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Biological Approaches

Psych 215
January 30, 2017
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Genetically-Informative Designs
n  Family studies
n  1st-degree relatives
n  Discern etiological influences
n  Problem?
n  Advantages?

n  Phenotype/genotype
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Genetically-Informative Designs

n  Twin Studies
n  Naturally-occurring experiment
n  Disentangle genetic and environmental influences
n  Two types of twins:
n  Monozygotic (MZ)

n  Dizygotic (DZ)
n  Heritability
n  Proportion of variance

n  Environment
n  Shared and non-shared
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Genetically-Informative Designs

n  MZA
n  Twins reared apart
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Identical twins reared apart

n  Identical (Monozygotic) twins separated at birth, reunited for study by

Prof. Bouchard

n  An ideal“natural experiment”
n  Same genotype, different environments

n  Consider this pair...

n  Both born in Trinidad
n  One reared in Germany by maternal grandmother as a Nazi
n  Other reared in Trinidad as a Jew by his father
n  How similar when reunited?
+ How similar are you to a
“random other person?
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Uncanny similarities

n Twins Arrive at Minneapolis Airport...

n  Mustaches, wire-rimmed glasses, two-pocketed shirts
n  Prefer sweet liqueurs, store rubber bands on wrists
n  Always flush toilet before using it
n  Read magazines from back to front
n  Dip buttered toast in coffee
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Uncanny similarities

n Is there a “flush toilet before using gene”?

n  Story
is probably more that genes -> personality -> specific
behaviors
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More uncanny similarities

n  The “Jim” twins -- adopted into different homes at 4

weeks of age, reunited at age 39 by Prof. Bouchard
n  Like arithmetic, not spelling
n  Drive Chevrolets
n  Have dogs named “Toy”
n  Chew fingernails to the nub
n  Serve as deputy sheriffs
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More on the uncanny
Jim Twins
n  Vacation in Florida

n  Married women named Linda

n  Then got divorced and married women named Betty

n  Enjoy mechanical drawing and carpentry

n  Have basement workshops where they built white benches that

encircle trees in their backyards
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Genetically-Informative Designs

n  MZA
n  Twins reared apart

n  Equal Environments Assumption

n  Exceptions?

n  Additive genetic effects

n  Twins vs. singletons

n  Ideas?

n  Population estimate
n  Doesn’t inform process
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Genetically-Informative Designs

n  Adoption design
n  Sensitive to environmental influences

n  Restricted variance
n  When would it matter?
n  When would it be okay?

n  Random placement
n  When would it matter?
n  When would it be okay?
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G-E influences

n  Interdependent

n  GxE interaction
n  Evocative
n  Proactive
n  Passive

n  Diathesis-stress
n  If no stress?
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Legrand et al., 2008

n  Normative antisocial behavior in adolescence

n  Externalizing disorders
n  High heritability
n  But what else?

n  If external factors limit personal choice –

n  What happens to genetic predisposition?

n  Educational level > heritability

n  As societies become more egalitarian
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Legrand et al., 2008

n  What happens in the presence of adversity?

n  Heritability increases? Decreases? No effect?
n  E.g., married versus single women – depression
n  In which circumstance does heritability play a larger role?

n  Adolescent antisocial behaviour:

n  Urban versus rural environments
n  Prediction?
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Legrand et al., 2008

n  608 same-sex twin pairs

n  Males: 184 MZ, 97 DZ
n  Females: 213 MZ, 114 DZ
n  Age: M=17.47, SD=0.46

n  Rural-Urban Commuting Area

n  US Census
n  Urban, large town, small town, isolated rural

n  Externalizing
n  CD, ODD, ASPD, alcohol, drug
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Legrand et al., 2008
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Legrand et al., 2008

n  Results:
n  Antisocial Personality Disorder - Urban
n  Males: a^2=0.51 c^2=0.05
n Females: a^2=0.34 c^2=0.13
n  Antisocial Personality Disorder – Rural
n  Males: a^2=0.02 c^2=0.35
n  Females: a^2=0.15 c^2=0.20
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Legrand et al., 2008

n  Externalizing more heritable in urban areas

n  Allow greater personal choice
n  Particularly for males
n  For females, more similar across rural/urban

n  Some environments restrict expression of genetic tendencies

n  Heritability is neither fixed nor deterministic