Genain Quadruplets Research Articles

Reared-Apart and Reunited: Extraordinary Dynamics/Twin Research Reviews: Twin Bereavement and Lifespan Associations; Identifying Novel Mutations in Twins; Parenting Premature Multiples; Conjoined Twins in Cross-Cultural Context/In the News: Madeline Albright, Mother of Twins, Passes Away; Identical Twin Songwriters Compose New Musical; Visually Impaired Twin Skiers; Identical Twin Brothers Undergo Heart Transplants; Naming the Genain Quadruplets

The focus of this article is on insights gained from the extraordinary dynamics that took place between a pair of reunited monozygotic female twins from Greece. Topics include visualizing the co-twin prior to meeting, the unique love and attraction between the twins, a mother's response to discovering her child's cotwin and the challenges posed by insufficient kinship categories. The following section of this article surveys four recent twin research reports. They include Bereavement and Lifespan Associations; Novel Mutations in Twins; Parenting Premature Multiples; and Conjoined Twins. The final part of this article presents interesting and informative news about twins from popular sources. The topics covered are the passing of Madeline Albright (Secretary of State and mother of twins); identical twin songwriters; visually impaired twin and sibling skiiers; identical twin brothers who both received heart transplants; and the naming of the Genain quadruplets.

A 39-year followup of the Genain quadruplets.

The Genains, a unique group of monozygotic female quadruplets, all developed a schizophrenic disorder by age 24. They have been studied since the 1950s, because of the rarity of this occurrence (estimated to be one in 1.5 billion) and because their illnesses varied in severity. The identical inheritance would tend to rule out genetic differences as the cause of the neuropsychological differences; however, we cannot disentangle the effects of early brain injury and harsh punitive treatment as factors accounting for the differences in the severity of their disorders. We conducted neuropsychological examinations of the Genains at age 66, compared their test profiles, and contrasted certain test scores at 66 with those at ages 27 and 51. Test results indicate generally stable (or even improved) performance over time and support the notion that cognitive decline is not a degenerative process in schizophrenia. The Genains remind us of the exquisite interaction among variables that must be understood before additional, satisfactory progress can be made in preventing the development and predicting the course of schizophrenia.

The Genain quadruplets.

The Genain quadruplets are a unique set of monozygous women who are concordant for schizophrenia but discordant for the severity of their disorder. They were studied by David Rosenthal and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health in the late 1950's when they were in their twenties and again in 1981 when they were 51. They are faring about as well now as they ever have in their adult lives. The results of psychological tests, some of which were repeated more than 20 years apart, are discussed, as are the effects of medication on attention and memory. The differential response of the Genains to neuroleptic drugs, as well as certain other findings in the 1981 study, leads to a different conclusion about the discordant severity of their disorder from that reached in 1963 by Rosenthal and Quinn. These observations emphasize the value of long-term followup studies in genetically related individuals, with repeated assessments of the same functions.

The Genain quadruplets 25 years later: A diagnostic and biochemical followup

A biological and clinical followup of the Genain Quadruplets was initiated as a multilaboratory collaborative effort at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The quadruplets are 51-year-old monozygotic women previously studied with a battery of psychological and physiological tests 25 years ago at the NIMH. The present article (the first of a series of three) details the clinical history and course of the schizophrenic illness in each of the quadruplets and describes the biochemical measures determined. The findings of elevated urinary phenylethylamine excretion, decreased plasma dopamine-β-hydroxylase activity, and increased α-adrenergic receptor concentrations in all quadruplets warrant further genetic studies.

Book Review: The Genain Quadruplets

Book Review: The Genain Quadruplets

Book Review: The Genain Quadruplets: A Study of Heredity and Environment in Schizophrenia

Book Review: The Genain Quadruplets: A Study of Heredity and Environment in Schizophrenia

The Genain Quadruplets: A Case Study and Theoretical Analysis of Heredity and Environment in Schizophrenia.

The Genain Quadruplets: A Case Study and Theoretical Analysis of Heredity and Environment in Schizophrenia.

Book Reviews

Abstract Farberow, N. L., (Ed.), Taboo Topics, New York: Atherton Press, 1963. xviii, 140 pp., $4.50. Reviewed by Robert Rosenthal. Rosenthal, David, (Ed.), The Genain Quadruplets. A case study and theoretical analysis of heredity and environment in schizophrenia, New York, Basic Books, 1963, 609 p. $12.50. Reviewed by Steven G. Vandenberg. Festschrift Leopold Szondi, Monograph from the Swiss Journal of Psychology and Its Applications, 1963, Verlag Hans Huber, Bern. Reviewed by Walter G. Klopfer.

The Genain Quadruplets: A Case Study and Theoretical Analysis of Heredity and Environment in Schizophrenia

An unprecedented opportunity for the study of heredity and environment in mental illness was presented by monozygotic quadruplets, all schizophrenic. The National Institute of Mental Health, undertaking such a study, had these four girls live at the Institute for three years and subjected them and their parents to a variety of investigative procedures. Unfortunately, there seems to have been little advance planning. Rosenthal, the editor of the report and author of several chapters, apparently was not part of the original research team, but has made a valiant effort to coordinate the mass of accumulated data. Relatively little information is offered about possible inheritance, although the artificial name chosen,Genain, means dreadful gene. A geneticist explains why he considered the probability was over 99% that these quads were truly monozygotic. It is mentioned that the paternal grandmother may have had paranoid schizophrenia, but no other data concerning family history of mental

David rosenthal (Editor). The genain quadruplets: A case study and theoretical analysis of heredity and environment in Schizophrenia. New York: Basic Books, 1963

David rosenthal (Editor). The genain quadruplets: A case study and theoretical analysis of heredity and environment in Schizophrenia. New York: Basic Books, 1963

David rosenthal (editor). The genain quadruplets: A case study and theoretical analysis of heredity and environment in Schizophrenia. New York: Basic Books, 1963

David rosenthal (editor). The genain quadruplets: A case study and theoretical analysis of heredity and environment in Schizophrenia. New York: Basic Books, 1963