:e493-e499. [PMID: 37702272 DOI: 10.1111/aos.15755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate ocular and systemic factors associated with the retinal arterial wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) and to determine the relative contribution of genetic and environmental variation to WLR in healthy adults. METHODS This cross-sectional twin study included 78 monozygotic and 67 dizygotic same-sex twin pairs aged 58.4 ± 9.8 (mean ± SD) years. Lumen diameter (LD) and outer diameter (OD) of a superotemporal retinal artery were measured using adaptive optics fundus photography, and the WLR was calculated. Linear mixed model regression analysis of associations with WLR comprised the descriptive variables ocular axial length (AL), intraocular pressure (IOP), height, weight, body mass index (BMI), smoking, blood pressure, high density (HDL), low density (LDL) and very low density (VLDL) lipoproteins, total cholesterol and triglycerides. The relative influence of genes and environment on WLR was calculated through polygenetic modelling. RESULTS Increasing age and arterial blood pressure were associated with a higher WLR, while increasing retinal artery OD and ocular AL were associated with a lower WLR. Sex, smoking status, BMI, IOP, cholesterol levels or triglycerides had no detectable impact on the WLR. Broad-sense heritability of WLR was 21% (95% CI: 1-41%), while environmental factors accounted for the remaining 79% of the interindividual variance (95% CI: 59-99%). CONCLUSION Retinal artery wall thickness was closely linked to increasing age and higher arterial blood pressure, the latter being mediated by the environment over genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Voigt Carstensen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Healthy and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jakob Bjerager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | | | | | | | - Sami Dabbah
- Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Christine Dalgård
- The Danish Twin Research Center, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Poul Laigaard
- Department of Neurology, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael Larsen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Healthy and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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5
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Gillespie NA, Elman JA, McKenzie RE, Tu XM, Xian H, Reynolds CA, Panizzon MS, Lyons MJ, Eglit GML, Neale MC, Rissman RA, Franz C, Kremen WS. The heritability of blood-based biomarkers related to risk of Alzheimer's disease in a population-based sample of early old-age men. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:356-365. [PMID: 37622539 PMCID: PMC10843753 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Despite their increased application, the heritability of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related blood-based biomarkers remains unexplored. METHODS Plasma amyloid beta 40 (Aβ40), Aβ42, the Aβ42/40 ratio, total tau (t-tau), and neurofilament light (NfL) data came from 1035 men 60 to 73 years of age (μ = 67.0, SD = 2.6). Twin models were used to calculate heritability and the genetic and environmental correlations between them. RESULTS Additive genetics explained 44% to 52% of Aβ42, Aβ40, t-tau, and NfL. The Aβ42/40 ratio was not heritable. Aβ40 and Aβ42 were genetically near identical (rg = 0.94). Both Aβ40 and Aβ42 were genetically correlated with NfL (rg = 0.35 to 0.38), but genetically unrelated to t-tau. DISCUSSION Except for Aβ42/40, plasma biomarkers are heritable. Aβ40 and Aβ42 share mostly the same genetic influences, whereas genetic influences on plasma t-tau and NfL are largely unique in early old-age men. The absence of genetic associations between the Aβs and t-tau is not consistent with the amyloid cascade hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan A. Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behaviour GeneticsDepartment of PsychiatryVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmondVirginiaUSA
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
| | - Jeremy A. Elman
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ruth E. McKenzie
- Department of PsychologyBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
- School of Education and Social PolicyMerrimack CollegeNorth AndoverMassachusettsUSA
| | - Xin M. Tu
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Family Medicine and Public HealthUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Hong Xian
- Department of Epidemiology and BiostatisticsSaint. Louis UniversitySt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Research Service, VA St. Louis Healthcare SystemSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | | | - Matthew S. Panizzon
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Michael J. Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Graham M. L. Eglit
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on AgingUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Michael C. Neale
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behaviour GeneticsDepartment of PsychiatryVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmondVirginiaUSA
| | - Robert A. Rissman
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Carol Franz
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - William S. Kremen
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of AgingUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Department of NeurosciencesUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
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Dang Y, He Y, Zheng D, Wang X, Chen J, Zhou Y. Heritability of cerebral blood flow in adolescent and young adult twins: an arterial spin labeling perfusion imaging study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10624-10633. [PMID: 37615361 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Blood perfusion is a fundamental physiological property of all organs and is closely linked to brain metabolism. Genetic factors were reported to have important influences on cerebral blood flow. However, the profile of genetic contributions to cerebral blood flow in adolescents or young adults was underexplored. In this study, we recruited a sample of 65 pairs of same-sex adolescent or young adult twins undergoing resting arterial spin labeling imaging to conduct heritability analyses. Our findings indicate that genetic factors modestly affect cerebral blood flow in adolescents or young adults in the territories of left anterior cerebral artery and right posterior cerebral artery, with the primary contribution being to the frontal regions, cingulate gyrus, and striatum, suggesting a profile of genetic contributions to specific brain regions. Notably, the regions in the left hemisphere demonstrate the highest heritability in most regions examined. These results expand our knowledge of the genetic basis of cerebral blood flow in the developing brain and emphasize the importance of regional analysis in understanding the heritability of cerebral blood flow. Such insights may contribute to our understanding of the underlying genetic mechanism of brain functions and altered cerebral blood flow observed in youths with brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Dang
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yuwen He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
- Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
- Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR 999078, China
| | - Dang Zheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
- China National Children's Center, Beijing 100035, China
| | - Xiaoming Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jie Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100029, China
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Lyu X, Garrison SM. Effects of Genetic Relatedness of Kin Pairs on Univariate ACE Model Performance. Twin Res Hum Genet 2023; 26:1-12. [PMID: 37799059 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2023.40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
The current study explored the impact of genetic relatedness differences (ΔH) and sample size on the performance of nonclassical ACE models, with a focus on same-sex and opposite-sex twin groups. The ACE model is a statistical model that posits that additive genetic factors (A), common environmental factors (C), and specific (or nonshared) environmental factors plus measurement error (E) account for individual differences in a phenotype. By extending Visscher's (2004) least squares paradigm and conducting simulations, we illustrated how genetic relatedness of same-sex twins (HSS) influences the statistical power of additive genetic estimates (A), AIC-based model performance, and the frequency of negative estimates. We found that larger HSS and increased sample sizes were positively associated with increased power to detect additive genetic components and improved model performance, and reduction of negative estimates. We also found that the common solution of fixing the common environment correlation for sex-limited effects to .95 caused slightly worse model performance under most circumstances. Further, negative estimates were shown to be possible and were not always indicative of a failed model, but rather, they sometimes pointed to low power or model misspecification. Researchers using kin pairs with ΔH less than .5 should carefully consider performance implications and conduct comprehensive power analyses. Our findings provide valuable insights and practical guidelines for those working with nontwin kin pairs or situations where zygosity is unavailable, as well as areas for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyu Lyu
- Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - S Mason Garrison
- Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA
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Gustavson DE, Nayak S, Coleman PL, Iversen JR, Lense MD, Gordon RL, Maes HH. Heritability of Childhood Music Engagement and Associations with Language and Executive Function: Insights from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Behav Genet 2023; 53:189-207. [PMID: 36757558 PMCID: PMC10159991 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-023-10135-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
Music engagement is a powerful, influential experience that often begins early in life. Music engagement is moderately heritable in adults (~ 41-69%), but fewer studies have examined genetic influences on childhood music engagement, including their association with language and executive functions. Here we explored genetic and environmental influences on music listening and instrument playing (including singing) in the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Parents reported on their 9-10-year-old children's music experiences (N = 11,876 children; N = 1543 from twin pairs). Both music measures were explained primarily by shared environmental influences. Instrument exposure (but not frequency of instrument engagement) was associated with language skills (r = .27) and executive functions (r = .15-0.17), and these associations with instrument engagement were stronger than those for music listening, visual art, or soccer engagement. These findings highlight the role of shared environmental influences between early music experiences, language, and executive function, during a formative time in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Gustavson
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, 1480 30th St, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA.
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Srishti Nayak
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - John R Iversen
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Miriam D Lense
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- The Curb Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Reyna L Gordon
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- The Curb Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hermine H Maes
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
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9
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Maes HHM, Lapato DM, Schmitt JE, Luciana M, Banich MT, Bjork JM, Hewitt JK, Madden PA, Heath AC, Barch DM, Thompson WK, Iacono WG, Neale MC. Genetic and Environmental Variation in Continuous Phenotypes in the ABCD Study®. Behav Genet 2023; 53:1-24. [PMID: 36357558 PMCID: PMC9823057 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-022-10123-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Twin studies yield valuable insights into the sources of variation, covariation and causation in human traits. The ABCD Study® (abcdstudy.org) was designed to take advantage of four universities known for their twin research, neuroimaging, population-based sampling, and expertise in genetic epidemiology so that representative twin studies could be performed. In this paper we use the twin data to: (i) provide initial estimates of heritability for the wide range of phenotypes assessed in the ABCD Study using a consistent direct variance estimation approach, assuring that both data and methodology are sound; and (ii) provide an online resource for researchers that can serve as a reference point for future behavior genetic studies of this publicly available dataset. Data were analyzed from 772 pairs of twins aged 9-10 years at study inception, with zygosity determined using genotypic data, recruited and assessed at four twin hub sites. The online tool provides twin correlations and both standardized and unstandardized estimates of additive genetic, and environmental variation for 14,500 continuously distributed phenotypic features, including: structural and functional neuroimaging, neurocognition, personality, psychopathology, substance use propensity, physical, and environmental trait variables. The estimates were obtained using an unconstrained variance approach, so they can be incorporated directly into meta-analyses without upwardly biasing aggregate estimates. The results indicated broad consistency with prior literature where available and provided novel estimates for phenotypes without prior twin studies or those assessed at different ages. Effects of site, self-identified race/ethnicity, age and sex were statistically controlled. Results from genetic modeling of all 53,172 continuous variables, including 38,672 functional MRI variables, will be accessible via the user-friendly open-access web interface we have established, and will be updated as new data are released from the ABCD Study. This paper provides an overview of the initial results from the twin study embedded within the ABCD Study, an introduction to the primary research domains in the ABCD study and twin methodology, and an evaluation of the initial findings with a focus on data quality and suitability for future behavior genetic studies using the ABCD dataset. The broad introductory material is provided in recognition of the multidisciplinary appeal of the ABCD Study. While this paper focuses on univariate analyses, we emphasize the opportunities for multivariate, developmental and causal analyses, as well as those evaluating heterogeneity by key moderators such as sex, demographic factors and genetic background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermine H. M. Maes
- grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980033, Richmond, VA 23298-0033 USA ,grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA USA ,grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA USA
| | - Dana M. Lapato
- grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980033, Richmond, VA 23298-0033 USA
| | - J. Eric Schmitt
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972Departments of Radiology and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Monica Luciana
- grid.17635.360000000419368657Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Marie T. Banich
- grid.266190.a0000000096214564Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA ,grid.266190.a0000000096214564Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
| | - James M. Bjork
- grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA USA
| | - John K. Hewitt
- grid.266190.a0000000096214564Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA ,grid.266190.a0000000096214564Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
| | - Pamela A. Madden
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Andrew C. Heath
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Wes K. Thompson
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Division of Biostatistics and Department of Radiology, Population Neuroscience and Genetics Lab, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - William G. Iacono
- grid.17635.360000000419368657Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Michael C. Neale
- grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980033, Richmond, VA 23298-0033 USA ,grid.224260.00000 0004 0458 8737Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA USA
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10
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Co-Inheritance of Variation in All-Cause Mortality and Biochemical Risk Factors. Twin Res Hum Genet 2022; 25:107-114. [PMID: 35818962 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2022.25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Biomarkers may be useful endophenotypes for genetic studies if they share genetic sources of variation with the outcome, for example, with all-cause mortality. Australian adult study participants who had reported their parental survival information were included in the study: 14,169 participants had polygenic risk scores (PRS) from genotyping and up to 13,365 had biomarker results. We assessed associations between participants' biomarker results and parental survival, and between biomarker results and eight parental survival PRS at varying p-value cut-offs. Survival in parents was associated with participants' serum bilirubin, C-reactive protein, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid, and with LDL cholesterol for participants' fathers but not for their mothers. PRS for all-cause mortality were associated with liver function tests (alkaline phosphatase, butyrylcholinesterase, gamma-glutamyl transferase), metabolic tests (LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid), and acute-phase reactants (C-reactive protein, globulins). Association between offspring biomarker results and parental survival demonstrates the existence of familial effects common to both, while associations between biomarker results and PRS for mortality favor at least a partial genetic cause of this covariation. Identification of genetic loci affecting mortality-associated biomarkers offers a route to the identification of additional loci affecting mortality.
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11
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Starr A, Riemann R. Common genetic and environmental effects on cognitive ability, conscientiousness, self-perceived abilities, and school performance. INTELLIGENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2022.101664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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12
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Romero-Martínez Á, Sarrate-Costa C, Moya-Albiol L. Reactive vs proactive aggression: A differential psychobiological profile? Conclusions derived from a systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 136:104626. [PMID: 35331815 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Scholars have established subcategories of aggressive behavior in order to better understand this construct. Specifically, a classification based on motivational underpinnings makes it possible to differentiate between reactive and proactive aggression. Whereas reactive aggression is characterized by emotional lability, which means it is prone to impulsive reactions after provocation, proactive aggression is driven by low emotionality and high levels of instrumentality to obtain benefits. Some authors have conceived these two types as having a dichotomous nature, but others argue against this conceptualization, considering a complementary model more suitable. Hence, neuroscientific research might help to clarify discussions about their nature because biological markers do not present the same biases as psychological instruments. AIM The main objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of studies that assess underlying biological markers (e.g., genes, brain, psychophysiological, and hormonal) of reactive and proactive aggression. METHODS To carry out this review, we followed PRISMA quality criteria for reviews, using five digital databases complemented by hand-searching. RESULTS The reading of 3993 abstracts led to the final inclusion of 157 papers that met all the inclusion criteria. The studies included allow us to conclude that heritability accounted for approximately 45% of the explained variance in both types of aggression, with 60% shared by both, especially, for overt and physical expression forms, and 10% specific to each type. Regarding allelic risk factors, whereas low functioning variants affecting serotonin transport and monoaminoxidase increased the risk of reactive aggression, high functioning variants were associated with proactive aggression. Furthermore, brain analysis revealed an overlap between the two types of aggression and alterations in the volume of the amygdala and temporal cortex. Moreover, high activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) facilitated proneness to both types of aggression equally. Whereas stimulation of the right ventrolateral (VLPFC) and dorsolateral (DLPFC) reduced proneness to aggression, inhibition of the left DLPFC increased it. Finally, psychophysiological and hormonal correlates in general did not clearly differentiate between the two types because they were equally related to each type (e.g., low basal cortisol and vagal variability in response to acute stress) CONCLUSIONS: This study reinforces the complementary model of both types of aggression instead of a dichotomous model. Additionally, this review also offers background about several treatments (i.e., pharmacological, non-invasive brain techniques…) to reduce aggression proneness.
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13
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Gooding DC, Moore MN, Pflum MJ, Schmidt NL, Goldsmith H. GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO POSITIVE AFFECT: INSIGHTS FROM ADOLESCENT TWINS. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2022; 2:289-300. [PMID: 35330700 PMCID: PMC8939818 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-021-00041-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Disturbances in positive affect and reductions in social reward/interpersonal pleasure are common across a range of clinical disorders and are often related. We examined the relationship between the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS-A), and other measures of positive affect in adolescents in a genetically informative research design. The sample consisted of 177 MZ and 136 same sex DZ twins drawn from a study of adolescent twins (M = 16.4 ± .97 years) who were part of the Wisconsin Twin Project. The self-report questionnaires included the Behavioral Activation Scale (BAS), Psychological Well-Being Scale, revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQR) and the adolescent version of the ACIPS (ACIPS-A). Structural equation modeling estimated the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the phenotypic variance in each of the measures. Follow-up bivariate analyses parsed the genetic and environmental contributions to the phenotypic covariances between the ACIPS-A and each of the other measures of positive affect. We found evidence of moderate heritability for the ACIPS-A scale scores. Overall, models specifying additive genetic and unique environmental effects (AE models) were the most parsimonious models for each of the measures. Several of the measures showed moderate positive phenotypic intercorrelations, and all but one of these intercorrelations showed significant partial genetic underpinnings. Moreover, the bivariate biometric analyses indicated that the ACIPS-A also captures unique heritable variation. Thus, the ACIPS-A captures unique heritable contributions to social/interpersonal pleasure, as well as shared genetic variance with other measures of positive affectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane C Gooding
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Mollie N Moore
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Madeline J Pflum
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nicole L Schmidt
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Hill Goldsmith
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
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14
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Genetic and Environmental Influences on Perceived Social Support: Differences by Sex and Relationship. Twin Res Hum Genet 2022; 24:251-263. [DOI: 10.1017/thg.2021.43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
AbstractPrevious research has shown that self-reports of the amount of social support are heritable. Using the Kessler perceived social support (KPSS) measure, we explored sex differences in the genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences. We did this separately for subscales that captured the perceived support from different members of the network (spouse, twin, children, parents, relatives, friends and confidant). Our sample comprised 7059 male, female and opposite-sex twin pairs aged 18−95 years from the Australian Twin Registry. We found tentative support for different genetic mechanisms in males and females for support from friends and the average KPSS score of all subscales, but otherwise, there are no sex differences. For each subscale alone, the additive genetic (A) and unique environment (E) effects were significant. By contrast, the covariation among the subscales was explained — in roughly equal parts — by A, E and the common environment, with effects of different support constellations plausibly accounting for the latter. A single genetic and common environment factor accounted for between half and three-quarters of the variance across the subscales in both males and females, suggesting little heterogeneity in the genetic and environmental etiology of the different support sources.
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15
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Scott J, Martin NG, Parker R, Couvy-Duchesne B, Medland SE, Hickie I. Prevalence of self-reported subthreshold phenotypes of major mental disorders and their association with functional impairment, treatment and full-threshold syndromes in a community-residing cohort of young adults. Early Interv Psychiatry 2021; 15:306-313. [PMID: 32052564 DOI: 10.1111/eip.12942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
AIM Subthreshold syndromes (STS) frequently precede the onset of full-threshold syndromes (FTS) of the corresponding mental disorder (homotypic continuity). This study examines whether subthreshold conditions are comorbid and whether there is heterotypic continuity also between STS and FTS. METHODS Data were extracted from the Brisbane "19Up" cohort study of twins and siblings (N = 1838; 56% female) on individuals who (i) completed self-report ratings of depression-like (DLE), hypomanic-like (HMLE) and psychotic-like experiences (PLE) and (ii) were assessed for mood and psychotic FTS using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Associations between STS and FTS were estimated using adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS STS are prevalent, with 22% reporting DLE, 14% HMLE and 5% PLE; 7% reported >1 STS, with PLE most likely to demonstrate comorbidity. Individuals with DLE were likely to meet CIDI criteria for depression (APR: 3.71, 95% CI: 2.83, 4.89), hypo/mania (APR: 3.62, 95% CI: 2.21, 5.94) and psychotic disorders (APR: 1.74, 95% CI 1.08, 2.83). Individuals with HMLE were likely to meet CIDI criteria for depression (APR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.58, 3.31) and hypo/mania (APR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.29, 4.91); those with PLE were likely to meet criteria for hypo/mania (APR: 5.8, 95% CI: 1.90, 17.70) and psychotic disorders (APR: 17.27, 95% CI: 7.54, 39.65). CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that STS are common among young adults and show heterotypic as well as homotypic continuity with FTS and support the need for more trans-diagnostic research on the evolution of major mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Scott
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | | | - Richard Parker
- QIMR Berghofer Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne
- QIMR Berghofer Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.,Institute of Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), Paris, France
| | - Sarah E Medland
- QIMR Berghofer Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Ian Hickie
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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16
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Hwang LD, Mitchell BL, Medland SE, Martin NG, Neale MC, Evans DM. The Augmented Classical Twin Design: Incorporating Genome-Wide Identity by Descent Sharing Into Twin Studies in Order to Model Violations of the Equal Environments Assumption. Behav Genet 2021; 51:223-236. [PMID: 33582897 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-021-10044-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The Classical Twin Method (CTM) compares the similarity of monozygotic (MZ) twins with that of dizygotic (DZ) twins to make inferences about the relative importance of genes and environment in the etiology of individual differences. The design has been applied to thousands of traits across the biomedical, behavioral and social sciences and is arguably the most widely used natural experiment known to science. The fundamental assumption of the CTM is that trait relevant environmental covariation within MZ pairs is the same as that found within DZ pairs, so that zygosity differences in within-pair variance must be due to genetic factors uncontaminated by the environment. This equal environments assumption (EEA) has been, and still is hotly contested, and has been mentioned as a possible contributing factor to the missing heritability conundrum. In this manuscript, we introduce a new model for testing the EEA, which we call the Augmented Classical Twin Design which uses identity by descent (IBD) sharing between DZ twin pairs to estimate separate environmental variance components for MZ and DZ twin pairs, and provides a test of whether these are equal. We show through simulation that given large samples of DZ twin pairs, the model provides unbiased estimates of variance components and valid tests of the EEA under strong assumptions (e.g. no epistatic variance, IBD sharing in DZ twins estimated accurately etc.) which may not hold in reality. Sample sizes in excess of 50,000 DZ twin pairs with genome-wide genetic data are likely to be required in order to detect substantial violations of the EEA with moderate power. Consequently, we recommend that the Augmented Classical Twin Design only be applied to datasets with very large numbers of DZ twin pairs (> 50,000 DZ twin pairs), and given the strong assumptions relating to the absence of epistatic variance, appropriate caution be exercised regarding interpretation of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang-Dar Hwang
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Level 7, 37 Kent St, Brisbane, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Brittany L Mitchell
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Biomedical Science, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia
| | - Sarah E Medland
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Biomedical Science, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia
| | - Michael C Neale
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - David M Evans
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Level 7, 37 Kent St, Brisbane, Australia. .,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia. .,MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. .,Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102, Australia.
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17
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Incorporating Polygenic Risk Scores in the ACE Twin Model to Estimate A-C Covariance. Behav Genet 2021; 51:237-249. [PMID: 33523349 PMCID: PMC8093156 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-020-10035-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The assumption in the twin model that genotypic and environmental variables are uncorrelated is primarily made to ensure parameter identification, not because researchers necessarily think that these variables are uncorrelated. Although the biasing effects of such correlations are well understood, a method to estimate these parameters in the twin model would be useful. Here we explore the possibility of relaxing this assumption by adding polygenic scores to the (univariate) twin model. We demonstrate that this extension renders the additive genetic (A)—common environmental (C) covariance (σAC) identified. We study the statistical power to reject σAC = 0 in the ACE model and present the results of simulations.
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18
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The heritability of reading and reading-related neurocognitive components: A multi-level meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 121:175-200. [PMID: 33246020 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Reading ability is a complex task requiring the integration of multiple cognitive and perceptual systems supporting language, visual and orthographic processes, working memory, attention, motor movements, and higher-level comprehension and cognition. Estimates of genetic and environmental influences for some of these reading-related neurocognitive components vary across reports. By using a multi-level meta-analysis approach, we synthesized the results of behavioral genetic research on reading-related neurocognitive components (i.e. general reading, letter-word knowledge, phonological decoding, reading comprehension, spelling, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and language) of 49 twin studies spanning 4.1-18.5 years of age, with a total sample size of more than 38,000 individuals. Except for language for which shared environment seems to play a more important role, the causal architecture across most of the reading-related neurocognitive components can be represented by the following equation a² > e² > c². Moderators analysis revealed that sex and spoken language did not affect the heritability of any reading-related skills; school grade levels moderated the heritability of general reading, reading comprehension and phonological awareness.
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19
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Birmingham and Beyond. Twin Res Hum Genet 2020; 23:68-71. [PMID: 32638691 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2020.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Nick Martin was a doctoral student of mine at the University of Birmingham in the mid 1970s. In this review, I discuss two of Nick's earliest and most seminal contributions to the field of behavior genetics. First, Martin and Eaves' (1977) extension of the model-fitting approach to multivariate data, which laid the theoretical groundwork for a generation of multivariate behavior genetic studies. Second, the Martin et al.'s (1978) manuscript on the power of the classical twin design, which showed that thousands of twin pairs would be required in order to reliably estimate components of variance, and has served as impetus for the formation of large-scale twin registries across the world. I discuss these contributions against the historical backdrop of a time when we and others were struggling with the challenge of figuring out how to incorporate gene-by-environment interaction, gene-environment correlation, mate selection and cultural transmission into more complex genetic models of human behavior.
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20
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Genetics and Not Shared Environment Explains Familial Resemblance in Adult Metabolomics Data. Twin Res Hum Genet 2020; 23:145-155. [PMID: 32635965 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2020.53] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Metabolites are small molecules involved in cellular metabolism where they act as reaction substrates or products. The term 'metabolomics' refers to the comprehensive study of these molecules. The concentrations of metabolites in biological tissues are under genetic control, but this is limited by environmental factors such as diet. In adult mono- and dizygotic twin pairs, we estimated the contribution of genetic and shared environmental influences on metabolite levels by structural equation modeling and tested whether the familial resemblance for metabolite levels is mainly explained by genetic or by environmental factors that are shared by family members. Metabolites were measured across three platforms: two based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and one employing mass spectrometry. These three platforms comprised 237 single metabolic traits of several chemical classes. For the three platforms, metabolites were assessed in 1407, 1037 and 1116 twin pairs, respectively. We carried out power calculations to establish what percentage of shared environmental variance could be detected given these sample sizes. Our study did not find evidence for a systematic contribution of shared environment, defined as the influence of growing up together in the same household, on metabolites assessed in adulthood. Significant heritability was observed for nearly all 237 metabolites; significant contribution of the shared environment was limited to 6 metabolites. The top quartile of the heritability distribution was populated by 5 of the 11 investigated chemical classes. In this quartile, metabolites of the class lipoprotein were significantly overrepresented, whereas metabolites of classes glycerophospholipids and glycerolipids were significantly underrepresented.
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21
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Abstract
Dr Nick Martin has made enormous contributions to the field of behavior genetics over the past 50 years. Of his many seminal papers that have had a profound impact, we focus on his early work on the power of twin studies. He was among the first to recognize the importance of sample size calculation before conducting a study to ensure sufficient power to detect the effects of interest. The elegant approach he developed, based on the noncentral chi-squared distribution, has been adopted by subsequent researchers for other genetic study designs, and today remains a standard tool for power calculations in structural equation modeling and other areas of statistical analysis. The present brief article discusses the main aspects of his seminal paper, and how it led to subsequent developments, by him and others, as the field of behavior genetics evolved into the present era.
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22
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Gustavson DE, Franz CE, Panizzon MS, Lyons MJ, Kremen WS. Internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in middle age: genetic and environmental architecture and stability of symptoms over 15 to 20 years. Psychol Med 2020; 50:1530-1538. [PMID: 31258104 PMCID: PMC6938573 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719001533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internalizing and externalizing psychopathology factors explain much of the covariance among psychiatric conditions, especially at the level of genetic risk. However, few studies have examined internalizing and externalizing factors in middle-aged samples, especially their ability to predict later symptoms across midlife. The goals of the current study were (i) to quantify the genetic and environmental influences on internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in individuals in their early 40s, and (ii) examine the extent to which these genetic and environmental influences predict self-reported measures of internalizing and externalizing symptoms 15-20 years later. METHOD 1484 male twins completed diagnostic interviews of psychopathology at mean age 41 and self-reported measures of anxiety, depression, substance use, and related variables at up to two time-points in late middle age (mean ages 56 and 62). RESULTS Structural equation modeling of the diagnostic interviews confirmed that internalizing and externalizing factors accounted for most of the genetic variance in individual disorders, with substantial genetic (ra = 0.70) and environmental (re = 0.77) correlations between the factors. Internalizing psychopathology at age 41 was correlated with latent factors capturing anxiety, depression, and/or post-traumatic stress symptoms at ages 56 (r = 0.51) and 62 (r = 0.43). Externalizing psychopathology at age 41 was correlated r = 0.67 with a latent factor capturing aggression, tobacco use, and alcohol use at age 56. Stability of both factors was driven by genetic influences. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the considerable stability of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology symptoms across middle age, especially their genetic influences. Diagnostic interviews effectively predict self-reported symptoms and behaviors 15-20 years later.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Gustavson
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Genetics of Aging, University of California, La Jolla, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Genetics of Aging, University of California, La Jolla, USA
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Genetics of Aging, University of California, La Jolla, USA
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Genetics of Aging, University of California, La Jolla, USA
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, USA
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23
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Whitfield JB, Landers JG, Martin NG, Boyle GJ. Validity of the Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck personality-stress model of disease: An empirical prospective cohort study. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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24
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Neugart M, Yildirim S. What determines perceived income justice? Evidence from the German TwinLife study. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2020; 36:100826. [PMID: 31865267 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2019.100826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Whether individuals perceive their income as being fair has far-reaching consequences in the labor market and beyond. Yet we know little about the determinants of variation in perceived income justice across individuals. In this paper, we ask to what extent differences in genes are related to variation in individuals' perceived income justice, and whether there is a gene-environment component. Analyzing data from the German TwinLife study, we find that more than 30% of individuals' perceived income justice can be attributed to genes. The rest is mostly related to an idiosyncratic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Neugart
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Department of Law and Economics, Hochschulstraße 1, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Selen Yildirim
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Department of Law and Economics, Hochschulstraße 1, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany; Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Graduate School of Economics, Finance and Management, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3, D-60629 Frankfurt, Germany.
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25
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Hur YM, Bogl LH, Ordoñana JR, Taylor J, Hart SA, Tuvblad C, Ystrom E, Dalgård C, Skytthe A, Willemsen G. Twin Family Registries Worldwide: An Important Resource for Scientific Research. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:427-437. [PMID: 31937381 PMCID: PMC7301690 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Much progress has been made in twin research since our last special issue on twin registries (Hur, Y.-M., & Craig, J. M. (2013). Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16, 1-12.). This special issue provides an update on the state of twin family registries around the world. This issue includes 61 papers on twin family registries from 25 countries, of which 3 describe consortia based on collaborations of several twin family registries. The articles included in this issue discuss the establishment and maintenance of twin registries, recruitment strategies, methods of zygosity assessment, research aims and major findings from twin family cohorts, as well as other important topics related to twin studies. The papers amount to approximately 1.3 million monozygotic, dizygotic twins and higher order multiples and their family members who participate in twin studies around the world. Nine new twin family registries have been established across the world since our last issue, which demonstrates that twin registers are increasingly important in studies of the determinants and correlates of complex traits from disease susceptibility to healthy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoon-Mi Hur
- Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, South Korea
| | - Leonie H Bogl
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Juan R Ordoñana
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology and Murcia Institute for Biomedical Research (IMIB-ARRIXACA), University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jeanette Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Sara A Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Catherine Tuvblad
- School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christine Dalgård
- Department of Public Health, Environmental Medicine, and Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Axel Skytthe
- Department of Public Health, and Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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26
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Gustavson DE, Panizzon MS, Franz CE, Reynolds CA, Corley RP, Hewitt JK, Lyons MJ, Kremen WS, Friedman NP. Integrating verbal fluency with executive functions: Evidence from twin studies in adolescence and middle age. J Exp Psychol Gen 2019; 148:2104-2119. [PMID: 30896200 PMCID: PMC6754807 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The relationship of verbal fluency to executive functions (EFs) remains somewhat unclear. Verbal fluency is sometimes considered an EF ability, but is not often included in the same models as other well-studied EFs (inhibition, shifting, and working memory updating). We examined the associations between verbal fluency and EFs at 2 ages with the unity/diversity model, which includes common and domain-specific EF factors. Participants were 813 adolescent twins from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Sample (mean age 17 years) and 1,290 middle-aged twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (mean age 56 years) who completed multiple measures of EFs, verbal fluency, vocabulary, and nonverbal cognitive ability. Results revealed that, in both samples, a General Fluency factor (i.e., comprising both phonemic and semantic fluency measures) was associated with the Common EF factor, but also with variance unique to working memory updating, working memory span, and set-shifting. In adolescents, semantic fluency also had unique associations with shifting beyond its shared variance with phonemic fluency and Common EF. After accounting for EFs and other cognitive abilities, there were unique genetic and environmental influences on the General Fluency and Semantic-Specific latent factors. These results suggest that verbal fluency ability may best be viewed as an amalgamation of general EF variance (i.e., Common EF ability), variance shared with other EFs (e.g., Updating-Specific ability), and multiple sources of unique genetic/environmental variance (i.e., General Fluency and Semantic-Specific abilities). These associations between verbal fluency and EFs generalize to populations that differ in age by approximately 40 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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27
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Schwabe I, Gu Z, Tijmstra J, Hatemi P, Pohl S. Psychometric Modelling of Longitudinal Genetically Informative Twin Data. Front Genet 2019; 10:837. [PMID: 31681400 PMCID: PMC6807617 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The often-used A(C)E model that decomposes phenotypic variance into parts due to additive genetic and environmental influences can be extended to a longitudinal model when the trait has been assessed at multiple occasions. This enables inference about the nature (e.g., genetic or environmental) of the covariance among the different measurement points. In the case that the measurement of the phenotype relies on self-report data (e.g., questionnaire data), often, aggregated scores (e.g., sum–scores) are used as a proxy for the phenotype. However, earlier research based on the univariate ACE model that concerns a single measurement occasion has shown that this can lead to an underestimation of heritability and that instead, one should prefer to model the raw item data by integrating an explicit measurement model into the analysis. This has, however, not been translated to the more complex longitudinal case. In this paper, we first present a latent state twin A(C)E model that combines the genetic twin model with an item response theory (IRT) model as well as its specification in a Bayesian framework. Two simulation studies were conducted to investigate 1) how large the bias is when sum–scores are used in the longitudinal A(C)E model and 2) if using the latent twin model can overcome the potential bias. Results of the first simulation study (e.g., AE model) demonstrated that using a sum–score approach leads to underestimated heritability estimates and biased covariance estimates. Surprisingly, the IRT approach also lead to bias, but to a much lesser degree. The amount of bias increased in the second simulation study (e.g., ACE model) under both frameworks, with the IRT approach still being the less biased approach. Since the bias was less severe under the IRT approach than under the sum–score approach and due to other advantages of latent variable modelling, we still advise researcher to adopt the IRT approach. We further illustrate differences between the traditional sum–score approach and the latent state twin A(C)E model by analyzing data of a two-wave twin study, consisting of the answers of 8,016 twins on a scale developed to measure social attitudes related to conservatism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga Schwabe
- Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands.,Translational Neurogenomics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Zhengguo Gu
- Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Jesper Tijmstra
- Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Pete Hatemi
- Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Steffi Pohl
- Methods and Evaluation/Quality Assurance, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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28
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du Pont A, Rhee SH, Corley RP, Hewitt JK, Friedman NP. Are rumination and neuroticism genetically or environmentally distinct risk factors for psychopathology? JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 128:385-396. [PMID: 30985175 PMCID: PMC7261418 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Neuroticism, a dispositional trait of heightened negative emotionality, is a vulnerability factor for psychopathology. Given neuroticism's strong association with rumination, a repetitive thought pattern that intensifies and prolongs emotions, some question whether these constructs capture the same or unique information about vulnerability for psychopathology. The present study examined whether neuroticism is genetically and environmentally distinct from two clinically relevant ruminative subtypes-anger and depressive rumination-and whether genetic and environmental influences specific to rumination versus shared with neuroticism overlap with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. These analyses were conducted on 439 same-sex twin pairs in the Colorado Longitudinal Twin study. Rumination and neuroticism latent variables were created from multiple rumination questionnaires administered at age 23 and shortened Eysenck Personality Questionnaires administered at ages 17 and 21, respectively. Lifetime psychopathology symptoms, assessed by two structured clinical interviews, were used to create ordinal composite variables. Multivariate Cholesky decompositions indicated that neuroticism, anger rumination, and depressive rumination have common genetic and nonshared environmental influences but are differentiated by nonshared environmental influences specific to each ruminative subtype. Genetic influences common to rumination and neuroticism explained considerable variance in internalizing psychopathology, suggesting possible genetic mediation or common genetic causes. Genetic and environmental influences on externalizing psychopathology did not substantially overlap with those on neuroticism and rumination. These findings suggest that rumination and neuroticism share most genetic influences yet are influenced by distinct environmental influences. Furthermore, our results indicate that a comprehensive understanding of transdiagnostic risk factors must include an examination of both genetic and environmental influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alta du Pont
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Soo Hyun Rhee
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Robin P. Corley
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - John K. Hewitt
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Naomi P. Friedman
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
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29
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Twenty-Five and Up (25Up) Study: A New Wave of the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:154-163. [PMID: 31198126 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the 25 and Up (25Up) study was to assess a wide range of psychological and behavioral risk factors behind mental illness in a large cohort of Australian twins and their non-twin siblings. Participants had already been studied longitudinally from the age of 12 and most recently in the 19Up study (mean age = 26.1 years, SD = 4.1, range = 20-39). This subsequent wave follows up these twins several years later in life (mean age = 29.7 years, SD = 2.2, range = 22-44). The resulting data set enables additional detailed investigations of genetic pathways underlying psychiatric illnesses in the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study (BLTS). Data were collected between 2016 and 2018 from 2540 twins and their non-twin siblings (59% female, including 341 monozygotic complete twin-pairs, 415 dizygotic complete pairs and 1028 non-twin siblings and singletons). Participants were from South-East Queensland, Australia, and the sample was of predominantly European ancestry. The 25Up study collected information on 20 different mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, substance use, psychosis, bipolar and attention-deficit hyper-activity disorder, as well as general demographic information such as occupation, education level, number of children, self-perceived IQ and household environment. In this article, we describe the prevalence, comorbidities and age of onset for all 20 examined disorders. The 25Up study also assessed general and physical health, including physical activity, sleep patterns, eating behaviors, baldness, acne, migraines and allergies, as well as psychosocial items such as suicidality, perceived stress, loneliness, aggression, sleep-wake cycle, sexual identity and preferences, technology and internet use, traumatic life events, gambling and cyberbullying. In addition, 25Up assessed female health traits such as morning sickness, breastfeeding and endometriosis. Furthermore, given that the 25Up study is an extension of previous BLTS studies, 86% of participants have already been genotyped. This rich resource will enable the assessment of epidemiological risk factors, as well as the heritability and genetic correlations of mental conditions.
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30
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Wang Y, Zheng D, Chen J, Rao LL, Li S, Zhou Y. Born for fairness: evidence of genetic contribution to a neural basis of fairness intuition. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 14:539-548. [PMID: 31034055 PMCID: PMC6545531 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Revised: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human beings often curb self-interest to develop and enforce social norms, such as fairness, as exemplified in the ultimatum game (UG). Inspired by the dual-system account for the responder's choice during the UG, we investigated whether the neural basis of psychological process induced by fairness is under genetic control using a twin fMRI study (62 monozygotic, 48 dizygotic; mean age: 19.32 ± 1.38 years). We found a moderate genetic contribution to the rejection rate of unfair proposals (24%-35%), independent of stake size or proposer type, during the UG. Using a voxel-level analysis, we found that genetic factors moderately contributed to unfairness-evoked activation in the bilateral anterior insula (AI), regions representing the intuition of fairness norm violations (mean heritability: left 37%, right 40%). No genetic contributions were found in regions related to deliberate, controlled processes in the UG. This study provides the first evidence that evoked brain activity by unfairness in the bilateral AI is influenced by genes and sheds light on the genetic basis of brain processes underlying costly punishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Dang Zheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Li-Lin Rao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shu Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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31
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Gustavson DE, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Carver CS, Corley RP, Hewitt JK, Friedman NP. Common Genetic Influences on Impulsivity Facets are Related to Goal Management, Psychopathology, and Personality. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2019; 79:161-175. [PMID: 31736516 PMCID: PMC6857631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we characterized the genetic/environmental commonality and heterogeneity of impulsivity facets and tested the hypothesis that goal-management is central to their common variance. 764 young-adult twins completed the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale and measures of goal management, personality, and psychopathology. We found common genetic influences across all impulsivity facets except sensation seeking. These impulsivity genetic influences explained 40.0% of variance in goal-management ability. Other results supported three hypotheses concerning heterogeneity: that sensation seeking is independent of other facets, that urgency is more related to psychopathology than lack of premeditation, and that lack of perseverance is more similar to urgency than lack of premeditation. Thus, impulsivity facets show considerable heterogeneity in addition to common variation related to goal-management abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Gustavson
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA, USA
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla CA, USA
| | | | - Robin P Corley
- Institute for Behavior Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
| | - John K Hewitt
- Institute for Behavior Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
| | - Naomi P Friedman
- Institute for Behavior Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
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32
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The Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between Childhood Behavioral Inhibition and Preadolescent Anxiety. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:48-55. [PMID: 30698127 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2018.73] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
This study uses novel approaches to examine genetic and environmental influences shared between childhood behavioral inhibition (BI) and symptoms of preadolescent anxiety disorders. Three hundred and fifty-two twin pairs aged 9-13 and their mothers completed questionnaires about BI and anxiety symptoms. Biometrical twin modeling, including a direction-of-causation design, investigated genetic and environmental risk factors shared between BI and social, generalized, panic and separation anxiety. Social anxiety shared the greatest proportion of genetic (20%) and environmental (16%) variance with BI with tentative evidence for causality. Etiological factors underlying BI explained little of the risk associated with the other anxiety domains. Findings further clarify etiologic pathways between BI and anxiety disorder domains in children.
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33
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Gustavson DE, Franz CE, Panizzon MS, Reynolds CA, Xian H, Jacobson KC, Toomey R, Lyons MJ, Kremen WS. Genetic and Environmental Associations Among Executive Functions, Trait Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms in Middle Age. Clin Psychol Sci 2019; 7:127-142. [PMID: 30923645 PMCID: PMC6433407 DOI: 10.1177/2167702618805075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Multiple executive functions (EFs) are associated with trait anxiety and depression symptoms, but it is unclear how genetic and/or environmental factors account for these associations, and if they are explained by general variance underlying multiple EFs (i.e., Common EF). In this study, 1207 male twins completed seven EF tasks and measures of trait anxiety and depression symptoms at average age 62. The Common EF factor was associated with both anxiety (r= -.25) and depression symptoms (r= -.35). Anxiety and depression had near complete genetic overlap (r g=.96). Genetic influences shared with depression accounted for 83% of the phenotypic correlation between anxiety and Common EF. For depression, the phenotypic correlation with Common EF was explained by genetic influences shared with anxiety (69%), but also nonshared environmental influences distinct from anxiety (20%). These results suggest that genetic influences on Common EF play a role in the observed genetic overlap between anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Gustavson
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego
| | | | - Hong Xian
- Department of Biostatistics, St. Louis University and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System
| | - Kristen C Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago
| | - Rosemary Toomey
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego and Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System
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34
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Tosto MG, Garon-Carrier G, Gross S, Petrill SA, Malykh S, Malki K, Hart SA, Thompson L, Karadaghi RL, Yakovlev N, Tikhomirova T, Opfer JE, Mazzocco MMM, Dionne G, Brendgen M, Vitaro F, Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Kovas Y. The nature of the association between number line and mathematical performance: An international twin study. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 89:787-803. [PMID: 30548254 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood. AIMS This large-scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of genes and environments on: (1) individual variation in number line estimation and (2) the covariation of number line estimation with mathematics. SAMPLES We used over 3,000 8- to 16-year-old twins from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Russia, and a sample of 1,456 8- to 18-year-old singleton Russian students. METHODS Twins were assessed on: (1) estimation of numerical magnitudes using a number line task and (2) two mathematics components: fluency and problem-solving. RESULTS Results suggest that environments largely drive individual differences in number line estimation. Both genes and environments contribute to different extents to the number line estimation and mathematics correlation, depending on the sample and mathematics component. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, the results suggest that in more heterogeneous school settings, environments may be more important in driving variation in number line estimation and its association with mathematics, whereas in more homogeneous school settings, genetic effects drive the covariation between number line estimation and mathematics. These results are discussed in the light of development and educational settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Grazia Tosto
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia
| | | | - Susan Gross
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Stephen A Petrill
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Sergey Malykh
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia.,Psychological Institute, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Karim Malki
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology& Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Sara A Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida Center for Reading Research, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Lee Thompson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Rezhaw L Karadaghi
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology& Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Nikita Yakovlev
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia
| | | | - John E Opfer
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Michèle M M Mazzocco
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Ginette Dionne
- School of Psychology, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada
| | - Mara Brendgen
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Frank Vitaro
- Department of Psychoeducation, Department of Pediatrics and Psychology, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Richard E Tremblay
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia.,Department of Psychoeducation, Department of Pediatrics and Psychology, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.,School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Michel Boivin
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia.,School of Psychology, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology, Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Oblast, Russia.,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology& Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of London, UK
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35
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Gustavson DE, Panizzon MS, Elman JA, Franz CE, Beck A, Reynolds CA, Jacobson KC, Xian H, Toomey R, Lyons MJ, Kremen WS. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Verbal Fluency in Middle Age: A Longitudinal Twin Study. Behav Genet 2018; 48:361-373. [PMID: 29922985 PMCID: PMC6301139 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9910-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Mounting evidence suggests that measures of phonemic fluency and semantic fluency are differentially associated with other cognitive and health phenotypes, but few studies have examined their shared and unique variance, especially using genetically-informative designs. In this study, 1464 middle-aged twins completed six fluency subtests at up to two time-points (mean age 56 and 62 years). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor solution: a General Fluency latent factor explained variation in all six subtests and a Semantic-Specific factor accounted for additional variance in semantic subtests. Both factors were explained primarily by genetic influences at both waves (a2 = 0.57-0.76). There was considerable stability of individual differences over 6 years (r = .90 for General Fluency, r = .81 for Semantic-Specific), especially for genetic influences (rg = .94 and 1.0, respectively). These results suggest that semantic fluency can be viewed as a combination of general and semantic-specific variance, but phonemic fluency is captured entirely by the general factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Gustavson
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jeremy A Elman
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Asad Beck
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Chandra A Reynolds
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Kristen C Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Hong Xian
- Department of Biostatistics, St. Louis University and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rosemary Toomey
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. (MC 0738), La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, USA
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36
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Rao LL, Zhou Y, Zheng D, Yang LQ, Li S. Genetic Contribution to Variation in Risk Taking: A Functional MRI Twin Study of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1679-1691. [DOI: 10.1177/0956797618779961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Excessive risk-taking behaviors have been implicated as a potential endophenotype for substance use disorders and psychopathological gambling. However, the genetic and environmental influences on risk taking and the risk-related brain activations remain unclear. This study investigated the heritability of risk taking and the genetic influence on individual variation in risk-related brain activation. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task was used to assess individuals’ risk-taking behavior. In a sample of 244 pairs of young adult twins, we found that there was a moderate heritability (41%) of risk taking. Using voxel-level analysis, we found a moderate genetic influence on risk-related brain activation. We also found a moderate genetic correlation between risk-taking behavior and risk-related brain activation in the left insula, right striatum, and right superior parietal lobule in the active-choice condition. The present study provides important evidence for the genetic correlation between risk-taking behavior and risk-related brain activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Lin Rao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Yuan Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Dang Zheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Liu-Qing Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Shu Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Bourdon JL, Moore AA, Eastman M, Savage JE, Hazlett L, Vrana SR, Hettema JM, Roberson-Nay R. Resting Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in Adolescents and Young Adults from a Genetically-Informed Perspective. Behav Genet 2018; 48:386-396. [PMID: 29995284 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9915-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with cardiac morbidity, mortality, and negative psychopathology. Most research concerning genetic influences on HRV has focused on adult populations, with fewer studies investigating the developmental period of adolescence and emerging adulthood. The current study estimated the genetic and environmental contributions to resting HRV in a sample of twins using various HRV time domain metrics to assess autonomic function across two different time measurement intervals (2.5- and 10-min). Five metrics of resting HRV [mean interbeat interval (IBI), the standard deviation of normal IBIs (SDNN), root square mean of successive differences between IBIs (RMSSD), cardiac vagal index (CVI), and cardiac sympathetic index (CSI)] were assessed in 421 twin pairs aged 14-20 during a baseline electrocardiogram. This was done for four successive 2.5-min intervals as well as the overall 10-min interval. Heritability (h2) appeared consistent across intervals within each metric with the following estimates (collapsed across time intervals): mean IBI (h2 = 0.36-0.46), SDNN (h2 = 0.23-0.30), RMSSD (h2 = 0.36-0.39), CVI (h2 = 0.37-0.42), CSI (h2 = 0.33-0.46). Beyond additive genetic contributions, unique environment also was an important influence on HRV. Within each metric, a multivariate Cholesky decomposition further revealed evidence of genetic stability across the four successive 2.5-min intervals. The same models showed evidence for both genetic and environmental stability with some environmental attenuation and innovation. All measures of HRV were moderately heritable across time, with further analyses revealing consistent patterns of genetic and environmental influences over time. This study confirms that in an adolescent sample, the time interval used (2.5- vs. 10-min) to measure HRV time domain metrics does not affect the relative proportions of genetic and environmental influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Bourdon
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA.
| | - Ashlee A Moore
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA
| | - Meridith Eastman
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA
| | - Jeanne E Savage
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA
| | - Laura Hazlett
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA
| | - Scott R Vrana
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - John M Hettema
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Roxann Roberson-Nay
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St, Biotech One, Suite 101, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
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de Manzano Ö, Ullén F. Genetic and environmental influences on the phenotypic associations between intelligence, personality, and creative achievement in the arts and sciences. INTELLIGENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Klump KL, Fowler N, Mayhall L, Sisk CL, Culbert KM, Burt SA. Estrogen moderates genetic influences on binge eating during puberty: Disruption of normative processes? JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 127:458-470. [PMID: 29927265 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Puberty is a critical period for changes in genetic effects for binge eating in girls. Previous twin studies show increases in genetic influences on binge eating from prepuberty (∼0%) to midpuberty and beyond (∼50%). However, little is known about the factors that drive these shifts in genetic effects. A small pilot study showed that pubertal activation of estrogen may contribute to increases in genetic influences, possibly via hormonally induced changes in gene expression. However, large-scale studies investigating hormone effects on genetic risk are lacking. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of estrogen on genetic influences for binge eating in 964 female twins (ages 8-16 years) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Binge eating was assessed with the Minnesota Eating Behaviors Survey, whereas afternoon saliva samples were assayed for estradiol levels using standard enzyme immunoassays. Twin moderation models showed substantial differences in genetic influences on binge eating across estradiol levels. Stronger genetic effects were observed at lower (rather than higher) estradiol levels, even when controlling for the effects of age, body mass index, the physical changes of puberty, and the onset of menses. Overall, findings suggest that comparatively lower levels of estradiol during this critical period may disrupt normative developmental processes and enhance genetic influences on binge eating. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Maes HH, Morley K, Neale MC, Kendler KS, Heath AC, Eaves LJ, Martin NG. Cross-Cultural Comparison of Genetic and Cultural Transmission of Smoking Initiation Using an Extended Twin Kinship Model. Twin Res Hum Genet 2018; 21:179-190. [PMID: 29757125 PMCID: PMC6340705 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2018.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies indicates that genetic and shared environmental factors play a role in the initiation of smoking behavior. Although twin and adoption designs are powerful to detect genetic and environmental influences, they do not provide information on the processes of assortative mating and parent-offspring transmission and their contribution to the variability explained by genetic and/or environmental factors. METHODS We examined the role of genetic and environmental factors in individual differences for smoking initiation (SI) using an extended kinship design. This design allows the simultaneous testing of additive and non-additive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission, while also estimating the regression of the prevalence of SI on age. A dichotomous lifetime 'ever' smoking measure was obtained from twins and relatives in the 'Virginia 30,000' sample and the 'Australian 25,000'. RESULTS Results demonstrate that both genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in the liability to SI. Major influences on individual differences appeared to be additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with smaller contributions from assortative mating, shared sibling environment, twin environment, cultural transmission, and resulting genotype-environment covariance. Age regression of the prevalence of SI was significant. The finding of negative cultural transmission without dominance led us to investigate more closely two possible mechanisms for the lower parent-offspring correlations compared to the sibling and DZ twin correlations in subsets of the data: (1) age × gene interaction, and (2) social homogamy. Neither of the mechanism provided a significantly better explanation of the data. CONCLUSIONS This study showed significant heritability, partly due to assortment, and significant effects of primarily non-parental shared environment on liability to SI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermine H Maes
- Department of Human Genetics,Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA
| | - Kate Morley
- Genetic Epidemiology,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute,Brisbane,Queensland,Australia
| | - Michael C Neale
- Department of Human Genetics,Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA
| | - Kenneth S Kendler
- Department of Human Genetics,Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA
| | - Andrew C Heath
- Department of Psychiatry,Washington University School of Medicine,St Louis,MO,USA
| | - Lindon J Eaves
- Department of Human Genetics,Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute,Brisbane,Queensland,Australia
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Abstract
Intelligence was assessed using the Standard Progressive Matrices in 316 MZ and 550 same-sex DZ twins with a mean age of 10 years in Sudan. Heritability was estimated at 0.172 and shared environmental influences at 0.596.
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Establishing a Twin Register: An Invaluable Resource for (Behavior) Genetic, Epidemiological, Biomarker, and ‘Omics’ Studies. Twin Res Hum Genet 2018; 21:239-252. [DOI: 10.1017/thg.2018.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Twin registers are wonderful research resources for research applications in medical and behavioral genetics, epidemiology, psychology, molecular genetics, and other areas of research. New registers continue to be launched all over the world as researchers from different disciplines recognize the potential to boost and widen their research agenda. In this article, we discuss multiple aspects that need to be taken into account when initiating a register, from its preliminary sketch to its actual development. This encompasses aspects related to the strategic planning and key elements of research designs, promotion and management of a twin register, including recruitment and retaining of twins and family members of twins, phenotyping, database organization, and collaborations between registers. We also present information on questions unique to twin registers and twin-biobanks, such as the assessment of zygosity by SNP arrays, the design of (biomarker) studies involving related participants, and the analyses of clustered data. Altogether, we provide a number of basic guidelines and recommendations for reflection when planning a twin register.
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Calais-Ferreira L, Oliveira VC, Craig JM, Flander LB, Hopper JL, Teixeira-Salmela LF, Ferreira PH. Twin studies for the prognosis, prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. Braz J Phys Ther 2018; 22:184-189. [PMID: 29361503 PMCID: PMC5993967 DOI: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Musculoskeletal conditions are highly prevalent in our ageing society and are therefore incurring substantial increases in population levels of years lived with disability (YLD). An evidence-based approach to the prognosis, prevention, and treatment of those disorders can allow an overall improvement in the quality of life of patients, while also softening the burden on national health care systems. METHODS In this Masterclass article, we provide an overview of the most relevant twin study designs, their advantages, limitations and major contributions to the investigation of traits related to the domain of musculoskeletal physical therapy. CONCLUSIONS Twin studies can be an important scientific tool to address issues related to musculoskeletal conditions. They allow researchers to understand how genes and environment combine to influence human health and disease. Twin registries and international collaboration through existing networks can provide resources for achieving large sample sizes and access to expertise in study design and analysis of twin data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Calais-Ferreira
- The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Vinicius C Oliveira
- Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Reabilitação e Desempenho Funcional, Diamantina, MG, Brazil
| | - Jeffrey M Craig
- Deakin University, School of Medicine, Centre for Molecular and Medical Research, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Royal Children's Hospital, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; The University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Louisa B Flander
- The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - John L Hopper
- The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Luci F Teixeira-Salmela
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Departamento de Fisioterapia, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Paulo H Ferreira
- The University of Sydney, Faculty of Health Sciences, Musculoskeletal Health Research Group, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Evans LM, Tahmasbi R, Jones M, Vrieze SI, Abecasis GR, Das S, Bjelland DW, de Candia TR, Yang J, Goddard ME, Visscher PM, Keller MC. Narrow-sense heritability estimation of complex traits using identity-by-descent information. Heredity (Edinb) 2018; 121:616-630. [PMID: 29588506 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-018-0067-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Heritability is a fundamental parameter in genetics. Traditional estimates based on family or twin studies can be biased due to shared environmental or non-additive genetic variance. Alternatively, those based on genotyped or imputed variants typically underestimate narrow-sense heritability contributed by rare or otherwise poorly tagged causal variants. Identical-by-descent (IBD) segments of the genome share all variants between pairs of chromosomes except new mutations that have arisen since the last common ancestor. Therefore, relating phenotypic similarity to degree of IBD sharing among classically unrelated individuals is an appealing approach to estimating the near full additive genetic variance while possibly avoiding biases that can occur when modeling close relatives. We applied an IBD-based approach (GREML-IBD) to estimate heritability in unrelated individuals using phenotypic simulation with thousands of whole-genome sequences across a range of stratification, polygenicity levels, and the minor allele frequencies of causal variants (CVs). In simulations, the IBD-based approach produced unbiased heritability estimates, even when CVs were extremely rare, although precision was low. However, population stratification and non-genetic familial environmental effects shared across generations led to strong biases in IBD-based heritability. We used data on two traits in ~120,000 people from the UK Biobank to demonstrate that, depending on the trait and possible confounding environmental effects, GREML-IBD can be applied to very large genetic datasets to infer the contribution of very rare variants lost using other methods. However, we observed apparent biases in these real data, suggesting that more work may be required to understand and mitigate factors that influence IBD-based heritability estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke M Evans
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
| | - Rasool Tahmasbi
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Matt Jones
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Scott I Vrieze
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Gonçalo R Abecasis
- Department of Biostatistics, Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Sayantan Das
- Department of Biostatistics, Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Douglas W Bjelland
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Teresa R de Candia
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Jian Yang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience and the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Michael E Goddard
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, Biosciences Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience and the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Matthew C Keller
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA. .,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
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Couvy-Duchesne B, O’Callaghan V, Parker R, Mills N, Kirk KM, Scott J, Vinkhuyzen A, Hermens DF, Lind PA, Davenport TA, Burns JM, Connell M, Zietsch BP, Scott J, Wright MJ, Medland SE, McGrath J, Martin NG, Hickie IB, Gillespie NA. Nineteen and Up study (19Up): understanding pathways to mental health disorders in young Australian twins. BMJ Open 2018; 8:e018959. [PMID: 29550775 PMCID: PMC5875659 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The Nineteen and Up study (19Up) assessed a range of mental health and behavioural problems and associated risk factors in a genetically informative Australian cohort of young adult twins and their non-twin siblings. As such, 19Up enables detailed investigation of genetic and environmental pathways to mental illness and substance misuse within the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Sample (BLTS). PARTICIPANTS Twins and their non-twin siblings from Queensland, Australia; mostly from European ancestry. Data were collected between 2009 and 2016 on 2773 participants (age range 18-38, 57.8% female, 372 complete monozygotic pairs, 493 dizygotic pairs, 640 non-twin siblings, 403 singleton twins). FINDINGS TO DATE A structured clinical assessment (Composite International Diagnostic Interview) was used to collect lifetime prevalence of diagnostic statistical manual (4th edition) (DSM-IV) diagnoses of major depressive disorder, (hypo)mania, social anxiety, cannabis use disorder, alcohol use disorder, panic disorder and psychotic symptoms. Here, we further describe the comorbidities and ages of onset for these mental disorders. Notably, two-thirds of the sample reported one or more lifetime mental disorder.In addition, the 19Up study assessed general health, drug use, work activity, education level, personality, migraine/headaches, suicidal thoughts, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology, sleep-wake patterns, romantic preferences, friendships, familial environment, stress, anorexia and bulimia as well as baldness, acne, asthma, endometriosis, joint flexibility and internet use.The overlap with previous waves of the BLTS means that 84% of the 19Up participants are genotyped, 36% imaged using multimodal MRI and most have been assessed for psychological symptoms at up to four time points. Furthermore, IQ is available for 57%, parental report of ADHD symptomatology for 100% and electroencephalography for 30%. FUTURE PLANS The 19Up study complements a phenotypically rich, longitudinal collection of environmental and psychological risk factors. Future publications will explore hypotheses related to disease onset and development across the waves of the cohort. A follow-up study at 25+years is ongoing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Victoria O’Callaghan
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Richard Parker
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Natalie Mills
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Katherine M Kirk
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jan Scott
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
| | - Anna Vinkhuyzen
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Institute of Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Daniel F Hermens
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Penelope A Lind
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tracey A Davenport
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jane M Burns
- Young and Well CRC, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Melissa Connell
- UQCCR, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Brendan P Zietsch
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - James Scott
- UQCCR, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Margaret J Wright
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sarah E Medland
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - John McGrath
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park Centre for Mental Health, Wacol, Australia
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ian B Hickie
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nathan A Gillespie
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
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Gustavson DE, Panizzon MS, Elman JA, Franz CE, Reynolds CA, Jacobson KC, Friedman NP, Xian H, Toomey R, Lyons MJ, Kremen WS. Stability of genetic and environmental influences on executive functions in midlife. Psychol Aging 2018; 33:219-231. [PMID: 29658745 PMCID: PMC5905725 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Research on executive functions (EFs) has revealed that individual differences in general EF abilities are highly correlated across the first few decades of life, especially at the level of genetic influences. Our work has also provided evidence for substantial heritability of this Common EF factor in midlife, but it remains unclear whether individual differences in Common EFs continue to show strong stability in middle age. We examined data from 1,464 middle-aged twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging, most of whom completed 7 neuropsychological measures of EFs at 2 points in middle age (Mages = 56 and 62). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that individual differences in Common EF, a latent factor explaining variation in seven neuropsychological EF tasks, were highly correlated across this 6-year period (r = .97), and that the same genetic and environmental influences were operating across this interval (genetic and shared environmental correlations = 1.0, nonshared environment correlation = .95). Similar phenotypic and genetic stability was observed for a Working Memory (WM)-Specific latent factor, which explained additional variance in working memory span tasks not captured by Common EF (r = .98, genetic correlation = 1.0, nonshared environmental correlation = .88). There was a large mean-level performance decline in Common EF (d = -.60) but not WM-Specific (d = -.03). These results suggest that there is substantial decline in Common EF abilities across middle age but that individual differences are almost perfectly stable. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Loehlin JC, Martin NG. Personality types: A twin study. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Attitudes to Gun Control in an American Twin Sample: Sex Differences in the Causes of Variation. Twin Res Hum Genet 2017; 20:371-373. [PMID: 28975877 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2017.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The genetic and social causes of individual differences in attitudes to gun control are estimated in a sample of senior male and female twin pairs in the United States. Genetic and environmental parameters were estimated by weighted least squares applied to polychoric correlations for monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins of both sexes. The analysis suggests twin similarity for attitudes to gun control in men is entirely genetic while that in women is purely social. Although the volunteer sample is small, the analysis illustrates how the well-tested concepts and methods of genetic epidemiology may be a fertile resource for deepening our scientific understanding of biological and social pathways that affect individual risk to gun violence.
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Law PCF, Miller SM, Ngo TT. The effect of stimulus strength on binocular rivalry rate in healthy individuals: Implications for genetic, clinical and individual differences studies. Physiol Behav 2017; 181:127-136. [PMID: 28859877 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Binocular rivalry (BR) occurs when conflicting images concurrently presented to corresponding retinal locations of each eye stochastically alternate in perception. Anomalies of BR rate have been examined in a range of clinical psychiatric conditions. In particular, slow BR rate has been proposed as an endophenotype for bipolar disorder (BD) to improve power in large-scale genome-wide association studies. Examining the validity of BR rate as a BD endophenotype however requires large-scale datasets (n=1000s to 10,000s), a standardized testing protocol, and optimization of stimulus parameters to maximize separation between BD and healthy groups. Such requirements are indeed relevant to all clinical psychiatric BR studies. Here we address the issue of stimulus optimization by examining the effect of stimulus parameter variation on BR rate and mixed-percept duration (MPD) in healthy individuals. We aimed to identify the stimulus parameters that induced the fastest BR rates with the least MPD. Employing a repeated-measures within-subjects design, 40 healthy adults completed four BR tasks using orthogonally drifting grating stimuli that varied in drift speed and aperture size. Pairwise comparisons were performed to determine modulation of BR rate and MPD by these stimulus parameters, and individual variation of such modulation was also assessed. From amongst the stimulus parameters examined, we found that 8cycles/s drift speed in a 1.5° aperture induced the fastest BR rate without increasing MPD, but that BR rate with this stimulus configuration was not substantially different to BR rate with stimulus parameters we have used in previous studies (i.e., 4cycles/s drift speed in a 1.5° aperture). In addition to contributing to stimulus optimization issues, the findings have implications for Levelt's Proposition IV of binocular rivalry dynamics and individual differences in such dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip C F Law
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University Central Clinical School and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Steven M Miller
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University Central Clinical School and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Trung T Ngo
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University Central Clinical School and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia; Mater Research Institute-UQ, Neurosciences & Cognitive Health Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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50
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Neuroticism and the Overlap Between Autistic and ADHD Traits: Findings From a Population Sample of Young Adult Australian Twins. Twin Res Hum Genet 2017; 20:319-329. [DOI: 10.1017/thg.2017.38] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Neuroticism, a ‘Big Five’ personality trait, has been associated with sub-clinical traits of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The objective of the current study was to examine whether causal overlap between ASD and ADHD traits can be accounted for by genetic and environmental risk factors that are shared with neuroticism. We performed twin-based structural equation modeling using self-report data from 12 items of the Neo Five-Factor Inventory Neuroticism domain, 11 Social Responsiveness Scale items, and 12 Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale items obtained from 3,170 young adult Australian individual twins (1,081 complete pairs). Univariate analysis for neuroticism, ASD, and ADHD traits suggested that the most parsimonious models were those with additive genetic and unique environmental components, without sex limitation effects. Heritability of neuroticism, ASD, and ADHD traits, as measured by these methods, was moderate (between 40% and 45% for each respective trait). In a trivariate model, we observed moderate phenotypic (between 0.45 and 0.62), genetic (between 0.56 and 0.71), and unique environmental correlations (between 0.37and 0.55) among neuroticism, ASD, and ADHD traits, with the highest value for the shared genetic influence between neuroticism and self-reported ASD traits (rg = 0.71). Together, our results suggest that in young adults, genetic, and unique environmental risk factors indexed by neuroticism overlap with those that are shared by ASD and ADHD.
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