1
|
Li M, DeMille MMC, Lovett MW, Bosson-Heenan J, Frijters JC, Gruen JR. Phonological awareness mediates the relationship between DCDC2 and reading performance with home environment. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:36. [PMID: 38702345 PMCID: PMC11068914 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00247-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Proficient reading requires critical phonological processing skill that interacts with both genetic and environmental factors. However, the precise nature of the relationships between phonological processing and genetic and environmental factors are poorly understood. We analyzed data from the Genes, Reading and Dyslexia (GRaD) Study on 1419 children ages 8-15 years from African-American and Hispanic-American family backgrounds living in North America. The analyses showed that phonological awareness mediated the relationship between DCDC2-READ1 and reading outcomes when parental education and socioeconomic status was low. The association between READ1 and reading performance is complex, whereby mediation by phonological awareness was significantly moderated by both parental education and socioeconomic status. These results show the importance of home environment and phonological skills when determining associations between READ1 and reading outcomes. This will be an important consideration in the development of genetic screening for risk of reading disability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Li
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Mellissa M C DeMille
- Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Maureen W Lovett
- Neurosciences and Mental Health Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joan Bosson-Heenan
- Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jan C Frijters
- Department of Child and Youth Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada
| | - Jeffrey R Gruen
- Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dong L, Giangrande EJ, Womack SR, Yoo K, Beam CR, Jacobson KC, Turkheimer E. A Longitudinal Analysis of Gene x Environment Interaction on Verbal Intelligence Across Adolescence and Early Adulthood. Behav Genet 2023; 53:311-330. [PMID: 37171531 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-023-10145-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The Scarr-Rowe hypothesis proposes that the heritability of intelligence is higher in more advantaged socioeconomic contexts. An early demonstration of this hypothesis was Rowe and colleagues (Rowe et al., Child Dev 70:1151-1162, 1999), where an interaction between the heritability of verbal intelligence and parental education was identified in adolescent siblings in Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The present study repeated their original analysis at Wave I using contemporary methods, replicated the finding during young adulthood at Wave III, and analyzed the interaction longitudinally utilizing multiple measurements. We examined parental education, family income, and peer academic environment as potential moderators. Results indicated increased heritability and decreased shared environmental variance of verbal intelligence at higher levels of parental education and peer academic environment in adolescence. Moreover, moderation by peer academic environment persisted into adulthood with its effect partially attributable to novel gene-environment interactions that arose in the process of cognitive development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- LiChen Dong
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Evan J Giangrande
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Sean R Womack
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Kristy Yoo
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christopher R Beam
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kristen C Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Eric Turkheimer
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li M, DeMille M, Lovett M, Bosson-Heenan J, Frijters J, Gruen J. Phonological Awareness Mediates the Relationship between DCDC2 and Reading Performance with the Influence of Home Environment. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2786924. [PMID: 37214935 PMCID: PMC10197759 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2786924/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Proficient reading requires critical phonological processing skill that interact with both genetic and environmental factors. However, the precise nature of the relationships between phonological processing and genetic and environmental factors are poorly understood. We analyzed data from the Genes, Reading and Dyslexia (GRaD) Study on 1,419 children ages 8 to 14 years from African-American and Hispanic-American family backgrounds living in North America. The analyses showed that phonological awareness mediated the relationship between DCDC2-READ1 and reading outcomes when parental education and socioeconomic status was low. The association between READ1 and reading performance is complex, whereby mediation by phonological awareness was significantly moderated by both parental education and socioeconomic status. These results show the importance of home environment and phonological skills when determining associations between READ1 and reading outcomes. This will be an important consideration in the development of genetic screening for risk of reading disability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Li
- University of Houston/Harvard University
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rask-Andersen M, Karlsson T, Ek WE, Johansson Å. Modification of Heritability for Educational Attainment and Fluid Intelligence by Socioeconomic Deprivation in the UK Biobank. Am J Psychiatry 2021; 178:625-634. [PMID: 33900812 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20040462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Socioeconomic factors have been suggested to influence the effect of education- and intelligence-associated genetic variants. However, results from previous studies on the interaction between socioeconomic status and education or intelligence have been inconsistent. The authors sought to assess these interactions in the UK Biobank cohort of 500,000 participants. METHODS The authors assessed the effect of socioeconomic deprivation on education- and intelligence-associated genetic variants by estimating the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability for fluid intelligence, educational attainment, and years of education in subsets of UK Biobank participants with different degrees of social deprivation, using linkage disequilibrium score regression. They also generated polygenic scores with LDpred and tested for interactions with social deprivation. RESULTS SNP heritability increased with socioeconomic deprivation for fluid intelligence, educational attainment, and years of education. Polygenic scores were also found to interact with socioeconomic deprivation, where the effects of the scores increased with increasing deprivation for all traits. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that genetics have a larger influence on educational and cognitive outcomes in more socioeconomically deprived U.K. citizens, which has serious implications for equality of opportunity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Rask-Andersen
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Torgny Karlsson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Weronica E Ek
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Åsa Johansson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Behavioral genetics and cultural evolution have both revolutionized our understanding of human behavior-largely independent of each other. Here we reconcile these two fields under a dual inheritance framework, offering a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between genes and culture. Going beyond typical analyses of gene-environment interactions, we describe the cultural dynamics that shape these interactions by shaping the environment and population structure. A cultural evolutionary approach can explain, for example, how factors such as rates of innovation and diffusion, density of cultural sub-groups, and tolerance for behavioral diversity impact heritability estimates, thus yielding predictions for different social contexts. Moreover, when cumulative culture functionally overlaps with genes, genetic effects become masked, unmasked, or even reversed, and the causal effects of an identified gene become confounded with features of the cultural environment. The manner of confounding is specific to a particular society at a particular time, but a WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) sampling problem obscures this boundedness. Cultural evolutionary dynamics are typically missing from models of gene-to-phenotype causality, hindering generalizability of genetic effects across societies and across time. We lay out a reconciled framework and use it to predict the ways in which heritability should differ between societies, between socioeconomic levels and other groupings within some societies but not others, and over the life course. An integrated cultural evolutionary behavioral genetic approach cuts through the nature-nurture debate and helps resolve controversies in topics such as IQ.
Collapse
|
6
|
Giangrande EJ, Beam CR, Carroll S, Matthews LJ, Davis DW, Finkel D, Turkheimer E. Multivariate analysis of the Scarr-Rowe interaction across middle childhood and early adolescence. INTELLIGENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2019.101400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
7
|
Gottschling J, Hahn E, Beam CR, Spinath FM, Carroll S, Turkheimer E. Socioeconomic status amplifies genetic effects in middle childhood in a large German twin sample. INTELLIGENCE 2019; 72:20-27. [PMID: 31435119 PMCID: PMC6703848 DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2018.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The Scarr-Rowe hypothesis predicts that the heritability of cognitive abilities is higher in more privileged socioeconomic conditions, meaning that genetic potential can be more fully expressed in environments characterized by high socioeconomic status (SES) compared to low SES. This gene × SES interaction, however, has been replicated mostly in the United States, but not in other Western nations like the United Kingdom. In the current study, we tested the interaction between childhood SES and the heritability of cognitive ability in 3,074 German twin pairs comprising three age cohorts at different developmental stages (mean ages of 11, 17, and 23 years). Higher SES was associated with significantly higher mean cognitive ability scores in the two younger cohorts, with reduced variances at higher SES levels. Results further support the Scarr-Rowe hypothesis in middle childhood, and to some degree in adolescence, but not in adulthood. This indicates that the role of family SES as a moderator of the heritability of cognitive ability changes as children grow older. Moreover, children's shared experiences appear to be explain more variance in cognitive ability at the lower end of the SES distribution in middle childhood and adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Gottschling
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany
- Cognitive Science & Assessment, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - E Hahn
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - C. R Beam
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, California, USA
| | - F. M Spinath
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - S Carroll
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Virginia, USA
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA
| | - E Turkheimer
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Virginia, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zavala C, Beam CR, Finch BK, Gatz M, Johnson W, Kremen WS, Neiderhiser JM, Pedersen NL, Reynolds CA. Attained SES as a moderator of adult cognitive performance: Testing gene-environment interaction in various cognitive domains. Dev Psychol 2018; 54:2356-2370. [PMID: 30335430 PMCID: PMC6263814 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
We examined whether attained socioeconomic status (SES) moderated genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in cognitive performance using pooled data from 9 adult twin studies. Prior work concerning SES moderation of cognitive performance has focused on rearing SES. The current adult sample of 12,196 individuals (aged 27-98 years) allowed for the examination of common sources of individual differences between attained SES and cognitive performance (signaling potential gene-environment correlation mechanisms, rGE), as well as sources of individual differences unique to cognitive performance (signaling potential gene-environment interaction mechanisms, G × E). Attained SES moderated sources of individual differences in 4 cognitive domains, assessed via performance on 5 cognitive tests ranging 2,149 to 8,722 participants. Attained SES moderated common sources of influences for 3 domains and influences unique to cognition in all 4 domains. The net effect was that genetic influences on the common pathway tended to be relatively more important at the upper end of attained SES indicating possible active rGE, whereas, genetic influences for the unique pathway were proportionally stable or less important at the upper end of attained SES. As a noted exception, at the upper end of attained SES, genetic influences unique to perceptual speed were amplified and genetic influences on the common pathway were dampened. Accounting for rearing SES did not alter attained SES moderation effects on cognitive performance, suggesting mechanisms germane to adulthood. Our findings suggest the importance of gene-environment mechanisms through which attained SES moderates sources of individual differences in cognitive performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Wendy Johnson
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing & Cognitive Epidemiology and Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry and Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California
| | | | - Nancy L Pedersen
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, University of Southern California
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Genetic effects and gene-by-education interactions on episodic memory performance and decline in an aging population. Soc Sci Med 2018; 271:112039. [PMID: 30449520 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Both social and genetic factors contribute to cognitive impairment and decline, yet genetic factors identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) explain only a small portion of trait variability. This "missing heritability" may be due to rare, potentially functional, genetic variants not assessed by GWAS, as well as gene-by-social factor interactions not explicitly modeled. Gene-by-social factor interactions may also operate differently across race/ethnic groups. We selected 39 genes that had significant, replicated associations with cognition, dementia, and related traits in published GWAS. Using gene-based analysis (SKAT/iSKAT), we tested whether common and/or rare variants were associated with episodic memory performance and decline either alone or through interaction with education in >10,000 European ancestry (EA) and >2200 African ancestry (AA) respondents from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Nine genes in EA and five genes in AA were associated with memory performance or decline (p < 0.05), and these effects did not attenuate after adjusting for education. Interaction between education and CLPTM1 on memory performance was significant in AA (p = 0.003; FDR-adjusted p = 0.038) and nominally significant in EA (p = 0.026). In both ethnicities, low memory performance was associated with CLPTM1 genotype (rs10416261) only for those with less than high school education, and effects persisted after adjusting for APOE ε4. For over 70% of gene-by-education interactions across the genome that were at least nominally significant in either ethnic group (p < 0.05), genetic effects were only observed for those with less than high school education. These results suggest that genetic effects on memory identified in this study are not mediated by education, but there may be important gene-by-education interactions across the genome, including in the broader APOE genomic region, which operate independently of APOE ε4. This work illustrates the importance of developing theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches for integrating social and genomic data to study cognition across ethnic groups.
Collapse
|
10
|
Mascheretti S, Andreola C, Scaini S, Sulpizio S. Beyond genes: A systematic review of environmental risk factors in specific reading disorder. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2018; 82:147-152. [PMID: 29566979 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While an understanding of the genetic contributions to specific reading disorder (RD) is emerging, there is no agreement about which putative hazard factors are clearly involved in the aetiology of this disorder. AIMS A literature review looking at the impact of environmental risk variables implicated in RD either per se or when interacting with the genes. METHODS AND PROCEDURES We performed a systematic literature review using the following keywords: dyslexia OR reading disability AND environmental risk factors OR environmental hazard factors, in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO, without any time restrictions. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Gestational weeks and birth weight are among the pre- and peri-natal risk factors shown to reliably predict reading readiness and the odds of having RD. Inconclusive findings have been reported for maternal cigarette smoking, family history of psychiatric and medical diseases, and risk of miscarriage. A broad definition of familial socio-economic status and home literacy environment have been identified as good life-long risk predictors of reading skills. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS We highlighted the need to consider environmental hazards, their interactions and interactions with RD-candidate genes in the study of the aetiology of RD in order to provide much-needed insight into how these variables influence reading skills.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Mascheretti
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Chiara Andreola
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Erbeli F, Hart SA, Taylor J. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Achievement Outcomes Based on Family History of Learning Disabilities Status. JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES 2018; 52:135-145. [PMID: 29790411 PMCID: PMC6251766 DOI: 10.1177/0022219418775116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A risk to develop a learning disability has been shown to run in families. Having a positive family history of learning disability seems to account for mean differences in achievement outcomes (reading, math) in that children with a positive family history score significantly lower compared to their peers with no such family history. However, the role of family history status in explaining etiological (genetic and environmental) differences among these subgroups of children has yet to be established. The present study of 872 twins (Mage = 13.30, SDage = 1.40) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior, and Environment utilized a multigroup approach to examine etiological differences on reading, spelling, and math among two subgroups defined by family history status. Results showed significant mean differences on all achievement outcomes, aside from math; however, no significant etiological differences on any achievement outcome were found among the two subgroups. Results support previous literature that the risk for developing a learning disability is transmitted through a family, but this is seemingly not manifested by differential etiology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara A Hart
- Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Beck A, Franz CE, Xian H, Vuoksimaa E, Tu X, Reynolds CA, Panizzon MS, McKenzie RM, Lyons MJ, Toomey R, Jacobson KC, Hauger RL, Hatton SN, Kremen WS. Mediators of the Effect of Childhood Socioeconomic Status on Late Midlife Cognitive Abilities: A Four Decade Longitudinal Study. Innov Aging 2018; 2. [PMID: 30465026 PMCID: PMC6176967 DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Objectives Childhood socioeconomic status (cSES) is found to predict later-life cognitive abilities, yet the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. The objective of this longitudinal study was to examine the direct and indirect paths through which cSES influences late midlife cognitive outcomes. Research Design and Methods Participants were 1,009 male twins in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA). At mean ages 20 and 62, participants completed a standardized test for general cognitive ability (GCA). The age 62 cognitive assessment also included in-person tests of processing speed, episodic memory, abstract reasoning, working memory, verbal fluency, visual-spatial ability, and executive functions. At mean age 56, participants were interviewed regarding their own and their parents’ education and occupation, and completed questionnaires about cognitive leisure activities and sociodemographic information. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted to examine the direct path effects and indirect path effects of cSES through age 20 GCA, adult SES, and cognitive leisure activities on seven cognitive outcomes at age 62, adjusting for age, ethnicity, and non-independence of observations. Results Total (direct plus indirect) effects were significant for all measures with the exception of executive functions. Men from lower cSES backgrounds had poorer cognitive functioning in late midlife. The direct effect of cSES was partially mediated for abstract reasoning, and was fully mediated for the remaining six cognitive outcomes. Total indirect effects accounted for at least half of the total effects in each model, with paths through age 20 GCA explaining most of the total indirect effects. Discussion and Implications cSES predicted cognitive functioning in late middle age Using multiple mediation models, we show that lower cSES predicts poorer cognition in late midlife primarily through young adult cognitive ability and to a lesser extent through SES in adulthood and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Asad Beck
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, California
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla
| | - Hong Xian
- Department of Biostatistics, St Louis University, Missouri
| | - Eero Vuoksimaa
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Xin Tu
- Department of Family Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla
| | | | | | - Ruth M McKenzie
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Massachusetts
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Massachusetts
| | - Rosemary Toomey
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Massachusetts
| | - Kristen C Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Illinois
| | - Richard L Hauger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla.,Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego VA San Diego Healthcare System, California
| | - Sean N Hatton
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla.,Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego VA San Diego Healthcare System, California
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Chow BWY, Ho CSH, Wong SWL, Waye MMY, Zheng M. Home environmental influences on children's language and reading skills in a genetically sensitive design: Are socioeconomic status and home literacy environment environmental mediators and moderators? Scand J Psychol 2017; 58:519-529. [DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mary M. Y. Waye
- The Nethersole School of Nursing; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong China
| | - Mo Zheng
- The University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong China
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Swagerman SC, van Bergen E, Dolan C, de Geus EJC, Koenis MMG, Hulshoff Pol HE, Boomsma DI. Genetic transmission of reading ability. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2017; 172:3-8. [PMID: 26300341 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2015.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2015] [Revised: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Reading is the processing of written language. Family resemblance for reading (dis)ability might be due to transmission of a genetic liability or due to family environment, including cultural transmission from parents to offspring. Familial-risk studies exploring neurobehavioral precursors for dyslexia and twin studies can only speak to some of these issues, but a combined twin-family study can resolve the nature of the transmitted risk. Word-reading fluency scores of 1100 participants from 431 families (with twins, siblings and their parents) were analyzed to estimate genetic and environmental sources of variance, and to test the presence of assortative mating and cultural transmission. Results show that variation in reading ability is mainly caused by additive and non-additive genetic factors (64%). The substantial assortative mating (rfather-mother=0.38) has scientific and clinical implications. We conclude that parents and offspring tend to resemble each other for genetic reasons, and not due to cultural transmission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne C Swagerman
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, 9 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, United Kingdom
| | - Conor Dolan
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eco J C de Geus
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; EMGO(+) Institute of Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marinka M G Koenis
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Universiteitsweg 100, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Hilleke E Hulshoff Pol
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Universiteitsweg 100, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Grasby KL, Coventry WL, Byrne B, Olson RK. Little Evidence That Socioeconomic Status Modifies Heritability of Literacy and Numeracy in Australia. Child Dev 2017; 90:623-637. [PMID: 28832969 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to moderate the influence of genes and the environment on cognitive ability, such that genetic influence is greater when SES is higher, and the shared environment is greater when SES is lower, but not in all Western countries. The effects of both family and school SES on the heritability of literacy and numeracy in Australian twins aged 8, 10, 12, and 14 years with 1,307, 1,235, 1,076, and 930 pairs at each age, respectively, were tested. Shared environmental influences on Grade 3 literacy were greater with low family SES, and no other moderating effects of SES were significant. These findings are contrasted with results from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katrina L Grasby
- Queensland Institute of Medical Research.,University of New England
| | | | - Brian Byrne
- University of New England.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders.,National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Excellence in Twin Research
| | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Mascheretti S, Trezzi V, Giorda R, Boivin M, Plourde V, Vitaro F, Brendgen M, Dionne G, Marino C. Complex effects of dyslexia risk factors account for ADHD traits: evidence from two independent samples. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:75-82. [PMID: 27501527 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Developmental dyslexia (DD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are among the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, whose etiology involves multiple risk factors. DD and ADHD co-occur in the same individuals much more often than would be expected by chance. Several studies have found significant bivariate heritability, and specific genes associated with either DD or ADHD have been investigated for association in the other disorder. Moreover, there are likely to be gene-by-gene and gene-by-environment interaction effects (G × G and G × E, respectively) underlying the comorbidity between DD and ADHD. We investigated the pleiotropic effects of 19 SNPs spanning five DD genes (DYX1C1, DCDC2, KIAA0319, ROBO1, and GRIN2B) and seven DD environmental factors (smoke, miscarriage, birth weight, breastfeeding, parental age, socioeconomic status, and parental education) for main, either (a) genetic or (b) environmental, (c) G × G, and (d) G × E upon inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. We then attempted replication of these findings in an independent twin cohort. METHODS Marker-trait association was analyzed by implementing the Quantitative Transmission Disequilibrium Test (QTDT). Environmental associations were tested by partial correlations. G × G were investigated by a general linear model equation and a family-based association test. G × E were analyzed through a general test for G × E in sib pair-based association analysis of quantitative traits. RESULTS DCDC2-rs793862 was associated with hyperactivity/impulsivity via G × G (KIAA0319) and G × E (miscarriage). Smoke was significantly correlated with hyperactivity/impulsivity. We replicated the DCDC2 × KIAA0319 interaction upon hyperactivity/impulsivity in the twin cohort. CONCLUSIONS DD genetic (DCDC2) and environmental factors (smoke and miscarriage) underlie ADHD traits supporting a potential pleiotropic effect.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Mascheretti
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Vittoria Trezzi
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Roberto Giorda
- Molecular Biology Lab, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Michel Boivin
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Ecole de Psychologie, Laval University, Québec, QC, Canada.,Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation
| | - Vickie Plourde
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Ecole de Psychologie, Laval University, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Frank Vitaro
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psycho-Education, GRIP, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Mara Brendgen
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ginette Dionne
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Ecole de Psychologie, Laval University, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Cecilia Marino
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy.,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Kremen WS, Panizzon MS, Cannon TD. Genetics and neuropsychology: A merger whose time has come. Neuropsychology 2016; 30:1-5. [PMID: 26710091 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetics and neuropsychology have historically been 2 rather distant and unrelated fields. With the very rapid advances that have been taking place in genetics, research and treatment of disorders of cognition in the 21st century are likely to be increasingly informed by individual differences in genetics and epigenetics. Although neuropsychologists are not expected to become geneticists, it is our view that increased training in genetics should become more central to training in neuropsychology. This relationship should not be unidirectional. Here we note ways in which an understanding of genetics and epigenetics can inform neuropsychology. On the other hand, given the complexity of cognitive phenotypes, neuropsychology can also play a valuable role in informing and refining genetic studies. Greater integration of the 2 should advance both fields.
Collapse
|
18
|
Reynolds CA, Gatz M, Christensen K, Christiansen L, Dahl Aslan AK, Kaprio J, Korhonen T, Kremen WS, Krueger R, McGue M, Neiderhiser JM, Pedersen NL. Gene-Environment Interplay in Physical, Psychological, and Cognitive Domains in Mid to Late Adulthood: Is APOE a Variability Gene? Behav Genet 2016; 46:4-19. [PMID: 26538244 PMCID: PMC4858319 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-015-9761-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of studies evaluating its potential relevance apart from specific hypothesized environments and biometrical variance trends. Using a monozygotic within-pair approach, we evaluated evidence of G×E for body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and cognition (verbal, spatial, attention, working memory, perceptual speed) in twin studies from four countries. We also evaluated whether APOE is a 'variability gene' across these measures and whether it partly represents the 'G' in G×E effects. In all three domains, G×E effects were pervasive across country and gender, with small-to-moderate effects. Age-cohort trends were generally stable for BMI and depressive symptoms; however, they were variable-with both increasing and decreasing age-cohort trends-for different cognitive measures. Results also suggested that APOE may represent a 'variability gene' for depressive symptoms and spatial reasoning, but not for BMI or other cognitive measures. Hence, additional genes are salient beyond APOE.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chandra A Reynolds
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, 900 University Ave., Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kaare Christensen
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bio-demography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense C, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Genetics and Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Lene Christiansen
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bio-demography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense C, Denmark
| | - Anna K Dahl Aslan
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute of Gerontology, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Jaakko Kaprio
- Department of Public Health & Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tellervo Korhonen
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Robert Krueger
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bio-demography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense C, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Jenae M Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Nancy L Pedersen
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Tucker-Drob EM, Bates TC. Large Cross-National Differences in Gene × Socioeconomic Status Interaction on Intelligence. Psychol Sci 2015; 27:138-149. [PMID: 26671911 DOI: 10.1177/0956797615612727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A core hypothesis in developmental theory predicts that genetic influences on intelligence and academic achievement are suppressed under conditions of socioeconomic privation and more fully realized under conditions of socioeconomic advantage: a Gene × Childhood Socioeconomic Status (SES) interaction. Tests of this hypothesis have produced apparently inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis of tests of Gene × SES interaction on intelligence and academic-achievement test scores, allowing for stratification by nation (United States vs. non-United States), and we conducted rigorous tests for publication bias and between-studies heterogeneity. In U.S. studies, we found clear support for moderately sized Gene × SES effects. In studies from Western Europe and Australia, where social policies ensure more uniform access to high-quality education and health care, Gene × SES effects were zero or reversed.
Collapse
|
20
|
Dinescu D, Horn EE, Duncan G, Turkheimer E. Socioeconomic modifiers of genetic and environmental influences on body mass index in adult twins. Health Psychol 2015; 35:157-66. [PMID: 26348497 DOI: 10.1037/hea0000255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Individual measures of socioeconomic status (SES) suppress genetic variance in body mass index (BMI). Our objective was to examine the influence of both individual-level (i.e., educational attainment, household income) and macrolevel (i.e., neighborhood socioeconomic advantage) SES indicators on genetic contributions to BMI. METHOD The study used education level data from 4,162 monozygotic (MZ) and 1,900 dizygotic (DZ) same-sex twin pairs (64% female), income level data from 3,498 MZ and 1,534 DZ pairs (65% female), and neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation data from 2,327 MZ and 948 DZ pairs (65% female). Covariates included age (M = 40.4 ± 17.5 years), sex, and ethnicity. The cotwin control model was used to evaluate the mechanisms through which SES influences BMI (e.g., through genetic vs. environmental pathways), and a gene-by-environment interaction model was used to test whether residual variance in BMI, after controlling for the main effects of SES, was moderated by socioeconomic measures. RESULTS SES significantly predicted BMI. The association was noncausal, however, and instead was driven primarily through a common underlying genetic background that tended to grow less influential as SES increased. After controlling for the main effect of SES, both genetic and nonshared environmental variance decreased with increasing SES. CONCLUSIONS The impact of individual and macrolevel SES on BMI extends beyond its main effects. The influence of genes on BMI is moderated by individual and macrolevel measures of SES, such that when SES is higher, genetic factors become less influential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Erin E Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia
| | - Glen Duncan
- Department of Epidemiology, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Mascheretti S, Marino C, Simone D, Quadrelli E, Riva V, Cellino MR, Maziade M, Brombin C, Battaglia M. Putative risk factors in developmental dyslexia: a case-control study of Italian children. JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES 2015; 48:120-129. [PMID: 23757350 DOI: 10.1177/0022219413492853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Although dyslexia runs in families, several putative risk factors that cannot be immediately identified as genetic predict reading disability. Published studies analyzed one or a few risk factors at a time, with relatively inconsistent results. To assess the contribution of several putative risk factors to the development of dyslexia, we conducted a case-control study of 403 Italian children, 155 with dyslexia, by implementing a stepwise logistic regression applied to the entire sample, and then to boys and girls separately. Younger parental age at child's birth, lower parental education, and risk of miscarriage significantly increased the odds of belonging to the dyslexia group (19.5% of the variation). These associations were confirmed in the analyses conducted separately by sex, except for parental education, which significantly affected only males. These findings support reading disabilities as a multifactorial disorder and may bear some importance for the prevention and/or early detection of children at heightened risk for dyslexia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cecilia Marino
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Daniela Simone
- Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | | | | | - Maria Rosaria Cellino
- Centro Regionale di Riferimento per i Disturbi dell'Apprendimento - CRRDA, ULSS 20, Verona, Italy
| | - Michel Maziade
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Marco Battaglia
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, Canada Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
DeRosse P, Nitzburg GC, Ikuta T, Peters BD, Malhotra AK, Szeszko PR. Evidence from structural and diffusion tensor imaging for frontotemporal deficits in psychometric schizotypy. Schizophr Bull 2015; 41:104-14. [PMID: 25392520 PMCID: PMC4266309 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbu150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies of nonclinical samples exhibiting schizotypal traits have provided support for the existence of a continuous distribution of psychotic symptoms in the general population. Few studies, however, have examined the neural correlates of psychometric schizotypy using structural and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). METHODS Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 68 were recruited from the community and assessed using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and received structural and DTI exams. Participants with high (N = 67) and low (N = 71) psychometric schizotypy were compared on gray and white matter volume, and cortical thickness in frontal and temporal lobe regions and on fractional anisotropy (FA) within 5 association tracts traversing the frontal and temporal lobes. RESULTS Higher levels of schizotypy were associated with lower overall volumes of gray matter in both the frontal and temporal lobes and lower gray matter thickness in the temporal lobe. Regionally specific effects were evident in both white matter and gray matter volume of the rostral middle frontal cortex and gray matter volume in the pars orbitalis. Moreover, relative to individuals who scored low, those who scored high in schizotypy had lower FA in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus as well as greater asymmetry (right > left) in the uncinate fasciculus. CONCLUSIONS These findings are broadly consistent with recent data on the neurobiological correlates of psychometric schizotypy as well as findings in schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia and suggest that frontotemporal lobe dysfunction may represent a core component of the psychosis phenotype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pamela DeRosse
- Center for Translational Psychiatry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY; Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY;
| | - George C. Nitzburg
- Center for Translational Psychiatry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
| | - Toshikazu Ikuta
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, University, MS
| | - Bart D. Peters
- Center for Translational Psychiatry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY;,Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY
| | - Anil K. Malhotra
- Center for Translational Psychiatry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY;,Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY;,Hofstra North Shore – LIJ School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine, Hempstead, NY
| | - Philip R. Szeszko
- Center for Translational Psychiatry, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY;,Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY;,Hofstra North Shore – LIJ School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine, Hempstead, NY
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Rana BK, Dhamija A, Panizzon MS, Spoon KM, Vasilopoulos T, Franz CE, Grant MD, Jacobson KC, Kim K, Lyons MJ, McCaffery JM, Stein PK, Xian H, O'Connor DT, Kremen WS. Imputing observed blood pressure for antihypertensive treatment: impact on population and genetic analyses. Am J Hypertens 2014; 27:828-37. [PMID: 24532572 DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpt271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elevated blood pressure (BP), a heritable risk factor for many age-related disorders, is commonly investigated in population and genetic studies, but antihypertensive use can confound study results. Routine methods to adjust for antihypertensives may not sufficiently account for newer treatment protocols (i.e., combination or multiple drug therapy) found in contemporary cohorts. METHODS We refined an existing method to impute unmedicated BP in individuals on antihypertensives by incorporating new treatment trends. We assessed BP and antihypertensive use in male twins (n = 1,237) from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging: 36% reported antihypertensive use; 52% of those treated were on multiple drugs. RESULTS Estimated heritability was 0.43 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.20-0.50) and 0.44 (95% CI = 0.22-0.61) for measured systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), respectively. We imputed BP for antihypertensives by 3 approaches: (i) addition of a fixed value of 10/5mm Hg to measured SBP/DBP; (ii) incremented addition of mm Hg to BP based on number of medications; and (iii) a refined approach adding mm Hg based on antihypertensive drug class and ethnicity. The imputations did not significantly affect estimated heritability of BP. However, use of our most refined imputation method and other methods resulted in significantly increased phenotypic correlations between BP and body mass index, a trait known to be correlated with BP. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the potential usefulness of applying a representative adjustment for medication use, such as by considering drug class, ethnicity, and the combination of drugs when assessing the relationship between BP and risk factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brinda K Rana
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Panizzon MS, Vuoksimaa E, Spoon KM, Jacobson KC, Lyons MJ, Franz CE, Xian H, Vasilopoulos T, Kremen WS. Genetic and Environmental Influences of General Cognitive Ability: Is g a valid latent construct? INTELLIGENCE 2014; 43:65-76. [PMID: 24791031 DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2014.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite an extensive literature, the "g" construct remains a point of debate. Different models explaining the observed relationships among cognitive tests make distinct assumptions about the role of g in relation to those tests and specific cognitive domains. Surprisingly, these different models and their corresponding assumptions are rarely tested against one another. In addition to the comparison of distinct models, a multivariate application of the twin design offers a unique opportunity to test whether there is support for g as a latent construct with its own genetic and environmental influences, or whether the relationships among cognitive tests are instead driven by independent genetic and environmental factors. Here we tested multiple distinct models of the relationships among cognitive tests utilizing data from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA), a study of middle-aged male twins. Results indicated that a hierarchical (higher-order) model with a latent g phenotype, as well as specific cognitive domains, was best supported by the data. The latent g factor was highly heritable (86%), and accounted for most, but not all, of the genetic effects in specific cognitive domains and elementary cognitive tests. By directly testing multiple competing models of the relationships among cognitive tests in a genetically-informative design, we are able to provide stronger support than in prior studies for g being a valid latent construct.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Eero Vuoksimaa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kelly M Spoon
- Computational Science Research Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
| | | | | | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Hong Xian
- Research Service, St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Louis, MO ; Department of Biostatistics, St. Louis University School of Public Health, St. Louis, MO
| | | | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA ; Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
A systems biology approach to identify intelligence quotient score-related genomic regions, and pathways relevant to potential therapeutic treatments. Sci Rep 2014; 4:4176. [PMID: 24566931 PMCID: PMC3933868 DOI: 10.1038/srep04176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the intelligence quotient (IQ) is the most popular intelligence test in the world, little is known about the underlying biological mechanisms that lead to the differences in human. To improve our understanding of cognitive processes and identify potential biomarkers, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of 158 IQ-related genes selected from the literature. A genomic distribution analysis demonstrated that IQ-related genes were enriched in seven regions of chromosome 7 and the X chromosome. In addition, these genes were enriched in target lists of seven transcription factors and sixteen microRNAs. Using a network-based approach, we further reconstructed an IQ-related pathway from known human pathway interaction data. Based on this reconstructed pathway, we incorporated enriched drugs and described the importance of dopamine and norepinephrine systems in IQ-related biological process. These findings not only reveal several testable genes and processes related to IQ scores, but also have potential therapeutic implications for IQ-related mental disorders.
Collapse
|
26
|
Vuoksimaa E, Panizzon MS, Chen CH, Fiecas M, Eyler LT, Fennema-Notestine C, Hagler DJ, Fischl B, Franz CE, Jak A, Lyons MJ, Neale MC, Rinker DA, Thompson WK, Tsuang MT, Dale AM, Kremen WS. The Genetic Association Between Neocortical Volume and General Cognitive Ability Is Driven by Global Surface Area Rather Than Thickness. Cereb Cortex 2014; 25:2127-37. [PMID: 24554725 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Total gray matter volume is associated with general cognitive ability (GCA), an association mediated by genetic factors. It is expectable that total neocortical volume should be similarly associated with GCA. Neocortical volume is the product of thickness and surface area, but global thickness and surface area are unrelated phenotypically and genetically in humans. The nature of the genetic association between GCA and either of these 2 cortical dimensions has not been examined. Humans possess greater cognitive capacity than other species, and surface area increases appear to be the primary driver of the increased size of the human cortex. Thus, we expected neocortical surface area to be more strongly associated with cognition than thickness. Using multivariate genetic analysis in 515 middle-aged twins, we demonstrated that both the phenotypic and genetic associations between neocortical volume and GCA are driven primarily by surface area rather than thickness. Results were generally similar for each of 4 specific cognitive abilities that comprised the GCA measure. Our results suggest that emphasis on neocortical surface area, rather than thickness, could be more fruitful for elucidating neocortical-GCA associations and identifying specific genes underlying those associations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eero Vuoksimaa
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory
| | - Chi-Hua Chen
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory
| | - Mark Fiecas
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory
| | - Lisa T Eyler
- Department of Psychiatry Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Bruce Fischl
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Computer Science and AI Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory
| | - Amy Jak
- Department of Psychiatry Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael C Neale
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | | | | | - Ming T Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory
| | - Anders M Dale
- Department of Radiology and Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry Center for Behavioral Genomics Twin Research Laboratory Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Adult cognitive ability and socioeconomic status as mediators of the effects of childhood disadvantage on salivary cortisol in aging adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38:2127-39. [PMID: 23684478 PMCID: PMC4755320 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2012] [Revised: 03/26/2013] [Accepted: 04/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In this longitudinal study we investigate the influence of childhood disadvantage on midlife hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation. Two mechanisms by which early life stress may affect later pathophysiology are through its influence on cognitive functioning or later socioeconomic (SES) disadvantage. We predicted that individual differences in young adult cognitive ability and midlife SES would mediate the influence of childhood disadvantage on midlife cortisol. On each of three nonconsecutive days, participants provided five salivary cortisol samples corresponding to their diurnal rhythm (N=727 men; mean age 55, SD=2.6). We calculated three measures of cortisol regulation (area-under-the curve cortisol reflecting total daytime cortisol output; cortisol-awakening-response; and wake-to-bed slope), averaging scores for each measure across multiple days. Childhood disadvantage combined four dichotomous indicators used previously by Rutter (1985): father low SES; mother education less than 12th grade; major family disruption/separation before age 18; and large family size (more than 5 siblings). The two mediators were a measure of general cognitive ability assessed at age 20 and highest achieved midlife SES. Men from more disadvantaged childhoods were significantly more likely to have dysregulated cortisol at midlife, with higher daytime cortisol levels decades after their childhood experience. Effects of childhood disadvantage were both direct and indirect. Cognitive ability and adult SES, however, only partially mediated the associations between early life stress and midlife cortisol. Specific indirect effects accounted for 33.8% of the total effect of childhood disadvantage [β=0.12 (0.05; 0.18)] on total daytime cortisol. Associations remained significant after accounting for ethnicity, smoking status, and self-reported depressive symptoms.
Collapse
|
28
|
Hart SA, Soden B, Johnson W, Schatschneider C, Taylor J. Expanding the environment: gene × school-level SES interaction on reading comprehension. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2013; 54:1047-55. [PMID: 23725549 PMCID: PMC3766464 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Influential work has explored the role of family socioeconomic status (SES) as an environmental moderator of genetic and environmental influences on cognitive outcomes. This work has provided evidence that socioeconomic circumstances differentially impact the heritability of cognitive abilities, generally supporting the bioecological model in that genetic influences are greater at higher levels of family SES. The present work expanded consideration of the environment, using school-level SES as a moderator of reading comprehension. METHODS The sample included 577 pairs of twins from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, Behavior and Environment. Reading comprehension was measured by the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) Reading in third or fourth grade. School-level SES was measured by the mean Free and Reduced Lunch Status (FRLS) of the schoolmates of the twins. RESULTS The best-fitting univariate G × E moderation model indicated greater genetic influences on reading comprehension when fewer schoolmates qualified for FRLS (i.e., 'higher' school-level SES). There was also an indication of moderation of the shared environment; there were greater shared environmental influences on reading comprehension at higher school-level SES. CONCLUSIONS The results supported the bioecological model; greater genetic variance was found in school environments in which student populations experienced less poverty. In general, 'higher' school-level SES allowed genetic and probably shared environmental variance to contribute as sources of individual differences in reading comprehension outcomes. Poverty suppresses these influences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara A. Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, United States
,Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, United States
| | - Brooke Soden
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, United States
| | - Wendy Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Schatschneider
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, United States
,Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, United States
| | - Jeanette Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, United States
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Genotype by environment interactions in cognitive ability: a survey of 14 studies from four countries covering four age groups. Behav Genet 2013; 43:208-19. [PMID: 23397253 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-012-9581-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2012] [Accepted: 12/17/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
A large part of the variation in cognitive ability is known to be due to genetic factors. Researchers have tried to identify modifiers that influence the heritability of cognitive ability, indicating a genotype by environment interaction (G×E). To date, such modifiers include measured variables like income and socioeconomic status. The present paper focuses on G×E in cognitive ability where the environmental variable is an unmeasured environmental factor that is uncorrelated in family members. We examined this type of G×E in the GHCA-database (Haworth et al., Behav Genet 39:359-370, 2009), which comprises data of 14 different cognition studies from four different countries including participants of different ages. Results indicate that for younger participants (4-13 years), the strength of E decreases across the additive genetic factor A, but that this effect reverts for older participants (17-34 years). However, a clear and general conclusion about the presence of a genuine G×E is hampered by differences between the individual studies with respect to environmental and genetic influences on cognitive ability.
Collapse
|
30
|
Jacobson KC, Hoffman CL, Vasilopoulos T, Kremen WS, Panizzon MS, Grant MD, Lyons MJ, Xian H, Franz CE. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Individual Differences in Frequency of Play with Pets among Middle-Aged Men: A Behavioral Genetic Analysis. ANTHROZOOS 2012; 25:441-456. [PMID: 25580056 PMCID: PMC4286882 DOI: 10.2752/175303712x13479798785814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
There is growing evidence that pet ownership and human-animal interaction (HAI) have benefits for human physical and psychological well-being. However, there may be pre-existing characteristics related to patterns of pet ownership and interactions with pets that could potentially bias results of research on HAI. The present study uses a behavioral genetic design to estimate the degree to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in frequency of play with pets among adult men. Participants were from the ongoing longitudinal Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA), a population-based sample of 1,237 monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 51-60 years. Results demonstrate that MZ twins have higher correlations than DZ twins on frequency of pet play, suggesting that genetic factors play a role in individual differences in interactions with pets. Structural equation modeling revealed that, according to the best model, genetic factors accounted for as much as 37% of the variance in pet play, although the majority of variance (63-71%) was due to environmental factors that are unique to each twin. Shared environmental factors, which would include childhood exposure to pets, overall accounted for <10% of the variance in adult frequency of pet play, and were not statistically significant. These results suggest that the effects of childhood exposure to pets on pet ownership and interaction patterns in adulthood may be mediated primarily by genetically-influenced characteristics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen C Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, USA
| | - Christy L Hoffman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, USA
| | - Terrie Vasilopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | | | | | | - Hong Xian
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Mascheretti S, Bureau A, Battaglia M, Simone D, Quadrelli E, Croteau J, Cellino MR, Giorda R, Beri S, Maziade M, Marino C. An assessment of gene-by-environment interactions in developmental dyslexia-related phenotypes. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2012; 12:47-55. [DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2012] [Revised: 09/26/2012] [Accepted: 10/24/2012] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- S. Mascheretti
- The Academic Centre for the study of Behavioural Plasticity; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University; Milan; 20132; Italy
| | | | | | - D. Simone
- Department of Child Psychiatry; Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea; Bosisio Parini; Lecco; 23842; Italy
| | - E. Quadrelli
- Department of Child Psychiatry; Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea; Bosisio Parini; Lecco; 23842; Italy
| | - J. Croteau
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec; Québec; G1J 2 G3; Canada
| | - M. R. Cellino
- Centro Regionale di Riferimento per i Disturbi dell'Apprendimento - CRRDA, ULSS 20; Verona; 37122; Italy
| | - R. Giorda
- Molecular Biology Laboratory; Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea; Bosisio Parini; Lecco; 23842; Italy
| | - S. Beri
- Molecular Biology Laboratory; Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea; Bosisio Parini; Lecco; 23842; Italy
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
32
|
Rosenberg J, Pennington BF, Willcutt EG, Olson RK. Gene by environment interactions influencing reading disability and the inattentive symptom dimension of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2012; 53:243-51. [PMID: 21884522 PMCID: PMC3235245 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02452.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reading disability (RD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are comorbid and genetically correlated, especially the inattentive dimension of ADHD (ADHD-I). However, previous research indicates that RD and ADHD enter into opposite gene by environment (G × E) interactions. METHODS This study used behavioral genetic methods to replicate these opposite G × E interactions in a sample of same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs from the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC; DeFries et al., 1997) and to test a genetic hypothesis for why these opposite interactions occur. RESULTS We replicated opposite G × E interactions for RD (bioecological) and ADHD-I (diathesis-stress) with parental education in the same sample of participants. The genetic hypothesis for this opposite pattern of interactions is that only genes specific to each disorder enter into these opposite interactions, not the shared genes underlying their comorbidity. To test this hypothesis, we used single models with an exploratory three-way interaction, in which the G × E interactions for each disorder were moderated by comorbidity. Neither three-way interaction was significant. The heritability of RD did not vary as a function of parental education and ADHD-I. Similarly, the heritability of ADHD-I did not vary as a function of parental education and RD. CONCLUSIONS We documented opposite G × E interactions in RD and ADHD-I in the same overall twin sample, but the explanation for this apparent paradox remains unclear. Examining specific genes and more specific environmental factors may help resolve the paradox.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jenni Rosenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208-0001, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Tucker-Drob EM, Harden KP. Intellectual interest mediates gene × socioeconomic status interaction on adolescent academic achievement. Child Dev 2012; 83:743-57. [PMID: 22288554 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01721.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated that genetic influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement are larger for children raised in higher socioeconomic status (SES) homes. However, little work has been done to document the psychosocial processes that underlie this Gene × Environment interaction. One process may involve the conversion of intellectual interest into academic achievement. Analyses of data from 777 pairs of 17-year-old twins indicated that Gene × SES effects on achievement scores can be accounted for by stronger influences of genes for intellectual interest on achievement at higher levels of SES. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that higher SES affords greater opportunity for children to seek out and benefit from learning experiences that are congruent with their genetically influenced intellectual interests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A8000, Austin, TX 78712-0187, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Genetic influences on hippocampal volume differ as a function of testosterone level in middle-aged men. Neuroimage 2011; 59:1123-31. [PMID: 21983185 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.09.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2011] [Revised: 09/18/2011] [Accepted: 09/19/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus expresses a large number of androgen receptors; therefore, in men it is potentially vulnerable to the gradual age-related decline of testosterone levels. In the present study we sought to elucidate the nature of the relationship between testosterone and hippocampal volume in a sample of middle-aged male twins (average age 55.8 years). We found no evidence for a correlation between testosterone level and hippocampal volume, as well as no indication of shared genetic influences. However, a significant moderating effect of testosterone on the genetic and environmental determinants of hippocampal volume was observed. Genetic influences on hippocampal volume increased substantially as a function of increasing testosterone level, while environmental influences either decreased or remained stable. These findings provide evidence for an apparent gene-by-hormone interaction on hippocampal volume. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the heritability of a brain structure in adults may be modified by an endogenous biological factor.
Collapse
|
35
|
Kirkpatrick RM, Legrand LN, Iacono WG, McGue M. A Twin and Adoption Study of Reading Achievement: Exploration of Shared-Environmental and Gene-Environment-Interaction Effects. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2011; 21:368-375. [PMID: 21743785 DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2011.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Existing behavior-genetic research implicates substantial influence of heredity and modest influence of shared environment on reading achievement and reading disability. Applying DeFries-Fulker analysis to a combined sample of twins and adoptees (N = 4,886, including 266 reading-disabled probands), the present study replicates prior findings of considerable heritability for both reading achievement and reading disability. A simple biometric model adequately described parent and offspring data (combined N = 9,430 parents and offspring) across differing types of families present in the sample Analyses yielded a high heritability estimate (around 0.70) and a negligible shared-environmentality estimate for both reading achievement and reading disability. No evidence of gene × environment interaction was found for parental reading ability and parental educational attainment, the two moderators analyzed.
Collapse
|
36
|
Vasilopoulos T, Kremen WS, Kim K, Panizzon MS, Stein PK, Xian H, Grant MD, Lyons MJ, Toomey R, Eaves LJ, Franz CE, Jacobson KC. Untreated hypertension decreases heritability of cognition in late middle age. Behav Genet 2011; 42:107-20. [PMID: 21688193 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-011-9479-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2011] [Accepted: 06/01/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive decline, but the mechanisms underlying the effects of hypertension on cognition, particularly in midlife, are unclear. We examined whether hypertension modifies genetic influences on individual differences in cognition. Nine cognitive domains and general cognitive ability were assessed in a sample of 1,237 male twins aged 51-60 who were divided into three blood pressure groups: non-hypertensive; medicated hypertensive; and unmedicated hypertensive. Heritability was significantly lower among unmedicated hypertensives compared to medicated hypertensives and non-hypertensives for visual-spatial ability (p = 0.013) and episodic memory (p = 0.004). There were no heritability differences between non-hypertensives and medicated hypertensives. In addition, there were no significant differences in mean level cognition across the three blood pressure groups. These results suggest that in middle-aged men, untreated hypertension suppresses normal genetic influences on individual differences in certain domains of cognition prior to the emergence of hypertension-related effects on cognitive performance. These results further suggest that antihypertensive medication may protect against or reverse this effect.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Terrie Vasilopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5841 S Maryland Ave, MC 3077, rm 603, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
A twin study of spatial and non-spatial delayed response performance in middle age. Brain Cogn 2011; 76:43-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2008] [Revised: 02/25/2011] [Accepted: 03/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
38
|
Docherty SJ, Kovas Y, Plomin R. Gene-environment interaction in the etiology of mathematical ability using SNP sets. Behav Genet 2011; 41:141-54. [PMID: 20978832 PMCID: PMC3029801 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9405-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2010] [Accepted: 10/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Mathematics ability and disability is as heritable as other cognitive abilities and disabilities, however its genetic etiology has received relatively little attention. In our recent genome-wide association study of mathematical ability in 10-year-old children, 10 SNP associations were nominated from scans of pooled DNA and validated in an individually genotyped sample. In this paper, we use a 'SNP set' composite of these 10 SNPs to investigate gene-environment (GE) interaction, examining whether the association between the 10-SNP set and mathematical ability differs as a function of ten environmental measures in the home and school in a sample of 1888 children with complete data. We found two significant GE interactions for environmental measures in the home and the school both in the direction of the diathesis-stress type of GE interaction: The 10-SNP set was more strongly associated with mathematical ability in chaotic homes and when parents are negative.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophia J Docherty
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London SE5 8AF, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Vinkhuyzen AAE, van der Sluis S, Posthuma D. Life events moderate variation in cognitive ability (g) in adults. Mol Psychiatry 2011; 16:4-6. [PMID: 20157311 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2010.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
40
|
Tucker-Drob EM, Rhemtulla M, Harden KP, Turkheimer E, Fask D. Emergence of a Gene x socioeconomic status interaction on infant mental ability between 10 months and 2 years. Psychol Sci 2010; 22:125-33. [PMID: 21169524 DOI: 10.1177/0956797610392926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research in behavioral genetics has found evidence for a Gene × Environment interaction on cognitive ability: Individual differences in cognitive ability among children raised in socioeconomically advantaged homes are primarily due to genes, whereas environmental factors are more influential for children from disadvantaged homes. We investigated the developmental origins of this interaction in a sample of 750 pairs of twins measured on the Bayley Short Form test of infant mental ability, once at age 10 months and again at age 2 years. A Gene × Environment interaction was evident on the longitudinal change in mental ability over the study period. At age 10 months, genes accounted for negligible variation in mental ability across all levels of socioeconomic status (SES). However, genetic influences emerged over the course of development, with larger genetic influences emerging for infants raised in higher-SES homes. At age 2 years, genes accounted for nearly 50% of the variation in mental ability of children raised in high-SES homes, but genes continued to account for negligible variation in mental ability of children raised in low-SES homes.
Collapse
|
41
|
Willcutt EG, Betjemann RS, McGrath LM, Chhabildas NA, Olson RK, DeFries JC, Pennington BF. Etiology and neuropsychology of comorbidity between RD and ADHD: the case for multiple-deficit models. Cortex 2010; 46:1345-61. [PMID: 20828676 PMCID: PMC2993430 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2009] [Revised: 03/18/2010] [Accepted: 04/28/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability (RD) are complex childhood disorders that frequently co-occur, but the etiology of this comorbidity remains unknown. METHOD Participants were 457 twin pairs from the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC) twin study, an ongoing study of the etiology of RD, ADHD, and related disorders. Phenotypic analyses compared groups with and without RD and ADHD on composite measures of six cognitive domains. Twin analyses were then used to test the etiology of the relations between the disorders and any cognitive weaknesses. RESULTS Phenotypic analyses supported the hypothesis that both RD and ADHD arise from multiple cognitive deficits rather than a single primary cognitive deficit. RD was associated independently with weaknesses on measures of phoneme awareness, verbal reasoning, and working memory, whereas ADHD was independently associated with a heritable weakness in inhibitory control. RD and ADHD share a common cognitive deficit in processing speed, and twin analyses indicated that this shared weakness is primarily due to common genetic influences that increase susceptibility to both disorders. CONCLUSIONS Individual differences in processing speed are influenced by genes that also increase risk for RD, ADHD, and their comorbidity. These results suggest that processing speed measures may be useful for future molecular genetic studies of the etiology of comorbidity between RD and ADHD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erik G Willcutt
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Understanding the complex etiologies of developmental disorders: behavioral and molecular genetic approaches. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2010; 31:533-44. [PMID: 20814254 PMCID: PMC2953861 DOI: 10.1097/dbp.0b013e3181ef42a1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This article has 2 primary goals. First, a brief tutorial on behavioral and molecular genetic methods is provided for readers without extensive training in these areas. To illustrate the application of these approaches to developmental disorders, etiologically informative studies of reading disability (RD), math disability (MD), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are then reviewed. Implications of the results for these specific disorders and for developmental disabilities as a whole are discussed, and novel directions for future research are highlighted. METHOD Previous family and twin studies of RD, MD, and ADHD are reviewed systematically, and the extensive molecular genetic literatures on each disorder are summarized. To illustrate 4 novel extensions of these etiologically informative approaches, new data are presented from the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center, an ongoing twin study of the etiology of RD, ADHD, MD, and related disorders. CONCLUSIONS RD, MD, and ADHD are familial and heritable, and co-occur more frequently than expected by chance. Molecular genetic studies suggest that all 3 disorders have complex etiologies, with multiple genetic and environmental risk factors each contributing to overall risk for each disorder. Neuropsychological analyses indicate that the 3 disorders are each associated with multiple neuropsychological weaknesses, and initial evidence suggests that comorbidity between the 3 disorders is due to common genetic risk factors that lead to slow processing speed.
Collapse
|
43
|
Taylor J, Roehrig AD, Soden Hensler B, Connor CM, Schatschneider C. Teacher quality moderates the genetic effects on early reading. Science 2010; 328:512-4. [PMID: 20413504 DOI: 10.1126/science.1186149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Children's reading achievement is influenced by genetics as well as by family and school environments. The importance of teacher quality as a specific school environmental influence on reading achievement is unknown. We studied first- and second-grade students in Florida from schools representing diverse environments. Comparison of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, differentiating genetic similarities of 100% and 50%, provided an estimate of genetic variance in reading achievement. Teacher quality was measured by how much reading gain the non-twin classmates achieved. The magnitude of genetic variance associated with twins' oral reading fluency increased as the quality of their teacher increased. In circumstances where the teachers are all excellent, the variability in student reading achievement may appear to be largely due to genetics. However, poor teaching impedes the ability of children to reach their potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4301, USA.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
44
|
Heritability of brain ventricle volume: converging evidence from inconsistent results. Neurobiol Aging 2010; 33:1-8. [PMID: 20363053 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2009] [Revised: 12/22/2009] [Accepted: 02/11/2010] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Twin studies generally show great consistency for the heritability of brain structures. Ironically, the lateral ventricles--perhaps the most reliably measured brain regions of interest--are the most inconsistent when it comes to estimating genetic influences on their volume. Heritability estimates in twin studies have ranged from zero to almost 0.80. Here we aggregate heritability estimates from extant twin studies, and we review and reinterpret some of the findings. Based on our revised estimates, we conclude that lateral ventricular volume is indeed heritable. The weighted average heritability of the revised estimates was 0.54. Although accumulated environmental insults might seem most logical as the predominant cause of age-related ventricular expansion, the data strongly suggest that genetic influences on lateral ventricular volume are increasing with age. Genetic influences accounted for 32-35% of the variance in lateral ventricular volume in childhood, but about 75% of the variance in late middle and older age. These conclusions have implications for the basic understanding of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of normative and pathological brain aging.
Collapse
|
45
|
Grant MD, Kremen WS, Jacobson KC, Franz C, Xian H, Eisen SA, Toomey R, Murray RE, Lyons MJ. Does parental education have a moderating effect on the genetic and environmental influences of general cognitive ability in early adulthood? Behav Genet 2010; 40:438-46. [PMID: 20300818 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9351-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2008] [Accepted: 02/24/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Hereditary influences account for a substantial proportion of the variance in many cognitive abilities. However, there is increasing recognition that the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences may vary across different socioeconomic levels. The overall goal of the present study was to examine whether parental education has a moderating effect on genetic and environmental influences of general cognitive ability in early adulthood (age 19.6 +/- 1.5). Participants were 5,955 male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry. Significant effects of parental education on mean level of general cognitive ability scores were found, but a model without moderating effects of parental education on genetic or environmental influences on cognitive scores proved to be the best fitting model. Some, but not all, previous studies have found significant moderating effects; however, no consistent pattern emerged that could account for between-study differences regarding moderating effects on genetic and environmental influences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Grant
- Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
46
|
Friend A, DeFries JC, Olson RK. Parental education moderates genetic influences on reading disability. Psychol Sci 2009; 19:1124-30. [PMID: 19076484 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02213.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental moderation of the level of genetic influence on children's reading disabilities was explored in a sample of 545 identical and fraternal twins (mean age = 11.5 years). Parents' number of years of education, which is correlated with a broad range of environmental factors related to reading development, was significantly related to the level of genetic influence on reading disability. Genetic influence was higher and environmental influence was lower among children whose parents had a high level of education, compared with children whose parents had a lower level of education. We discuss the implications of these results for behavior genetic and molecular genetic research, for the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities, and for policy in public education.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angela Friend
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Koenen KC, DeVivo I, Rich-Edwards J, Smoller JW, Wright RJ, Purcell SM. Protocol for investigating genetic determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder in women from the Nurses' Health Study II. BMC Psychiatry 2009; 9:29. [PMID: 19480706 PMCID: PMC2698903 DOI: 10.1186/1471-244x-9-29] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2009] [Accepted: 05/29/2009] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND One in nine American women will meet criteria for the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime. Although twin studies suggest genetic influences account for substantial variance in PTSD risk, little progress has been made in identifying variants in specific genes that influence liability to this common, debilitating disorder. METHODS AND DESIGN We are using the unique resource of the Nurses Health Study II, a prospective epidemiologic cohort of 68,518 women, to conduct what promises to be the largest candidate gene association study of PTSD to date. The entire cohort will be screened for trauma exposure and PTSD; 3,000 women will be selected for PTSD diagnostic interviews based on the screening data. Our nested case-control study will genotype 1000 women who developed PTSD following a history of trauma exposure; 1000 controls will be selected from women who experienced similar traumas but did not develop PTSD.The primary aim of this study is to detect genetic variants that predict the development of PTSD following trauma. We posit inherited vulnerability to PTSD is mediated by genetic variation in three specific neurobiological systems whose alterations are implicated in PTSD etiology: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the locus coeruleus/noradrenergic system, and the limbic-frontal neuro-circuitry of fear. The secondary, exploratory aim of this study is to dissect genetic influences on PTSD in the broader genetic and environmental context for the candidate genes that show significant association with PTSD in detection analyses. This will involve: conducting conditional tests to identify the causal genetic variant among multiple correlated signals; testing whether the effect of PTSD genetic risk variants is moderated by age of first trauma, trauma type, and trauma severity; and exploring gene-gene interactions using a novel gene-based statistical approach. DISCUSSION Identification of liability genes for PTSD would represent a major advance in understanding the pathophysiology of the disorder. Such understanding could advance the development of new pharmacological agents for PTSD treatment and prevention. Moreover, the addition of PTSD assessment data will make the NHSII cohort an unparalleled resource for future genetic studies of PTSD as well as provide the unique opportunity for the prospective examination of PTSD-disease associations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karestan C Koenen
- Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Immaculata DeVivo
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Janet Rich-Edwards
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jordan W Smoller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric and Neurodevelopment Genetics Unit, Center for Genetic Research Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114, USA
| | - Rosalind J Wright
- Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Shaun M Purcell
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric and Neurodevelopment Genetics Unit, Center for Genetic Research Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114, USA
- The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Pennington BF, McGrath LM, Rosenberg J, Barnard H, Smith SD, Willcutt EG, Friend A, Defries JC, Olson RK. Gene X environment interactions in reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Dev Psychol 2009; 45:77-89. [PMID: 19209992 DOI: 10.1037/a0014549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This article examines Gene x Environment (G x E) interactions in two comorbid developmental disorders--reading disability (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)--as a window on broader issues on G x E interactions in developmental psychology. The authors first briefly review types of G x E interactions, methods for detecting them, and challenges researchers confront in interpreting such interactions. They then review previous evidence for G x E interactions in RD and ADHD, the directions of which are opposite to each other: bioecological for RD and diathesis stress for ADHD. Given these results, the authors formulate and test predictions about G x E interactions that would be expected at the favorable end of each symptom dimension (e.g., above-average reading or attention). Consistent with their prediction, the authors found initial evidence for a resilience interaction for above-average reading: higher heritability in the presence of lower parental education. However, they did not find a G x E interaction at the favorable end of the ADHD symptom dimension. The authors conclude with implications for future research.
Collapse
|
49
|
Friend A, DeFries JC, Olson RK, Pennington B, Harlaar N, Byrne B, Samuelsson S, Willcutt EG, Wadsworth SJ, Corley R, Keenan JM. Heritability of high reading ability and its interaction with parental education. Behav Genet 2009; 39:427-36. [PMID: 19296213 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-009-9263-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2008] [Accepted: 03/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Moderation of the level of genetic influence on children's high reading ability by environmental influences associated with parental education was explored in two independent samples of identical and fraternal twins from the United States and Great Britain. For both samples, the heritability of high reading performance increased significantly with lower levels of parental education. Thus, resilience (high reading ability despite lower environmental support) is more strongly influenced by genotype than is high reading ability with higher environmental support. This result provides a coherent account when considered alongside results of previous research showing that heritability for low reading ability decreased with lower levels of parental education.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angela Friend
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Gene-environment interaction in adults' IQ scores: measures of past and present environment. Behav Genet 2008; 38:348-60. [PMID: 18535898 PMCID: PMC2480605 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-008-9212-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2008] [Accepted: 05/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Gene-environment interaction was studied in a sample of young (mean age 26 years, N = 385) and older (mean age 49 years, N = 370) adult males and females. Full scale IQ scores (FSIQ) were analyzed using biometric models in which additive genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) effects were allowed to depend on environmental measures. Moderators under study were parental and partner educational level, as well as urbanization level and mean real estate price of the participants’ residential area. Mean effects were observed for parental education, partner education and urbanization level. On average, FSIQ scores were roughly 5 points higher in participants with highly educated parents, compared to participants whose parents were less well educated. In older participants, IQ scores were about 2 points higher when their partners were highly educated. In younger males, higher urbanization levels were associated with slightly higher FSIQ scores. Our analyses also showed increased common environmental variation in older males whose parents were more highly educated, and increased unique environmental effects in older males living in more affluent areas. Contrary to studies in children, however, the variance attributable to additive genetic effects was stable across all levels of the moderators under study. Most results were replicated for VIQ and PIQ.
Collapse
|