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Walker EJ, Kirkham FJ, Stotesbury H, Dimitriou D, Hood AM. Tele-neuropsychological Assessment of Children and Young People: A Systematic Review. JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC NEUROPSYCHOLOGY 2023; 9:1-14. [PMID: 37359106 PMCID: PMC10231293 DOI: 10.1007/s40817-023-00144-6] [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: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic identified a clinical need for pediatric tele-neuropsychology (TeleNP) assessment. However, due to limited research, clinicians have had little information to develop, adapt, or select reliable pediatric assessments for TeleNP. This preliminary systematic review aimed to examine the feasibility of pediatric TeleNP assessment alongside (1) patient/family acceptability, (2) reliability, and (3) the quality of the literature. Between May 2021 and November 2022, manual searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were conducted using terms related to "pediatric" and "tele-neuropsychology." After extracting relevant papers with samples aged 0-22 years, predefined exclusion criteria were applied. Quality assessment was completed using the AXIS appraisal tool (91% rater-agreement). Twenty-one studies were included in the review, with reported qualitative and quantitative data on the feasibility, reliability, and acceptability extracted. Across included studies, TeleNP was completed via telephone/video conference with participants either at home, in a local setting accompanied by an assistant, or in a different room but in the same building as the assessor. Pediatric TeleNP was generally reported to be feasible (e.g., minimal behavioral differences) and acceptable (e.g., positive feedback). Nineteen studies conducted some statistical analyses to assess reliability. Most observed no significant difference between in-person and TeleNP for most cognitive domains (i.e., IQ), with a minority finding variable reliability for some tests (e.g., attention, speech, visuo-spatial). Limited reporting of sex-assigned birth, racialized identity, and ethnicity reduced the quality and generalizability of the literature. To aid clinical interpretations, studies should assess underexamined cognitive domains (e.g., processing speed) with larger, more inclusive samples. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40817-023-00144-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise J. Walker
- Developmental Neurosciences Unit and Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, England
| | - Fenella J. Kirkham
- Developmental Neurosciences Unit and Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, England
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, England
| | - Hanne Stotesbury
- Developmental Neurosciences Unit and Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, England
| | - Dagmara Dimitriou
- Sleep Education and Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, London, England
| | - Anna M. Hood
- Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Coupland 1 Building, Manchester, M15 6FH Manchester, England
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2
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Garon-Carrier G, Bégin V, Brendgen M, Vitaro F, Ouellet-Morin I, Dionne G, Boivin M. Classroom Placement and Twins' Social Behaviors in Elementary School: Providing Empirical Evidence to Inform Educational Policy. EDUCATIONAL POLICY (LOS ALTOS, CALIF.) 2022; 36:1850-1875. [PMID: 36159629 PMCID: PMC9493409 DOI: 10.1177/08959048211015626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Classroom placement of twins is an ongoing issue for educational policy. Many educational jurisdictions have standard policy most commonly founded in the belief that separation supports individual identity, personal development and academic opportunity. This study examined the effects of classroom placement in a sample of 560 twin pairs whose behaviors were assessed from ages 5 to 12 years. We found no detrimental effect of classroom sharing on twins' social development. In contrast, this study provides evidence that educating twins together is associated with modest positive twins' behaviors and social functioning at school. Implications for educational policies are further discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mara Brendgen
- Université du Québec à Montréal,
Montreal, QC, Canada
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3
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Messina A, Potrich D, Perrino M, Sheardown E, Miletto Petrazzini ME, Luu P, Nadtochiy A, Truong TV, Sovrano VA, Fraser SE, Brennan CH, Vallortigara G. Quantity as a Fish Views It: Behavior and Neurobiology. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:943504. [PMID: 35911657 PMCID: PMC9334151 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.943504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
An ability to estimate quantities, such as the number of conspecifics or the size of a predator, has been reported in vertebrates. Fish, in particular zebrafish, may be instrumental in advancing the understanding of magnitude cognition. We review here the behavioral studies that have described the ecological relevance of quantity estimation in fish and the current status of the research aimed at investigating the neurobiological bases of these abilities. By combining behavioral methods with molecular genetics and calcium imaging, the involvement of the retina and the optic tectum has been documented for the estimation of continuous quantities in the larval and adult zebrafish brain, and the contributions of the thalamus and the dorsal-central pallium for discrete magnitude estimation in the adult zebrafish brain. Evidence for basic circuitry can now be complemented and extended to research that make use of transgenic lines to deepen our understanding of quantity cognition at genetic and molecular levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Messina
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Davide Potrich
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Matilde Perrino
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Eva Sheardown
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, New Hunt’s House, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Peter Luu
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Anna Nadtochiy
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Thai V. Truong
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Valeria Anna Sovrano
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Scott E. Fraser
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Caroline H. Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioral Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Giorgio Vallortigara
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- *Correspondence: Giorgio Vallortigara,
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4
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Youn C, Grotzinger AD, Lill CM, Bertram L, Schmiedek F, Lövdén M, Lindenberger U, Nivard M, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM. Genetic associations with learning over 100 days of practice. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2022; 7:7. [PMID: 35508486 PMCID: PMC9068685 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-022-00121-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive performance is both heritable and sensitive to environmental inputs and sustained practice over time. However, it is currently unclear how genetic effects on cognitive performance change over the course of learning. We examine how polygenic scores (PGS) created from genome-wide association studies of educational attainment and cognitive performance are related to improvements in performance across nine cognitive tests (measuring perceptual speed, working memory, and episodic memory) administered to 131 adults (N = 51, ages = 20-31, and N = 80, ages = 65-80 years) repeatedly across 100 days. We observe that PGS associations with performance on a given task can change over the course of learning, with the specific pattern of change in associations differing across tasks. PGS correlations with pre-test to post-test scores may mask variability in how soon learning occurs over the course of practice. The associations between PGS and learning do not appear to simply reconstitute patterns of association between baseline performance and subsequent learning. Associations involving PGSs, however, were small with large confidence intervals. Intensive longitudinal research such as that described here may be of substantial value for clarifying the genetics of learning when implemented as far larger scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cherry Youn
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | | | - Christina M Lill
- Lübeck Interdisciplinary Platform for Genome Analytics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Aging Epidemiology Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Lars Bertram
- Lübeck Interdisciplinary Platform for Genome Analytics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Florian Schmiedek
- Department for Education and Human Development, DIPF|Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Lövdén
- Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ulman Lindenberger
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany, and London, UK
| | - Michel Nivard
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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5
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Erbeli F, Peng P, Rice M. No Evidence of Creative Benefit Accompanying Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis. JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES 2022; 55:242-253. [PMID: 33899570 DOI: 10.1177/00222194211010350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Research on the question of creative benefit accompanying dyslexia has produced conflicting findings. In this meta-analysis, we determined summary effects of mean and variance differences in creativity between groups with and without dyslexia. Twenty studies were included (n = 770 individuals with dyslexia, n = 1,671 controls). A random-effects robust variance estimation (RVE) analysis indicated no mean (g = -0.02, p = .84) or variance (g = -0.0004, p = .99) differences in creativity between groups. The mean summary effect was moderated by age, gender, and creativity domain. Compared with adolescents, adults with dyslexia showed an advantage over nondyslexic adults in creativity. In addition, a higher proportion of males in the dyslexia group was associated with poorer performance compared with the controls. Finally, the dyslexia group showed a significant performance disadvantage in verbal versus figural creativity. Regarding variance differences, they varied across age and creativity domains. Compared with adults, adolescents showed smaller variability in the dyslexia group. If the creativity task measured verbal versus figural or combined creativity, the dyslexia group exhibited smaller variability. Altogether, our results suggest that individuals with dyslexia as a group are no more creative or show greater variability in creativity than peers without dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peng Peng
- The University of Texas at Austin, USA
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6
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Brambila-Tapia AJL, Miranda-Lavastida AJ, Vázquez-Sánchez NA, Franco-López NL, Pérez-González MC, Nava-Bustos G, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez FJ, Mora-Moreno FF. Association of Health and Psychological Factors with Academic Achievement and Non-Verbal Intelligence in University Students with Low Academic Performance: The Influence of Sex. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19084804. [PMID: 35457671 PMCID: PMC9029569 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19084804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Academic achievement, measured with the grade point average (GPA), is a stable characteristic that has been associated with many sociodemographic and psychological variables; however, the relation of these variables with GPA has not been totally elucidated. The objective of this study was to perform an association of health, psychological and personal variables with GPA and non-verbal intelligence in low-academic performance population according to sex. We invited health sciences university students who had failed the same subject twice to complete a set of sociodemographic and psychological variables and a non-verbal intelligence test. The GPA, admission exam test and preparatory GPA were obtained. We included 124 students, and found that GPA was associated with non-verbal intelligence in women but not in men; in whom, having a job and having a romantic partner, were more correlated. In women, positive relations with others, emotion perception and weekly physical activity hours were marginally correlated with GPA; while in men, emotion regulation and self-motivation had a tendency of correlation with GPA. In addition, we found that non-verbal intelligence was associated somatization and the number of diseases in women. Academic achievement is regulated by different variables in each sex; therefore, intervention programs addressed by sex are needed to increase it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aniel Jessica Leticia Brambila-Tapia
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (G.N.-B.); (F.J.G.-R.)
- Correspondence: (A.J.L.B.-T.); (F.F.M.-M.)
| | - Aris Judit Miranda-Lavastida
- Centro de Estudios sobre Aprendizaje y Desarrollo (CEAD), Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (A.J.M.-L.); (N.A.V.-S.); (N.L.F.-L.)
| | - Nancy Araceli Vázquez-Sánchez
- Centro de Estudios sobre Aprendizaje y Desarrollo (CEAD), Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (A.J.M.-L.); (N.A.V.-S.); (N.L.F.-L.)
| | - Nancy Lizbeth Franco-López
- Centro de Estudios sobre Aprendizaje y Desarrollo (CEAD), Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (A.J.M.-L.); (N.A.V.-S.); (N.L.F.-L.)
| | - Martha Catalina Pérez-González
- Centro de Evaluación e Investigación en Psicología (CEIP), Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico;
| | - Gonzalo Nava-Bustos
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (G.N.-B.); (F.J.G.-R.)
| | - Francisco José Gutiérrez-Rodríguez
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (G.N.-B.); (F.J.G.-R.)
| | - Francisco Fabián Mora-Moreno
- Centro de Estudios sobre Aprendizaje y Desarrollo (CEAD), Departamento de Psicología Básica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico; (A.J.M.-L.); (N.A.V.-S.); (N.L.F.-L.)
- Correspondence: (A.J.L.B.-T.); (F.F.M.-M.)
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7
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Stallings MC, Neppl T. An examination of genetic and environmental factors related to negative personality traits, educational attainment, and economic success. Dev Psychol 2021; 57:191-199. [PMID: 33539127 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Personality variables are associated with educational attainment and socioeconomic outcomes. In this study we incorporated a polygenic score derived from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment to date (Lee et al., 2018) into the Interactionist Model of R. D. Conger, Martin, and Masarik (2021) that describes the influence of socioeconomic factors on individual development. The inclusion of a polygenic score predictive of educational attainment (PS-Edu) into this model, and the use of the multigeneration, longitudinal Family Transitions Project (FTP) provide a unique opportunity to investigate genetic and environmental influences on the development of negative personality traits and educational and economic outcomes. The FTP is a three-generation sample. This study utilized data from the first generation (G1; mean age 40 at initiation of the FTP) and second generation (G2; assessed at mean ages 18 and 30). Participants are approximately 50% female, 99% of European ancestry, primarily from lower to middle class SES. PS-Edu was significantly correlated with educational attainment in both generations of the FTP, accounting for 4.1 to 6.7% of the variance. Findings confirm that PS-Edu is a complex genetic index that is correlated with all of the socioeconomic constructs in the model. Results suggest potential gene-environment correlation or common genetic influences underlie associations among parenting investments, negative personality traits, and educational attainment. Genetic variance captured by PS-Edu was mediated substantially through G1 parental investments. Although study limitations warrant cautious interpretation, we demonstrate the promise of including polygenic scores in developmental models to better understand genetic and environmental influences on human development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tricia Neppl
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies
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8
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Borriello GA, Ramos AM, Natsuaki MN, Reiss D, Shaw DS, Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM. The intergenerational transmission of mathematics achievement in middle childhood: A prospective adoption design. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12974. [PMID: 32324330 PMCID: PMC7581538 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present study uses a parent-offspring adoption design to examine the dual roles of heritable and environmental influences on children's mathematics achievement. Linked sets (N = 195) of adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth parents each completed a measure of mathematics fluency (i.e., simple computational operations). Birth parent mathematics achievement and adoptive father mathematics achievement positively correlated with child achievement scores at age 7, whereas adoptive mother and adopted child mathematics achievement scores were not significantly associated with one another. Additionally, findings demonstrated no significant effects of gene-environment interactions on child mathematics achievement at age 7. These results indicate that both heritable and rearing environmental factors contribute to children's mathematics achievement and identify unique influences of the paternal rearing environment on mathematics achievement in middle childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amanda M. Ramos
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, US
| | | | - David Reiss
- Department of the Child Study Center, Yale University, US
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9
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Daucourt MC, Haughbrook R, van Bergen E, Hart SA. The association of parent-reported executive functioning, reading, and math is explained by nature, not nurture. Dev Psychol 2020; 56:2246-2261. [PMID: 33090832 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
According to the hybrid model (van Bergen, van der Leij, & de Jong, 2014), the significant association among executive functioning (EF), reading, and math may be partially explained by parent-reported EF's role as a common risk and/or protective factor in reading and math (dis)abilities. The current study used a sample of 434 twin pairs (Mage = 12.12) from Florida to conduct genetically sensitive modeling on children's parent-reported EF, reading, and math skills to determine the common and unique etiological influences among the three domains. EF was measured through parent report and reading and math were measured with standardized test scores drawn from Florida's Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network as well as standardized parent-administered assessments collected by mail. Our trivariate Cholesky modeling showed that no matter which parent-reported EF component was modeled, the overlap of parent-reported EF with reading and math was explained by common genetic influences. Supplemental analysis suggested that this might in part be due to general parent report of problem behaviors. Additionally, significant environmental influences, with higher shared environmental overlap than previous work, were also found for reading and math. Findings indicate that poor parent-reported EF is a common cognitive risk factor for reading and math disabilities, which is driven by a shared genetic basis among all three domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
| | - Sara A Hart
- Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University
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10
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Evans D, Field AP. Predictors of mathematical attainment trajectories across the primary-to-secondary education transition: parental factors and the home environment. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:200422. [PMID: 32874637 PMCID: PMC7428259 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
A 'maths crisis' has been identified in the UK, with many adults and adolescents underachieving in maths and numeracy. This poor performance is likely to develop from deficits in maths already present in childhood. Potential predictors of maths attainment trajectories throughout childhood and adolescence relate to the home environment and aspects of parenting including parent-child relationships, parental mental health, school involvement, home teaching, parental education and gendered play at home. This study examined the aforementioned factors as predictors of children's maths attainment trajectories (age 7-16) across the challenging transition to secondary education. A secondary longitudinal analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children found support for parental education qualifications, a harmonious parent-child relationship and school involvement at age 11 as substantial predictors of maths attainment trajectories across the transition to secondary education. These findings highlight the importance of parental involvement for maths attainment throughout primary and secondary education.
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von Stumm S, Rimfeld K, Dale PS, Plomin R. Preschool Verbal and Nonverbal Ability Mediate the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and School Performance. Child Dev 2020; 91:705-714. [PMID: 32207146 PMCID: PMC7317529 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
We compared the extent to which the long‐term influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) on children's school performance from age 7 through 16 years was mediated by their preschool verbal and nonverbal ability. In 661 British children, who completed 17 researcher‐administered ability tests at age 4.5 years, SES correlated more strongly with verbal than nonverbal ability (.39 vs. .26). Verbal ability mediated about half of the association between SES and school performance at age 7, while nonverbal ability accounted for a third of the link. Only SES, but not verbal or nonverbal ability, was associated with changes in school performance from age 7 to 16. We found that SES‐related differences in school performance are only partly transmitted through children's preschool verbal abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
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12
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Rimfeld K, Malanchini M, Hannigan LJ, Dale PS, Allen R, Hart S, Plomin R. Teacher assessments during compulsory education are as reliable, stable and heritable as standardized test scores. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2019; 60:1278-1288. [PMID: 31079420 PMCID: PMC6848749 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children in the UK go through rigorous teacher assessments and standardized exams throughout compulsory (elementary and secondary) education, culminating with the GCSE exams (General Certificate of Secondary Education) at the age of 16 and A-level exams (Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education) at the age of 18. These exams are a major tipping point directing young individuals towards different lifelong trajectories. However, little is known about the associations between teacher assessments and exam performance or how well these two measurement approaches predict educational outcomes at the end of compulsory education and beyond. METHODS The current investigation used the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) sample of over 5,000 twin pairs studied longitudinally from childhood to young adulthood (age 7-18). We used teacher assessment and exam performance across development to investigate, using genetically sensitive designs, the associations between teacher assessment and standardized exam scores, as well as teacher assessments' prediction of exam scores at ages 16 and 18, and university enrolment. RESULTS Teacher assessments of achievement are as reliable, stable and heritable (~60%) as test scores at every stage of the educational experience. Teacher and test scores correlate strongly phenotypically (r ~ .70) and genetically (genetic correlation ~.80) both contemporaneously and over time. Earlier exam performance accounts for additional variance in standardized exam results (~10%) at age 16, when controlling for teacher assessments. However, exam performance explains less additional variance in later academic success, ~5% for exam grades at 18, and ~3% for university entry, when controlling for teacher assessments. Teacher assessments also predict additional variance in later exam performance and university enrolment, when controlling for previous exam scores. CONCLUSIONS Teachers can reliably and validly monitor students' progress, abilities and inclinations. High-stakes exams may shift educational experience away from learning towards exam performance. For these reasons, we suggest that teacher assessments could replace some, or all, high-stakes exams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London UK
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London UK,Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Laurie J. Hannigan
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London UK
| | - Philip S. Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Rebecca Allen
- Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sara Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London UK
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Psychiatric Genetics, Epigenetics, and Cellular Models in Coming Years. JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY AND BRAIN SCIENCE 2019; 4. [PMID: 31608310 PMCID: PMC6788748 DOI: 10.20900/jpbs.20190012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Psychiatric genetic studies have uncovered hundreds of loci associated with various psychiatric disorders. We take the opportunity to review achievements in the past and provide our view of what is coming in the fields of molecular genetics, epigenetics, and cellular models. We expect that SNP-array and sequencing-based studies of genetic associations will continue to expand, covering more disorders, drug responses, phenotypes, and diverse populations. Epigenetic studies of psychiatric disorders will be another promising field with the growing recognition that environmental factors impact the risk for psychiatric disorders by modulating epigenetic factors. Functional studies of genetic findings will be needed in cellular models to provide important connections between genetic and epigenetic variants and biological phenotypes.
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Twins Early Development Study: A Genetically Sensitive Investigation into Behavioral and Cognitive Development from Infancy to Emerging Adulthood. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:508-513. [PMID: 31544730 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.56] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) is a longitudinal twin study that recruited over 16,000 twin-pairs born between 1994 and 1996 in England and Wales through national birth records. More than 10,000 of these families are still engaged in the study. TEDS was and still is a representative sample of the population in England and Wales. Rich cognitive and emotional/behavioral data have been collected from the twins from infancy to emerging adulthood, with data collection at first contact and at ages 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 21, enabling longitudinal genetically sensitive analyses. Data have been collected from the twins themselves, from their parents and teachers, and from the UK National Pupil Database. Genotyped DNA data are available for 10,346 individuals (who are unrelated except for 3320 dizygotic co-twins). TEDS data have contributed to over 400 scientific papers involving more than 140 researchers in 50 research institutions. TEDS offers an outstanding resource for investigating cognitive and behavioral development across childhood and early adulthood and actively fosters scientific collaborations.
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15
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Thomas MSC, Ansari D, Knowland VCP. Annual Research Review: Educational neuroscience: progress and prospects. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2019; 60:477-492. [PMID: 30345518 PMCID: PMC6487963 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Educational neuroscience is an interdisciplinary research field that seeks to translate research findings on neural mechanisms of learning to educational practice and policy and to understand the effects of education on the brain. Neuroscience and education can interact directly, by virtue of considering the brain as a biological organ that needs to be in the optimal condition to learn ('brain health'); or indirectly, as neuroscience shapes psychological theory and psychology influences education. In this article, we trace the origins of educational neuroscience, its main areas of research activity and the principal challenges it faces as a translational field. We consider how a pure psychology approach that ignores neuroscience is at risk of being misleading for educators. We address the major criticisms of the field comprising, respectively, a priori arguments against the relevance of neuroscience to education, reservations with the current practical operation of the field, and doubts about the viability of neuroscience methods for diagnosing disorders or predicting individual differences. We consider future prospects of the field and ethical issues it raises. Finally, we discuss the challenge of responding to the (welcome) desire of education policymakers to include neuroscience evidence in their policymaking, while ensuring recommendations do not exceed the limitations of current basic science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S. C. Thomas
- Centre for Educational NeuroscienceDepartment of Psychological ScienceBirkbeckUniversity of LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Department of Psychology & Faculty of Education Western UniversityLondonONCanada
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16
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Lazaroo NK, Bates TC, Hansell NK, Wright MJ, Martin NG, Luciano M. Genetic Structure of IQ, Phonemic Decoding Skill, and Academic Achievement. Front Genet 2019; 10:195. [PMID: 30949193 PMCID: PMC6436069 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine whether phonemic decoding skill (deficits of which characterize dyslexia) shares genetic and/or environmental covariance with scholastic abilities independent of general intelligence. Non-word reading ability, verbal and non-verbal IQ, and standardized academic achievement (Queensland Core Skills Test; QCST) were measured in Australian twins (up to 876 twin pairs and 80 singleton twins). Multivariate genetic analysis showed the presence of a general genetic factor, likely reflecting crystallized ability, which accounted for 45-76% of phenotypic variance in QCST scores, 62% of variance in Verbal IQ, 23% of variance in Performance IQ, and 19% of variance in phonological reading ability. The phonemic decoding genetic factor (explaining 48% of variance in phonemic decoding) was negatively associated with mathematical achievement scores (0.4%). Shared effects of common environment did not explain the relationship between reading ability and academic achievement beyond those also influencing IQ. The unique environmental reading factor (accounting for 26% of variance) influenced academic abilities related to written expression. Future research will need to address whether these reading-specific genetic and unique environment relationships arise from causal effects of reading on scholastic abilities, or whether both share a common influence, such as pleiotropic genes/environmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita K. Lazaroo
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy C. Bates
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Narelle K. Hansell
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Margaret J. Wright
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Nicholas G. Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Michelle Luciano
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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17
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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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18
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Smith-Woolley E, Ayorech Z, Dale PS, von Stumm S, Plomin R. The genetics of university success. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14579. [PMID: 30337657 PMCID: PMC6194053 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32621-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
University success, which includes enrolment in and achievement at university, as well as quality of the university, have all been linked to later earnings, health and wellbeing. However, little is known about the causes and correlates of differences in university-level outcomes. Capitalizing on both quantitative and molecular genetic data, we perform the first genetically sensitive investigation of university success with a UK-representative sample of 3,000 genotyped individuals and 3,000 twin pairs. Twin analyses indicate substantial additive genetic influence on university entrance exam achievement (57%), university enrolment (51%), university quality (57%) and university achievement (46%). We find that environmental effects tend to be non-shared, although the shared environment is substantial for university enrolment. Furthermore, using multivariate twin analysis, we show moderate to high genetic correlations between university success variables (0.27-0.76). Analyses using DNA alone also support genetic influence on university success. Indeed, a genome-wide polygenic score, derived from a 2016 genome-wide association study of years of education, predicts up to 5% of the variance in each university success variable. These findings suggest young adults select and modify their educational experiences in part based on their genetic propensities and highlight the potential for DNA-based predictions of real-world outcomes, which will continue to increase in predictive power.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Smith-Woolley
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Ziada Ayorech
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Philip S Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, NM, USA
| | - Sophie von Stumm
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, 3rd Floor, Queens House, 55/56 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ, UK
| | - Robert Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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19
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Toivainen T, Pannini G, Papageorgiou KA, Malanchini M, Rimfeld K, Shakeshaft N, Kovas Y. Prenatal testosterone does not explain sex differences in spatial ability. Sci Rep 2018; 8:13653. [PMID: 30209280 PMCID: PMC6135826 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31704-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The most consistent sex differences in cognition are found for spatial ability, in which males, on average, outperform females. Utilizing a twin design, two studies have shown that females with male co-twins perform better than females with female co-twins on a mental rotation task. According to the Twin Testosterone Transfer hypothesis (TTT) this advantage is due to in-uterine transmission of testosterone from males to females. The present study tested the TTT across 14 different spatial ability measures, including mental rotation tasks, in a large sample of 19–21-year-old twins. Males performed significantly better than females on all spatial tasks, with effect sizes ranging from η2 = 0.02 to η2 = 0.16. Females with a male co-twin outperformed females with a female co-twin in two of the tasks. The effect sizes for both differences were negligible (η2 < 0.02). Contrary to the previous studies, our results gave no indication that prenatally transferred testosterone, from a male to a female twin, influences sex differences in spatial ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teemu Toivainen
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Giulia Pannini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kostas A Papageorgiou
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Shakeshaft
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom. .,Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College, London, United Kingdom. .,Department of Psychology, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia.
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20
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Rimfeld K, Malanchini M, Krapohl E, Hannigan LJ, Dale PS, Plomin R. The stability of educational achievement across school years is largely explained by genetic factors. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2018; 3:16. [PMID: 30631477 PMCID: PMC6220264 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-018-0030-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the etiology of developmental change and continuity in educational achievement. Here, we study achievement from primary school to the end of compulsory education for 6000 twin pairs in the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study sample. Results showed that educational achievement is highly heritable across school years and across subjects studied at school (twin heritability ~60%; SNP heritability ~30%); achievement is highly stable (phenotypic correlations ~0.70 from ages 7 to 16). Twin analyses, applying simplex and common pathway models, showed that genetic factors accounted for most of this stability (70%), even after controlling for intelligence (60%). Shared environmental factors also contributed to the stability, while change was mostly accounted for by individual-specific environmental factors. Polygenic scores, derived from a genome-wide association analysis of adult years of education, also showed stable effects on school achievement. We conclude that the remarkable stability of achievement is largely driven genetically even after accounting for intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Eva Krapohl
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Laurie J. Hannigan
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Philip S. Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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21
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Lewis GJ, Shakeshaft NG, Plomin R. Face Identity Recognition and the Social Difficulties Component of the Autism-Like Phenotype: Evidence for Phenotypic and Genetic Links. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 48:2758-2765. [PMID: 29549550 PMCID: PMC6061026 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3539-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism-like traits are associated with deficits in face memory ability, although it is not yet clear whether this deficit reflects a specific aspect of the ASD/autism-like phenotype. We addressed this issue using a neurotypical sample of adolescent twins (Ncomplete pairs = 782) drawn from the Twins Early Development Study who were assessed on face and object memory performance alongside two core aspects of autism-like traits: (i) difficulties with social behavior/interactions, and (ii) attention to detail. We observed a negative association between face memory ability and difficulties with social behavior/interactions. This association reflected an overlapping genetic etiology: heritable influences acting on face memory ability are associated with the social difficulties aspects of autism-like traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary J Lewis
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Nicolas G Shakeshaft
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Robert Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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22
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von Stumm S, Plomin R. Monozygotic twin differences in school performance are stable and systematic. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12694. [PMID: 29920866 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
School performance is one of the most stable and heritable psychological characteristics. Notwithstanding, monozygotic twins (MZ), who have identical genotypes, differ in school performance. These MZ differences result from non-shared environments that do not contribute to the similarity within twin pairs. Because to date few non-shared environmental factors have been reliably associated with MZ differences in school performance, they are thought to be idiosyncratic and due to chance, suggesting that the effect of non-shared environments on MZ differences are age- and trait-specific. In a sample of 2768 MZ twin pairs, we found first that MZ differences in school performance were moderately stable from age 12 through 16, with differences at the ages 12 and 14 accounting for 20% of the variance in MZ differences at age 16. Second, MZ differences in school performance correlated positively with MZ differences across 16 learning-related variables, including measures of intelligence, personality and school attitudes, with the twin who scored higher on one also scoring higher on the other measures. Finally, MZ differences in the 16 learning-related variables accounted for 22% of the variance in MZ differences in school performance at age 16. These findings suggest that, unlike for other psychological domains, non-shared environmental factors affect school performance in systematic ways that have long-term and generalist influence. Our findings should motivate the search for non-shared environmental factors responsible for the stable and systematic effects on children's differences in school performance. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/0bw2Fl_HGq0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie von Stumm
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK
| | - Robert Plomin
- SGDP Research Centre, King's College London (KCL), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), London, UK
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23
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Krapohl E, Patel H, Newhouse S, Curtis CJ, von Stumm S, Dale PS, Zabaneh D, Breen G, O'Reilly PF, Plomin R. Multi-polygenic score approach to trait prediction. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:1368-1374. [PMID: 28785111 PMCID: PMC5681246 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A primary goal of polygenic scores, which aggregate the effects of thousands of trait-associated DNA variants discovered in genome-wide association studies (GWASs), is to estimate individual-specific genetic propensities and predict outcomes. This is typically achieved using a single polygenic score, but here we use a multi-polygenic score (MPS) approach to increase predictive power by exploiting the joint power of multiple discovery GWASs, without assumptions about the relationships among predictors. We used summary statistics of 81 well-powered GWASs of cognitive, medical and anthropometric traits to predict three core developmental outcomes in our independent target sample: educational achievement, body mass index (BMI) and general cognitive ability. We used regularized regression with repeated cross-validation to select from and estimate contributions of 81 polygenic scores in a UK representative sample of 6710 unrelated adolescents. The MPS approach predicted 10.9% variance in educational achievement, 4.8% in general cognitive ability and 5.4% in BMI in an independent test set, predicting 1.1%, 1.1%, and 1.6% more variance than the best single-score predictions. As other relevant GWA analyses are reported, they can be incorporated in MPS models to maximize phenotype prediction. The MPS approach should be useful in research with modest sample sizes to investigate developmental, multivariate and gene-environment interplay issues and, eventually, in clinical settings to predict and prevent problems using personalized interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Krapohl
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - H Patel
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK
| | - S Newhouse
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK
- Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, UCL Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, UK
| | - C J Curtis
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - S von Stumm
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross, London, UK
| | - P S Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - D Zabaneh
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - G Breen
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - P F O'Reilly
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - R Plomin
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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24
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Smith-Woolley E, Pingault JB, Selzam S, Rimfeld K, Krapohl E, von Stumm S, Asbury K, Dale PS, Young T, Allen R, Kovas Y, Plomin R. Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic differences between them. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2018; 3:3. [PMID: 30631464 PMCID: PMC6220309 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-018-0019-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
On average, students attending selective schools outperform their non-selective counterparts in national exams. These differences are often attributed to value added by the school, as well as factors schools use to select pupils, including ability, achievement and, in cases where schools charge tuition fees or are located in affluent areas, socioeconomic status. However, the possible role of DNA differences between students of different schools types has not yet been considered. We used a UK-representative sample of 4814 genotyped students to investigate exam performance at age 16 and genetic differences between students in three school types: state-funded, non-selective schools ('non-selective'), state-funded, selective schools ('grammar') and private schools, which are selective ('private'). We created a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) derived from a genome-wide association study of years of education (EduYears). We found substantial mean genetic differences between students of different school types: students in non-selective schools had lower EduYears GPS compared to those in grammar (d = 0.41) and private schools (d = 0.37). Three times as many students in the top EduYears GPS decile went to a selective school compared to the bottom decile. These results were mirrored in the exam differences between school types. However, once we controlled for factors involved in pupil selection, there were no significant genetic differences between school types, and the variance in exam scores at age 16 explained by school type dropped from 7% to <1%. These results show that genetic and exam differences between school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Smith-Woolley
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
- Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0DS UK
| | - Saskia Selzam
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Eva Krapohl
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Sophie von Stumm
- London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE UK
| | - Kathryn Asbury
- Department of Education, Psychology in Education Research Centre, University of York, York, YO10 5DD UK
| | - Philip S. Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA
| | - Toby Young
- New Schools Network, 3 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7SP UK
| | - Rebecca Allen
- Education Datalab, 1st Floor, 11 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QB UK
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioural Genetics, Tomsk State University, Lenin Avenue, 36, Tomsk Oblast, Tomsk, 634050 Russia
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, 8 Lewisham Way, London, SE14 6NW UK
| | - Robert Plomin
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF UK
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25
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Widespread covariation of early environmental exposures and trait-associated polygenic variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:11727-11732. [PMID: 29078306 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707178114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although gene-environment correlation is recognized and investigated by family studies and recently by SNP-heritability studies, the possibility that genetic effects on traits capture environmental risk factors or protective factors has been neglected by polygenic prediction models. We investigated covariation between trait-associated polygenic variation identified by genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and specific environmental exposures, controlling for overall genetic relatedness using a genomic relatedness matrix restricted maximum-likelihood model. In a UK-representative sample (n = 6,710), we find widespread covariation between offspring trait-associated polygenic variation and parental behavior and characteristics relevant to children's developmental outcomes-independently of population stratification. For instance, offspring genetic risk for schizophrenia was associated with paternal age (R2 = 0.002; P = 1e-04), and offspring education-associated variation was associated with variance in breastfeeding (R2 = 0.021; P = 7e-30), maternal smoking during pregnancy (R2 = 0.008; P = 5e-13), parental smacking (R2 = 0.01; P = 4e-15), household income (R2 = 0.032; P = 1e-22), watching television (R2 = 0.034; P = 5e-47), and maternal education (R2 = 0.065; P = 3e-96). Education-associated polygenic variation also captured covariation between environmental exposures and children's inattention/hyperactivity, conduct problems, and educational achievement. The finding that genetic variation identified by trait GWASs partially captures environmental risk factors or protective factors has direct implications for risk prediction models and the interpretation of GWAS findings.
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Wootton RE, Davis OSP, Mottershaw AL, Wang RAH, Haworth CMA. Genetic and environmental correlations between subjective wellbeing and experience of life events in adolescence. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2017; 26:1119-1127. [PMID: 28508957 PMCID: PMC5591350 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-017-0997-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Some life events appear heritable due to the genetic influence on related behaviours. Shared genetic influence between negative behaviours and negative life events has previously been established. This study investigated whether subjective wellbeing and positive life events were genetically associated. Participants in the Twins Early Development Study (aged 16.32 ± .68 years) completed subjective wellbeing and life events assessments via two separate studies (overlapping N for wellbeing and life events measures ranged from 3527 to 9350). We conducted bivariate twin models between both positive and negative life events with subjective wellbeing and related positive psychological traits including subjective happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, hopefulness and gratitude measured at 16 years. Results suggested that the heritability of life events can partially be explained by shared genetic influences with the wellbeing indicators. Wellbeing traits were positively genetically correlated with positive life events and negatively correlated with negative life events (except curiosity where there was no correlation). Those positive traits that drive behaviour (grit and ambition) showed the highest genetic correlation with life events, whereas the reflective trait gratitude was less correlated. This suggests that gene-environment correlations might explain the observed genetic association between life events and wellbeing. Inheriting propensity for positive traits might cause you to seek environments that lead to positive life events and avoid environments which make negative life events more likely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn E Wootton
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK.
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
| | - Oliver S P Davis
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Abigail L Mottershaw
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - R Adele H Wang
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Claire M A Haworth
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
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27
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Malanchini M, Wang Z, Voronin I, Schenker VJ, Plomin R, Petrill SA, Kovas Y. Reading self-perceived ability, enjoyment and achievement: A genetically informative study of their reciprocal links over time. Dev Psychol 2017; 53:698-712. [PMID: 28333527 PMCID: PMC5363396 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Extant literature has established a consistent association between aspects of reading motivation, such as enjoyment and self-perceived ability, and reading achievement, in that more motivated readers are generally more skilled readers. However, the developmental etiology of this relation is yet to be investigated. The present study explores the development of the motivation-achievement association and its genetic and environmental underpinnings. Applying cross-lagged design in a sample of 13,825 twins, we examined the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the association between reading enjoyment and self-perceived ability and reading achievement. Children completed a reading comprehension task and self-reported their reading enjoyment and perceived ability twice in middle childhood: when they were 9-10 and 12 years old. Results showed a modest reciprocal association over time between reading motivation (enjoyment and perceived ability) and reading achievement. Reading motivation at age 9-10 statistically predicted the development of later achievement, and similarly, reading achievement at age 9-10 predicted the development of later motivation. This reciprocal association was observed beyond the stability of the variables and their contemporaneous correlation and was largely explained by genetic factors. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zhe Wang
- Center for Gerontology, Virginia Tech
| | - Ivan Voronin
- Psychological Institute of Russian Academy of Education
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- MRC Social, Genetic, & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
| | | | - Yulia Kovas
- Psychology Department, Goldsmiths University of London
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Ayorech Z, Krapohl E, Plomin R, von Stumm S. Genetic Influence on Intergenerational Educational Attainment. Psychol Sci 2017; 28:1302-1310. [PMID: 28715641 PMCID: PMC5595239 DOI: 10.1177/0956797617707270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Using twin (6,105 twin pairs) and genomic (5,825 unrelated individuals taken from the twin sample) analyses, we tested for genetic influences on the parent-offspring correspondence in educational attainment. Genetics accounted for nearly half of the variance in intergenerational educational attainment. A genomewide polygenic score (GPS) for years of education was also associated with intergenerational educational attainment: The highest and lowest GPS means were found for offspring in stably educated families (i.e., who had taken A Levels and had a university-educated parent; M = 0.43, SD = 0.97) and stably uneducated families (i.e., who had not taken A Levels and had no university-educated parent; M = -0.19, SD = 0.97). The average GPSs fell in between for children who were upwardly mobile (i.e., who had taken A Levels but had no university-educated parent; M = 0.05, SD = 0.96) and children who were downwardly mobile (i.e., who had not taken A Levels but had a university-educated parent; M = 0.28, SD = 1.03). Genetic influences on intergenerational educational attainment can be viewed as an index of equality of educational opportunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziada Ayorech
- 1 MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
| | - Eva Krapohl
- 1 MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
| | - Robert Plomin
- 1 MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
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Smith-Woolley E, Rimfeld K, Plomin R. Weak associations between pubertal development and psychiatric and behavioral problems. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1098. [PMID: 28418401 PMCID: PMC5416703 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Pubertal development has been associated with adverse outcomes throughout adolescence and adulthood. However, much of the previous literature has categorized outcome variables and pubertal timing measures for ease of mean difference or odds ratio interpretation. We use a UK-representative sample of over 5000 individuals drawn from the Twins Early Development Study to extend this literature by adopting an individual differences approach and emphasizing effect sizes. We investigate a variety of psychiatric and behavioral measures collected longitudinally at ages 11, 14 and 16, for multiple raters and for males and females separately. In addition, we use two measures of pubertal development: the Pubertal Development Scale at each age, as well as the age of menarche for girls. We found that pubertal development, however assessed, was linearly associated with a range of psychiatric and behavioral outcomes; however, the effect sizes of these associations were modest for both males and females with most correlations between -0.10 and 0.10. Our systematic analysis of associations between pubertal development, and psychiatric and behavioral problems is the most comprehensive to date. The results showing linearity of the effects of pubertal development support an individual differences approach, treating both pubertal development and associated outcomes as continuous rather than categorical variables. We conclude that pubertal development explains little variance in psychiatric and behavioral outcomes (<1% on average). The small effect sizes indicate that the associations are weak and should not warrant major concern at least in non-clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Smith-Woolley
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - K Rimfeld
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - R Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK
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30
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Lewis GJ, Asbury K, Plomin R. Externalizing problems in childhood and adolescence predict subsequent educational achievement but for different genetic and environmental reasons. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:292-304. [PMID: 27861883 PMCID: PMC5324692 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood behavior problems predict subsequent educational achievement; however, little research has examined the etiology of these links using a longitudinal twin design. Moreover, it is unknown whether genetic and environmental innovations provide incremental prediction for educational achievement from childhood to adolescence. METHODS We examined genetic and environmental influences on parental ratings of behavior problems across childhood (age 4) and adolescence (ages 12 and 16) as predictors of educational achievement at age 16 using a longitudinal classical twin design. RESULTS Shared-environmental influences on anxiety, conduct problems, and peer problems at age 4 predicted educational achievement at age 16. Genetic influences on the externalizing behaviors of conduct problems and hyperactivity at age 4 predicted educational achievement at age 16. Moreover, novel genetic and (to a lesser extent) nonshared-environmental influences acting on conduct problems and hyperactivity emerged at ages 12 and 16, adding to the genetic prediction from age 4. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that genetic and shared-environmental factors underpinning behavior problems in early childhood predict educational achievement in midadolescence. These findings are consistent with the notion that early-childhood behavior problems reflect the initiation of a life-course persistent trajectory with concomitant implications for social attainment. However, we also find evidence that genetic and nonshared-environment innovations acting on behavior problems have implications for subsequent educational achievement, consistent with recent work arguing that adolescence represents a sensitive period for socioaffective development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary J. Lewis
- Department of PsychologyRoyal HollowayUniversity of LondonEghamSurreyUK
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreKing's College LondonMRC SocialInstitute of PsychiatryLondonUK
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31
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Phenotypic and genetic evidence for a unifactorial structure of spatial abilities. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:2777-2782. [PMID: 28223478 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607883114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial abilities encompass several skills differentiable from general cognitive ability (g). Importantly, spatial abilities have been shown to be significant predictors of many life outcomes, even after controlling for g. To date, no studies have analyzed the genetic architecture of diverse spatial abilities using a multivariate approach. We developed "gamified" measures of diverse putative spatial abilities. The battery of 10 tests was administered online to 1,367 twin pairs (age 19-21) from the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). We show that spatial abilities constitute a single factor, both phenotypically and genetically, even after controlling for g This spatial ability factor is highly heritable (69%). We draw three conclusions: (i) The high heritability of spatial ability makes it a good target for gene-hunting research; (ii) some genes will be specific to spatial ability, independent of g; and (iii) these genes will be associated with all components of spatial ability.
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32
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Butterworth B. The implications for education of an innate numerosity-processing mechanism. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 373:20170118. [PMID: 29292351 PMCID: PMC5784050 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
One specific cause of low numeracy is a deficit in a mechanism for representing and processing numerosities that humans inherited and which is putatively shared with many other species. This deficit is evident at each of the four levels of explanation in the 'causal modelling' framework of Morton and Frith (Morton and Frith 1995 In Manual of developmental psychopathology, vol. 1 (eds D Cichetti, D Cohen), pp. 357-390). Very low numeracy can occur in cognitively able individuals with normal access to good education: it is linked to an easily measured deficit in basic numerosity processing; it has a distinctive neural signature; and twin studies suggest specific heritability, though the relevant genes have not yet been identified. Unfortunately, educators and policymakers seem largely unaware of this cause, but appropriate interventions could alleviate the suffering and handicap of those with low numeracy, and would be a major benefit to society.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The origins of numerical abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Butterworth
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
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33
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Selzam S, Krapohl E, von Stumm S, O'Reilly PF, Rimfeld K, Kovas Y, Dale PS, Lee JJ, Plomin R. Predicting educational achievement from DNA. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22:267-272. [PMID: 27431296 PMCID: PMC5285461 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A genome-wide polygenic score (GPS), derived from a 2013 genome-wide association study (N=127,000), explained 2% of the variance in total years of education (EduYears). In a follow-up study (N=329,000), a new EduYears GPS explains up to 4%. Here, we tested the association between this latest EduYears GPS and educational achievement scores at ages 7, 12 and 16 in an independent sample of 5825 UK individuals. We found that EduYears GPS explained greater amounts of variance in educational achievement over time, up to 9% at age 16, accounting for 15% of the heritable variance. This is the strongest GPS prediction to date for quantitative behavioral traits. Individuals in the highest and lowest GPS septiles differed by a whole school grade at age 16. Furthermore, EduYears GPS was associated with general cognitive ability (~3.5%) and family socioeconomic status (~7%). There was no evidence of an interaction between EduYears GPS and family socioeconomic status on educational achievement or on general cognitive ability. These results are a harbinger of future widespread use of GPS to predict genetic risk and resilience in the social and behavioral sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Selzam
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - E Krapohl
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - S von Stumm
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
| | - P F O'Reilly
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - K Rimfeld
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - Y Kovas
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
- Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioural Genetics, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - P S Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - J J Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - R Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
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Crosswaite M, Asbury K. 'Mr Cummings clearly does not understand the science of genetics and should maybe go back to school on the subject': an exploratory content analysis of the online comments beneath a controversial news story. LIFE SCIENCES, SOCIETY AND POLICY 2016; 12:11. [PMID: 27812855 PMCID: PMC5095087 DOI: 10.1186/s40504-016-0044-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
An article published in the UK Guardian on 11/10/2013 with the headline 'Genetics outweighs teaching, Gove advisor tells his boss' reported a leaked document written by special advisor Dominic Cummings to the then UK Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove. The article generated 3008 on-line reader comments from the public. These reader comments offer a naturalistic opportunity to understand public opinion regarding Cummings' controversial suggestions and ideas. We conducted a content analysis of n = 800 reader comments, coding them on the basis of level of agreement with the ideas and opinions expressed in the article. Of all aspects of education mentioned, Cummings' reported views on genetics were commented upon most frequently and were subject to the most opposition from commenters, but also the most support. Findings offer some insight into the challenges involved in conducting public discourse about the relevance of genes in education. We discuss the accuracy with which Cummings' views were presented and the effect this may have had on reader responses to the points being raised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline Crosswaite
- Department of Education, Derwent College, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
| | - Kathryn Asbury
- Department of Education, Derwent College, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
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35
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Rimfeld K, Kovas Y, Dale PS, Plomin R. True grit and genetics: Predicting academic achievement from personality. J Pers Soc Psychol 2016; 111:780-789. [PMID: 26867111 PMCID: PMC4981570 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Grit-perseverance and passion for long-term goals-has been shown to be a significant predictor of academic success, even after controlling for other personality factors. Here, for the first time, we use a U.K.-representative sample and a genetically sensitive design to unpack the etiology of Grit and its prediction of academic achievement in comparison to well-established personality traits. For 4,642 16-year-olds (2,321 twin pairs), we used the Grit-S scale (perseverance of effort and consistency of interest), along with the Big Five personality traits, to predict grades on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams, which are administered U.K.-wide at the end of compulsory education. Twin analyses of Grit perseverance yielded a heritability estimate of 37% (20% for consistency of interest) and no evidence for shared environmental influence. Personality, primarily conscientiousness, predicts about 6% of the variance in GCSE grades, but Grit adds little to this prediction. Moreover, multivariate twin analyses showed that roughly two-thirds of the GCSE prediction is mediated genetically. Grit perseverance of effort and Big Five conscientiousness are to a large extent the same trait both phenotypically (r = 0.53) and genetically (genetic correlation = 0.86). We conclude that the etiology of Grit is highly similar to other personality traits, not only in showing substantial genetic influence but also in showing no influence of shared environmental factors. Personality significantly predicts academic achievement, but Grit adds little phenotypically or genetically to the prediction of academic achievement beyond traditional personality factors, especially conscientiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Rimfeld
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Yulia Kovas
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
- Goldsmiths, University of London, Department of Psychology, London, SE14 6NW, UK
- Tomsk State University, Laboratory for Cognitive Investigations and Behavioural Genetics, Tomsk, 634050, Russia
| | - Philip S. Dale
- University of New Mexico, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Robert Plomin
- King’s College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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36
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Krapohl E, Euesden J, Zabaneh D, Pingault JB, Rimfeld K, von Stumm S, Dale PS, Breen G, O'Reilly PF, Plomin R. Phenome-wide analysis of genome-wide polygenic scores. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21:1188-93. [PMID: 26303664 PMCID: PMC4767701 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2015] [Revised: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS), which aggregate the effects of thousands of DNA variants from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have the potential to make genetic predictions for individuals. We conducted a systematic investigation of associations between GPS and many behavioral traits, the behavioral phenome. For 3152 unrelated 16-year-old individuals representative of the United Kingdom, we created 13 GPS from the largest GWAS for psychiatric disorders (for example, schizophrenia, depression and dementia) and cognitive traits (for example, intelligence, educational attainment and intracranial volume). The behavioral phenome included 50 traits from the domains of psychopathology, personality, cognitive abilities and educational achievement. We examined phenome-wide profiles of associations for the entire distribution of each GPS and for the extremes of the GPS distributions. The cognitive GPS yielded stronger predictive power than the psychiatric GPS in our UK-representative sample of adolescents. For example, education GPS explained variation in adolescents' behavior problems (~0.6%) and in educational achievement (~2%) but psychiatric GPS were associated with neither. Despite the modest effect sizes of current GPS, quantile analyses illustrate the ability to stratify individuals by GPS and opportunities for research. For example, the highest and lowest septiles for the education GPS yielded a 0.5 s.d. difference in mean math grade and a 0.25 s.d. difference in mean behavior problems. We discuss the usefulness and limitations of GPS based on adult GWAS to predict genetic propensities earlier in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Krapohl
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - J Euesden
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - D Zabaneh
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - J-B Pingault
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK,Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - K Rimfeld
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - S von Stumm
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross, London, UK
| | - P S Dale
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - G Breen
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - P F O'Reilly
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - R Plomin
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. E-mail:
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37
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Braham EJ, Libertus ME. Intergenerational associations in numerical approximation and mathematical abilities. Dev Sci 2016; 20. [PMID: 27496658 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Although growing evidence suggests a link between children's math skills and their ability to estimate numerical quantities using the approximate number system (ANS), little is known about the sources underlying individual differences in ANS acuity and their relation with specific mathematical skills. To examine the role of intergenerational transmission of these abilities from parents to children, the current study assessed the ANS acuities and math abilities of 54 children (5-8 years old) and their parents, as well as parents' expectations about children's math skills. Children's ANS acuity positively correlated with their parents' ANS acuity, and children's math abilities were predicted by unique combinations of parents' ANS acuity and math ability depending on the specific math skill in question. These findings provide the first evidence of intergenerational transmission of an unlearned, non-verbal numerical competence and are an important step toward understanding the multifaceted parental influences on children's math abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Braham
- Department of Psychology and Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Melissa E Libertus
- Department of Psychology and Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, USA
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Bernier A, Calkins SD, Bell MA. Longitudinal Associations Between the Quality of Mother-Infant Interactions and Brain Development Across Infancy. Child Dev 2016; 87:1159-74. [PMID: 27040719 PMCID: PMC4939105 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate if normative variations in parenting relate to brain development among typically developing children. A sample of 352 mother-infant dyads came to the laboratory when infants were 5, 10, and 24 months of age (final N = 215). At each visit, child resting electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Mother-infant interactions were videotaped at the 5-month visit. The results indicated that higher quality maternal behavior during mother-infant interactions predicted higher frontal resting EEG power at 10 and 24 months, as well as increases in power between 5 and 10 months, and between 10 and 24 months. These findings provide rare support for the hypothesis that normative variation in parenting quality may contribute to brain development among typically developing infants.
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Kovas Y, Plomin R. Learning Abilities and Disabilities: Generalist Genes, Specialist Environments. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016; 16:284-288. [PMID: 20351764 PMCID: PMC2841819 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00521.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Twin studies comparing identical and fraternal twins consistently show substantial genetic influence on individual differences in learning abilities such as reading and mathematics, as well as in other cognitive abilities such as spatial ability and memory. Multivariate genetic research has shown that the same set of genes is largely responsible for genetic influence on these diverse cognitive areas. We call these "generalist genes." What differentiates these abilities is largely the environment, especially nonshared environments that make children growing up in the same family different from one another. These multivariate genetic findings of generalist genes and specialist environments have far-reaching implications for diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities and for understanding the brain mechanisms that mediate these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulia Kovas
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London London, England
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40
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Genetics affects choice of academic subjects as well as achievement. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26373. [PMID: 27310577 PMCID: PMC4910524 DOI: 10.1038/srep26373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We have previously shown that individual differences in educational achievement are highly heritable throughout compulsory education. After completing compulsory education at age 16, students in England can choose to continue to study for two years (A-levels) in preparation for applying to university and they can freely choose which subjects to study. Here, for the first time, we show that choosing to do A-levels and the choice of subjects show substantial genetic influence, as does performance after two years studying the chosen subjects. Using a UK-representative sample of 6584 twin pairs, heritability estimates were 44% for choosing to do A-levels and 52-80% for choice of subject. Achievement after two years was also highly heritable (35-76%). The findings that DNA differences substantially affect differences in appetites as well as aptitudes suggest a genetic way of thinking about education in which individuals actively create their own educational experiences in part based on their genetic propensities.
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Malanchini M, Tosto MG, Garfield V, Dirik A, Czerwik A, Arden R, Malykh S, Kovas Y. Preschool Drawing and School Mathematics: The Nature of the Association. Child Dev 2016; 87:929-43. [PMID: 27079561 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The study examined the etiology of individual differences in early drawing and of its longitudinal association with school mathematics. Participants (N = 14,760), members of the Twins Early Development Study, were assessed on their ability to draw a human figure, including number of features, symmetry, and proportionality. Human figure drawing was moderately stable across 6 months (average r = .40). Individual differences in drawing at age 4½ were influenced by genetic (.21), shared environmental (.30), and nonshared environmental (.49) factors. Drawing was related to later (age 12) mathematical ability (average r = .24). This association was explained by genetic and shared environmental factors that also influenced general intelligence. Some genetic factors, unrelated to intelligence, also contributed to individual differences in drawing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Aysegul Dirik
- Goldsmiths University of London.,Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry (WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development), Queen Mary University of London
| | | | | | - Sergey Malykh
- Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education
| | - Yulia Kovas
- Goldsmiths University of London.,Tomsk State University.,King's College London.,New York University in London
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42
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Krapohl E, Plomin R. Genetic link between family socioeconomic status and children's educational achievement estimated from genome-wide SNPs. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21:437-43. [PMID: 25754083 PMCID: PMC4486001 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Revised: 11/21/2014] [Accepted: 12/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
One of the best predictors of children's educational achievement is their family's socioeconomic status (SES), but the degree to which this association is genetically mediated remains unclear. For 3000 UK-representative unrelated children we found that genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms could explain a third of the variance of scores on an age-16 UK national examination of educational achievement and half of the correlation between their scores and family SES. Moreover, genome-wide polygenic scores based on a previously published genome-wide association meta-analysis of total number of years in education accounted for ~3.0% variance in educational achievement and ~2.5% in family SES. This study provides the first molecular evidence for substantial genetic influence on differences in children's educational achievement and its association with family SES.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Krapohl
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK,King's College London, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. E-mail:
| | - R Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
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de Zeeuw EL, van Beijsterveldt CEM, Glasner TJ, de Geus EJC, Boomsma DI. Arithmetic, reading and writing performance has a strong genetic component: A study in primary school children. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016; 47:156-166. [PMID: 27182184 DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2016.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Even children attending the same primary school and taught by the same teacher differ greatly in their performance. In the Netherlands, performance at the end of primary school determines the enrollment in a particular level of secondary education. Identifying the impact of genes and the environment on individual differences in educational achievement between children is important. The Netherlands Twin Register has collected data on scores of tests used in primary school (ages 6 to 12) to monitor a child's educational progress in four domains, i.e. arithmetic, word reading, reading comprehension and spelling (1058 MZ and 1734 DZ twin pairs), and of a final test (2451 MZ and 4569 DZ twin pairs) in a large Dutch cohort. In general, individual differences in educational achievement were to a large extent due to genes and the influence of the family environment was negligible. Moreover, there is no evidence for gender differences in the underlying etiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eveline L de Zeeuw
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Tina J Glasner
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Eco J C de Geus
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Han CC, Yang TH, Lin CY, Yen NS. Memory Updating and Mental Arithmetic. Front Psychol 2016; 7:72. [PMID: 26869971 PMCID: PMC4735758 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Is domain-general memory updating ability predictive of calculation skills or are such skills better predicted by the capacity for updating specifically numerical information? Here, we used multidigit mental multiplication (MMM) as a measure for calculating skill as this operation requires the accurate maintenance and updating of information in addition to skills needed for arithmetic more generally. In Experiment 1, we found that only individual differences with regard to a task updating numerical information following addition (MUcalc) could predict the performance of MMM, perhaps owing to common elements between the task and MMM. In Experiment 2, new updating tasks were designed to clarify this: a spatial updating task with no numbers, a numerical task with no calculation, and a word task. The results showed that both MUcalc and the spatial task were able to predict the performance of MMM but only with the more difficult problems, while other updating tasks did not predict performance. It is concluded that relevant processes involved in updating the contents of working memory support mental arithmetic in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Ching Han
- Department of Psychology, National Chengchi UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Research Center for Testing and Assessment, National Academy for Educational ResearchNew Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Han Yang
- Department of Psychology, National Chengchi University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yuan Lin
- Department of Psychology, National Chengchi UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, University of YorkYork, UK
| | - Nai-Shing Yen
- Department of Psychology, National Chengchi UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Research Center for Mind, Brain, and Learning, National Chengchi UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
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Trzaskowski M, Lichtenstein P, Magnusson PK, Pedersen NL, Plomin R. Application of linear mixed models to study genetic stability of height and body mass index across countries and time. Int J Epidemiol 2016; 45:417-423. [PMID: 26819444 PMCID: PMC4864877 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyv355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background:
It is now possible to estimate genetic correlations between two independent samples when there is no overlapping phenotypic information. We applied the latest bivariate genomic methods to children in the UK and older adults in Sweden to ask two questions. Are the same variants driving individual differences in anthropometric traits in these two populations, and are these variants as important in childhood as they are later in life?
Methods:
A sample of 3152 11-year-old children in the UK was compared with a sample of 6813 adults with an average age of 65 in Sweden. Genotypes were imputed from 1000 genomes with combined 9 767 136 single nucleotide polymorphisms meeting quality control criteria in both samples. Two cross-sample GCTA-GREML analyses and linkage disequilibrium (LD) score regressions were conducted to assess genetic correlations across more than 50 years: child versus adult height and child versus adult body mass index (BMI). Consistency of effects was tested using the recently proposed polygenic scoring method.
Results:
For height, GCTA-GREML and LD score indicated strong genetic stability between children and adults, 0.58 (0.16) and 1.335 (1.09), respectively. For BMI, both methods produced similarly strong estimates of genetic stability 0.75 (0.26) and 0.855 (0.49), respectively. In height, adult polygenic score explained 60% of genetic variance in childhood and 10% of variance in BMI.
Conclusions:
Here we replicated and extended previous findings of longitudinal genetic stability in anthropometric traits to cross-cultural dimensions, and showed that for height but not BMI these variants are as important in childhood as they are in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Trzaskowski
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK and
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Patrik K Magnusson
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nancy L Pedersen
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Robert Plomin
- King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK and
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Plomin R, DeFries JC, Knopik VS, Neiderhiser JM. Top 10 Replicated Findings From Behavioral Genetics. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016; 11:3-23. [PMID: 26817721 PMCID: PMC4739500 DOI: 10.1177/1745691615617439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
In the context of current concerns about replication in psychological science, we describe 10 findings from behavioral genetic research that have replicated robustly. These are "big" findings, both in terms of effect size and potential impact on psychological science, such as linearly increasing heritability of intelligence from infancy (20%) through adulthood (60%). Four of our top 10 findings involve the environment, discoveries that could have been found only with genetically sensitive research designs. We also consider reasons specific to behavioral genetics that might explain why these findings replicate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
| | - John C DeFries
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado
| | - Valerie S Knopik
- Department of Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, and Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University
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von Stumm S, Plomin R. Breastfeeding and IQ Growth from Toddlerhood through Adolescence. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0138676. [PMID: 26406251 PMCID: PMC4583278 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 09/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The benefits of breastfeeding for cognitive development continue to be hotly debated but are yet to be supported by conclusive empirical evidence. METHODS We used here a latent growth curve modeling approach to test the association of breastfeeding with IQ growth trajectories, which allows differentiating the variance in the IQ starting point in early life from variance in IQ gains that occur later in childhood through adolescence. Breastfeeding (yes/ no) was modeled as a direct predictor of three IQ latent growth factors (i.e. intercept, slope and quadratic term) and adjusted for the covariates socioeconomic status, mother's age at birth and gestational stage. Data came from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), a prospective cohort study of twins born between 1996 and 1994 in the United Kingdom, who were assessed 9 times on IQ between age 2 and 16 years (N = 11,582). RESULTS Having been breastfed was associated with a small yet significant advantage in IQ at age 2 in girls (β = .07, CI 95% from 0.64 to 3.01; N = 3,035) but not in boys (β = .04, CI 95% from -0.14 to 2.41). Having been breastfeeding was neither associated with the other IQ growth factors in girls (slope: β = .02, CI 95% from -0.25 to 0.43; quadratic: β = .01, CI 95% from -0.02 to 0.02) nor in boys (slope: β = .02, CI 95% from -0.30 to 0.47; quadratic: β = -.01, CI 95% from -0.01 to 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Breastfeeding has little benefit for early life intelligence and cognitive growth from toddlerhood through adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie von Stumm
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Robert Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
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Dale PS, Tosto MG, Hayiou-Thomas ME, Plomin R. Why does parental language input style predict child language development? A twin study of gene-environment correlation. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2015; 57:106-117. [PMID: 26277213 PMCID: PMC4610950 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2015.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2015] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 07/31/2015] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED There are well-established correlations between parental input style and child language development, which have typically been interpreted as evidence that the input style causes, or influences the rate of, changes in child language. We present evidence from a large twin study (TEDS; 8395 pairs for this report) that there are also likely to be both child-to-parent effects and shared genetic effects on parent and child. Self-reported parental language style at child age 3 and age 4 was aggregated into an 'informal language stimulation' factor and a 'corrective feedback' factor at each age; the former was positively correlated with child language concurrently and longitudinally at 3, 4, and 4.5 years, whereas the latter was weakly and negatively correlated. Both parental input factors were moderately heritable, as was child language. Longitudinal bivariate analysis showed that the correlation between the language stimulation factor and child language was significantly and moderately due to shared genes. There is some suggestive evidence from longitudinal phenotypic analysis that the prediction from parental language stimulation to child language includes both evocative and passive gene-environment correlation, with the latter playing a larger role. LEARNING OUTCOMES The reader will understand why correlations between parental language and rate of child language are by themselves ambiguous, and how twin studies can clarify the relationship. The reader will also understand that, based on the present study, at least two aspects of parental language style - informal language stimulation and corrective feedback - have substantial genetic influence, and that for informal language stimulation, a substantial portion of the prediction to child language represents the effect of shared genes on both parent and child. It will also be appreciated that these basic research findings do not imply that parental language input style is unimportant or that interventions cannot be effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip S Dale
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, United States.
| | - Maria Grazia Tosto
- Department of Psychology, Tomsk State University, Russia; Department of Psychology, University of York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, King's College London, United Kingdom
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How specific is second language-learning ability? A twin study exploring the contributions of first language achievement and intelligence to second language achievement. Transl Psychiatry 2015; 5:e638. [PMID: 26393484 PMCID: PMC5068806 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Revised: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning a second language is crucially important in an increasingly global society, yet surprisingly little is known about why individuals differ so substantially in second language (SL) achievement. We used the twin design to assess the nature, nurture and mediators of individual differences in SL achievement. For 6263 twin pairs, we analyzed scores from age 16 UK-wide standardized tests, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). We estimated genetic and environmental influences on the variance of SL for specific languages, the links between SL and English and the extent to which the links between SL and English are explained by intelligence. All SL measures showed substantial heritability, although heritability was nonsignificantly lower for German (36%) than the other languages (53-62%). Multivariate genetic analyses indicated that a third of genetic influence in SL is shared with intelligence, a third with English independent of intelligence and a further third is unique to SL.
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50
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Abstract
Research has shown that genes play an important role in educational achievement. A key question is the extent to which the same genes affect different academic subjects before and after controlling for general intelligence. The present study investigated genetic and environmental influences on, and links between, the various subjects of the age-16 UK-wide standardized GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) examination results for 12,632 twins. Using the twin method that compares identical and non-identical twins, we found that all GCSE subjects were substantially heritable, and that various academic subjects correlated substantially both phenotypically and genetically, even after controlling for intelligence. Further evidence for pleiotropy in academic achievement was found using a method based directly on DNA from unrelated individuals. We conclude that performance differences for all subjects are highly heritable at the end of compulsory education and that many of the same genes affect different subjects independent of intelligence.
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