Heritable Influences Research Articles

The development of interoceptive hunger signals.

Hunger is often reported when people experience certain internal sensations (e.g., fatigue) or when they anticipate that a food will be good to eat. The latter results from associative learning, while the former was thought to signal an energy deficit. However, energy-deficit models of hunger are not well supported, so if interoceptive hungers are not "fuel gauges," what are they? We examined an alternate perspective, where internal states signaling hunger, which are quite diverse, are learned during childhood. A basic prediction from this idea is offspring-caregiver similarity, which should be evident if caregivers teach their child the meaning of internal hunger cues. We tested 111 university student offspring-primary caregiver pairs, by having them complete a survey about their internal hunger states, alongside other information that may moderate this relationship (i.e., gender, body mass index, eating attitudes, and beliefs about hunger). We observed substantial similarity between offspring-caregiver pairs (Cohen's ds from 0.33 to 1.55), with the main moderator being beliefs about an energy-needs model of hunger, which tended to increase similarity. We discuss whether these findings may also reflect heritable influences, the form that any learning might take, and the implications for child feeding practices.

Longitudinal Reading Measures and Genome Imputation in the National Child Development Study: Prospects for Future Reading Research.

Reading difficulties are prevalent worldwide, including in economically developed countries, and are associated with low academic achievement and unemployment. Longitudinal studies have identified several early childhood predictors of reading ability, but studies frequently lack genotype data that would enable testing of predictors with heritable influences. The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a UK birth cohort study containing direct reading skill variables at every data collection wave from age 7 years through to adulthood with a subsample (final n = 6431) for whom modern genotype data are available. It is one of the longest running UK cohort studies for which genotyped data are currently available and is a rich dataset with excellent potential for future phenotypic and gene-by-environment interaction studies in reading. Here, we carry out imputation of the genotype data to the Haplotype Reference Panel, an updated reference panel that offers greater imputation quality. Guiding phenotype choice, we report a principal components analysis of nine reading variables, yielding a composite measure of reading ability in the genotyped sample. We include recommendations for use of composite scores and the most reliable variables for use during childhood when conducting longitudinal, genetically sensitive analyses of reading ability.

An Adaptive Motivation Approach to Understanding the 'How' and 'Why' of Wellbeing.

A new model provides insight into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of wellbeing to better understand the ‘what’. Informed by evolutionary psychology and neuroscience, it proposes that systems for adaptive motivation underpin experiential and reflective wellbeing. The model proposes that the brain learns to predict situations, and errors arise between the predictions and experience. These prediction errors drive emotional experience, learning, motivation, decision-making, and the formation of wellbeing-relevant memories. The model differentiates four layers of wellbeing: objective, experiential, reflective, and narrative, which relate to the model in different ways. Constituents of wellbeing, human motives, and specific emotions integrate into the model. A simple computational implementation of the model reproduced several established wellbeing phenomena, including: the greater frequency of pleasant to unpleasant emotions, the stronger emotional salience of unpleasant emotions, hedonic adaptation to changes in circumstances, heritable influences on wellbeing, and affective forecasting errors. It highlights the importance of individual differences, and implies that high wellbeing will correlate with the experience of infrequent, routine, and predictable avoidance cues and frequent, varied, and novel approach cues. The model suggests that wellbeing arises directly from a system for adaptive motivation. This system functions like a mental dashboard that calls attention to situational changes and motivates the kinds of behaviours that gave humans a relative advantage in their ancestral environment. The model offers a set of fundamental principles and processes that may underlie diverse conceptualisations of wellbeing.

Examining Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs for anger expression and regulation in toddlers.

The present study is focused on anger expression and regulation within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) construct of Frustrative Nonreward. Although previous studies have examined associations between child anger regulation and expression, these studies do not directly address the dynamic processes involved in Frustrative Nonreward using microlongitudinal methods. The current study used data from 561 adopted children, their adoptive parents, and birth parents and aimed to address gaps in the literature by examining: (a) temporal associations between anger expression during a frustrating situation, and behaviors thought to regulate emotions (e.g., attempt-to-escape, support-seeking, distraction, and focus-on-restraint) on a microlongitudinal scale during an arm restraint task assessed at 27 months; (b) birth parent externalizing problems and overreactive parenting by adoptive parents as predictors of child anger expression and moderators of the moment-to-moment associations estimated in Step 1; and (c) longitudinal associations (linear vs. quadratic) between anger expressions and externalizing behaviors at 4.5 years. Findings indicated that children's attempt-to-escape and support-seeking predicted an increase in anger expression in the following 3-s interval, whereas distraction and focus-on-restraint were not associated with changes in anger expression. Furthermore, we found that birth parents' externalizing problems were significantly associated with child anger expression, suggesting heritable influences. Anger expression showed a U-shaped longitudinal association with paternal report of externalizing behaviors at 4.5 years. Taken together, the findings emphasize the significance of integrating microlongitudinal analysis approaches into the RDoC framework, helping to advance our understanding of dynamic processes underlying reactions to Frustrative Nonreward. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Medical genetics in the 19th century as background to the development of psychiatric genetics.

This article examines the relationship between the early efforts of alienists to understand the role of heredity in the etiology of insanity in the 19th century and the parallel efforts of the nascent discipline of medical genetics. I review three monographs on general medical genetics: Adams in 1814, Steinau in 1843, and Lithgow in 1889. Numerous parallels were seen between their writings and those of their contemporary alienists working on mental disorders including (i) an emphasis on the transmission of the liability to illness rather than the illness itself, (ii) discussions of the homogeneous versus heterogeneous nature of familial transmission of disease, (iii) the relative value of direct versus indirect hereditary effects, (iv) the role of mothers versus fathers in transmitting liability, (v) possible environmental sources of familial clustering, and (vi) the transmission of age at onset of illness. All three medical genetic authors noted that insanity was among the more heritable of human disorders. Furthermore, Lithgow noted the importance of heritable influences on the non-psychotic forms of psychiatric illness rarely seen in asylums. This survey demonstrates substantial consilience in the topics of interest and conclusions of the nascent general medical and psychiatric genetics' communities in the 19th century.

Testing heritability of moral foundations: Common pathway models support strong heritability for the five moral foundations

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) predicts that moral behaviour reflects at least five foundational traits, each hypothesised to be heritable. Here, we report two independent twin studies (total n = 2020), using multivariate multi-group common pathway models to test the following three predictions from the MFT: (1) The moral foundations will show significant heritability; (2) The moral foundations will each be genetically distinct and (3) The clustering of moral concerns around individualising and binding domains will show significant heritability. Supporting predictions 1 and 3, Study 1 showed evidence for significant heritability of two broad moral factors corresponding to individualising and binding domains. In Study 2, we added the second dataset, testing replication of the Study 1 model in a joint approach. This further corroborated evidence for heritable influence, showed strong influences on the individualising and binding domains (h2 = 49% and 66%, respectively) and, partially supporting prediction 2, showed foundation-specific, heritable influences on Harm/Care, Fairness/Reciprocity and Purity/Sanctity foundations. A general morality factor was required, also showing substantial genetic effects (40%). These findings indicate that moral foundations have significant genetic bases. These influenced the individual foundations themselves as well as a general concern for the individual, for the group, and overall moral concern.

Reexamining the association between the interparental relationship and parent-child interactions: Incorporating heritable influences.

Family systems research has identified two key processes (spillover and compensatory), linking interparental relationship quality to the parent-child relationship. However, previous research has focused on the parent as the sole initiator and had not often considered the role of the child in these processes. The present study adds to the literature by leveraging a genetically informed design to examine possible child evocative effects on spillover and compensatory processes. Participants were from a longitudinal parent-offspring adoption sample of 361 linked sets of adoptive parents of an adopted child (57% male), and the child's birth parents. Adoptive parents reported on child pleasure and anger at 18 months and the interparental relationship at 27 months. Parent-child interactions were observed at child age 6 years, and heritable influences were assessed via birth mother self-report at 5 months. Our results indicated a dampening effect where higher interparental warmth at child age 27 months was associated with less adoptive mother-child coercion at child age 6 years, and a compensatory effect where higher interparental conflict was associated with more adoptive father-child positive engagement. Moreover, our results indicated child-driven effects via both genetic and environmental pathways. Specifically, higher levels of birth mother negative affect (heritable characteristic) were associated with lower levels of adoptive father-child coercion. Also, child anger was positively associated with interparental conflict, and child pleasure was positively associated with interparental warmth. These findings support findings from the family literature with evidence of compensatory mechanisms, while also highlighting the active role children play in shaping family interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Frailty and Processing Speed Performance at the Cusp of Midlife in CATSLife

Frailty is an important multi-domain measure of health status and aging. Processing speed (PS) performance may be predictive of later frailty among older adults, but the interrelation between frailty and PS at the cusp of mid-adulthood is unclear. Using data from the ongoing Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan Behavioral Development and Cognitive Aging (CATSLife; N = 1213; Mean age = 33.22 years; SD = 5.0), we constructed a 24-item frailty sum score across anthropomorphic, objective health, and perceived health and engagement measures based on the Accumulation of Deficits model. PS was measured using the Colorado Perceptual Speed (CPS) and WAIS-III Digit Symbol (DS) tests. All mixed-effects regression models accounted for clustering among siblings, and covariates included sex, age, race, ethnicity, and educational attainment. Intraclass correlations (ICCs) [95% CI] for frailty among siblings, adjusted for sex and age, ranged from near zero for siblings in adoptive families, .13 [.08-.30] for nonadoptive siblings/fraternal (DZ) twins, and .44 [.40-.48] for identical (MZ) twins, suggesting possible heritable influences. Poorer PS performance was associated with higher frailty, but was significant for DS only (B: DS = -0.43, p =.005). Furthermore, the DS-frailty association was magnified by age (B: DSxAge = -0.06, p =.025), suggesting that the associations between processing speed and frailty may increase with age. These findings help elucidate the interrelationship between indicators of frailty and cognitive performance for adults approaching midlife, a salient and understudied period within lifespan development.

Gene × Environment Interactions in the Development of Preschool Effortful Control, and Its Implications for Childhood Externalizing Behavior.

This study examined the role of gene × environment interaction (G × E) in the development of effortful control (EC) and externalizing symptoms (EXT). Participants included 361 adopted children, and their Adoptive Parents (APs) and Birth Mothers (BMs), drawn from the Early Growth and Development Study. The primary adoptive caregivers' (AP1) laxness and overreactivity were assessed when children were 27-months-old, and used as indices of environmental influences on EC. Heritable influences on child EC were assessed by the BMs' personality characteristics (emotion dysregulation, agreeableness). Secondary adoptive caregivers (AP2) reported on children's EC at 54months, and EXT at 7years. Interactions between BM characteristics and AP1 laxness were related to EC and indirectly predicted EXT via EC. Parental laxness and EC were positively associated if children had high heritable risk for poor EC (BM high emotion dysregulation or low agreeableness), but negatively associated if children had low heritable risk for poor EC (BM low emotion dysregulation or high agreeableness). BM agreeableness also moderated associations between AP1 overreactivity and effortful control, and yielded a similar pattern of results. Our findings suggest that G × E is an important first step in the development of EXT via its effect on EC. Consistent with "goodness of fit" models, heritable tendencies can affect which parenting practices best support EC development.

The role of child negative emotionality in parenting and child adjustment: Gene-environment interplay.

Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) describes a process through which children's heritable characteristics influence their rearing environments. The current study examined whether heritable influences on parenting and children's behavioural outcomes operate through child negative emotionality. Using data from the Early Growth and Development Study, we examined associations among adoptive parent reports of child anger and sadness at 4.5 years, adoptive parents' hostile and warm parenting at 6 years and child behavioural problems and social competence at age 7. Birth parent temperament was included to test whether child effects on parents reflect evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE). Child anger at 4.5 years evoked hostile parenting from adoptive parents at 6 years, which was subsequently related to child problem behaviours at 7 years. Evocative rGE effects were identified for adoptive parents' hostile parenting. By employing a genetically informed design, we found that birth parent temperament was related to child negative emotionality. Adoptive parents were sensitive to child negative emotionality, and this sensitivity was linked to the child's later adjustment.

Using genetic information to inform policy on cannabis

Using genetic information to inform policy on cannabis

Paternal effects in a wild-type zebrafish implicate a role of sperm-derived small RNAs.

While the importance of maternal effects has long been appreciated, a growing body of evidence now points to the paternal environment having an important influence on offspring phenotype. Indeed, research on rodent models suggests that paternal stress leaves an imprint on the behaviour and physiology of offspring via nongenetic information carried in the spermatozoa; however, fish have been understudied with regard to these sperm-mediated effects. Here, we investigated whether the zebrafish was subjected to heritable influences of paternal stress by exposing males to stressors (conspecific-derived alarm cue, chasing and bright light) before mating and assessing the behavioural and endocrine responses of their offspring, including their behavioural response to conspecific-derived alarm cue. We found that after males are exposed to stress, their larval offspring show weakened responses to stressors. Small RNA sequencing subsequently revealed that the levels of several small noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs and tRNA-derived small RNAs, were altered in the spermatozoa of stressed fathers, suggesting that stress-induced alterations to the spermatozoal RNA landscape may contribute to shaping offspring phenotype. The work demonstrates that paternal stress should not be overlooked as a source of phenotypic variation and that spermatozoal small RNAs may be important intergenerational messengers in fish.

Co-aggregation and heritability of organ-specific autoimmunity: a population-based twin study.

ObjectiveCo-aggregation of autoimmune diseases is common, suggesting partly shared etiologies. Genetic factors are believed to be important, but objective measures of environmental vs heritable influences on co-aggregation are absent. With a novel approach to twin studies, we aimed at estimating heritability and genetic overlap in seven organ-specific autoimmune diseases.DesignProspective twin cohort study.MethodsWe used a cohort of 110 814 twins to examine co-aggregation and heritability of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, atrophic gastritis, celiac disease, Graves’ disease, type 1 diabetes, vitiligo and Addison’s disease. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated for twins developing the same or different disease as compared to their co-twin. The differences between monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs were used to estimate the genetic influence on co-aggregation. Heritability for individual disorders was calculated using structural equational modeling adjusting for censoring and truncation of data.ResultsCo-aggregation was more pronounced in monozygotic twins (median HR: 3.2, range: 2.2–9.2) than in dizygotic twins (median HR: 2.4, range: 1.1–10.0). Heritability was moderate for atrophic gastritis (0.38, 95% CI: 0.23–0.53) but high for all other diseases, ranging from 0.60 (95% CI: 0.49–0.71) for Graves’ disease to 0.97 (95% CI: 0.91–1.00) for Addison’s disease.ConclusionsOverall, co-aggregation was more pronounced in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins, suggesting that disease overlap is largely attributable to genetic factors. Co-aggregation was common, and twins faced up to a ten-fold risk of developing diseases not present in their co-twin. Our results validate and refine previous heritability estimates based on smaller twin cohorts.

Disentangling nature from nurture in examining the interplay between parent-child relationships, ADHD, and early academic attainment.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable and is associated with lower educational attainment. ADHD is linked to family adversity, including hostile parenting. Questions remain regarding the role of genetic and environmental factors underlying processes through which ADHD symptoms develop and influence academic attainment. This study employed a parent-offspring adoption design (N = 345) to examine the interplay between genetic susceptibility to child attention problems (birth mother ADHD symptoms) and adoptive parent (mother and father) hostility on child lower academic outcomes, via child ADHD symptoms. Questionnaires assessed birth mother ADHD symptoms, adoptive parent (mother and father) hostility to child, early child impulsivity/activation, and child ADHD symptoms. The Woodcock-Johnson test was used to examine child reading and math aptitude. Building on a previous study (Harold et al., 2013, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(10), 1038-1046), heritable influences were found: birth mother ADHD symptoms predicted child impulsivity/activation. In turn, child impulsivity/activation (4.5 years) evoked maternal and paternal hostility, which was associated with children's ADHD continuity (6 years). Both maternal and paternal hostility (4.5 years) contributed to impairments in math but not reading (7 years), via impacts on ADHD symptoms (6 years). Findings highlight the importance of early child behavior dysregulation evoking parent hostility in both mothers and fathers, with maternal and paternal hostility contributing to the continuation of ADHD symptoms and lower levels of later math ability. Early interventions may be important for the promotion of child math skills in those with ADHD symptoms, especially where children have high levels of early behavior dysregulation.

Genomic imprinting and evolution of insect societies

AbstractReproductive division of labor is a hallmark of social insect societies where individuals follow different developmental pathways resulting in distinct morphological castes. There has been a long controversy over the factors determining caste fate of individuals in social insects. Increasing evidence in the last two decades for heritable influences on division of labor put an end to the assumption that social insect broods are fully totipotent and environmental factors alone determine castes. Nevertheless, the genes that underlie hereditary effects on division of labor have not been identified in any social insects. Studies investigating the hereditary effects on caste determination might have overlooked non‐genetic inheritance, while transmission to offspring of factors other than DNA sequences including epigenetic states can also affect offspring phenotype. Genomic imprinting is one of the most informative paradigms for understanding the consequences of interactions between the genome and the epigenome. Recent studies of genomic imprinting show that genes can be differentially marked in egg and sperm and inheritance of these epigenetic marks cause genes to be expressed in a parental‐origin‐specific manner in the offspring. By reviewing both the eusocial Hymenoptera and termites, I highlight the current theoretical and empirical evidence for genomic imprinting in eusocial insects and discuss how genomic imprinting acts in caste determination and social behavior and challenges for future studies. I also introduce the new idea that genomic imprinting plays an essential role in the origin of eusociality.

Parental morphine exposure affects repetitive grooming actions and marble burying behavior in the offspring: Potential relevance for obsessive-compulsive like behavior

Family, adoption and twin studies have highlighted the significant role of heritable influences on individual differences in opioid addiction. Meanwhile, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder wherein the individual experiences recurring thoughts that cause irrational fears and anxiety. In the present study, adult male and female rats received morphine solution for 21 days and were drug-free for 10 days. Offspring were used in 4 distinct groups; (1) paternal morphine-exposed, (2) maternal morphine-exposed, (3) maternal and paternal morphine-exposed, and (4) drug-naïve subjects. We assessed the grooming behavior and marble burying test as an indicator of obsessive-compulsive behavior. To clarify the mechanisms underlying these changes, the mRNA level of BDNF, the phosphorylation level of CREB and the protein level of D2 dopamine receptor (DR) were evaluated in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The grooming behavior in male offspring with one or two morphine-abstinent parent(s) increased compared with the offspring of drug naïve rats. In addition, the offspring of morphine-exposed parents buried more marbles when compared with the offspring of drug-naïve parents. Also, the BDNF mRNA was down-regulated in the NAC. However, the levels of phospho-CREB and D2 DR were elevated. Previous studies indicated that exposure to morphine in adulthood enhances the risk of psychiatric disorders in offspring. OCD is one the comorbid disorders with addiction and increases the risk of substance abuse disorder in patients. In this survey, we found that morphine exposure in parents before gestation can encourage obsessive-compulsive behavior in offspring.

Parenting and prenatal risk as moderators of genetic influences on conduct problems during middle childhood.

This study examines interactions of heritable influences, prenatal substance use, and postnatal parental warmth and hostility on the development of conduct problems in middle childhood for boys and girls. Participants are 561 linked families, collected in 2 cohorts, including birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Heritable influences on internalizing and externalizing (including substance use) problems were derived from birth mothers' and fathers' symptoms, diagnoses, and age of onset from diagnostic interviews, and the proportion of first-degree relatives with the same type of problems. Smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and alcohol use during pregnancy were assessed retrospectively from birth mothers at 5 months postpartum. Earlier externalizing problems and parental warmth and hostility and were assessed at 1 assessment prior to the outcome (Cohort II: 4.5 years; Cohort I: 7 years). Conduct problems were symptoms from a diagnostic interview assessed at age 6 (Cohort II) or 8 (Cohort I). Findings from regression analyses suggest that (a) SDP plays an important role for the development of conduct problems, (b) some relatively well-accepted effects (e.g., parental hostility) were less important when simultaneously considering multiple factors influencing the development of conduct problems, and (c) main effects of genetic risk and SDP, and interactions among genetic risk and postnatal warmth, SDP and postnatal warmth, and genetic risk, SDP, and postnatal hostility for conduct problems were important for boys' but not girls' conduct problems. Replication is needed, but the current results provide preliminary but empirically grounded hypotheses for future research testing complex developmental models of conduct problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

A new common functional coding variant at the DDC gene change renal enzyme activity and modify renal dopamine function

The intra-renal dopamine (DA) system is highly expressed in the proximal tubule and contributes to Na+ and blood pressure homeostasis, as well as to the development of nephropathy. In the kidney, the enzyme DOPA Decarboxylase (DDC) originating from the circulation. We used a twin/family study design, followed by polymorphism association analysis at DDC locus to elucidate heritable influences on renal DA production. Dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping across the DDC locus on chromosome 7p12 was analyzed by re-sequencing guided by trait-associated genetic markers to discover the responsible genetic variation. We also characterized kinetics of the expressed DDC mutant enzyme. Systematic polymorphism screening across the 15-Exon DDC locus revealed a single coding variant in Exon-14 that was associated with DA excretion and multiple other renal traits indicating pleiotropy. When expressed and characterized in eukaryotic cells, the 462Gln variant displayed lower Vmax (maximal rate of product formation by an enzyme) (21.3 versus 44.9 nmol/min/mg) and lower Km (substrate concentration at which half-maximal product formation is achieved by an enzyme.)(36.2 versus 46.8 μM) than the wild-type (Arg462) allele. The highly heritable DA excretion trait is substantially influenced by a previously uncharacterized common coding variant (Arg462Gln) at the DDC gene that affects multiple renal tubular and glomerular traits, and predicts accelerated functional decline in chronic kidney disease.

Common Heritable Immunological Variations Revealed in Genetically Diverse Inbred Mouse Strains of the Collaborative Cross

Variations in the proportion and number of specific immune cell types among healthy individuals are influenced by both heritable and nonheritable factors. Mouse models, subjected to fewer nonheritable factors than humans, allow the identification of genetic factors that shape the immune system. We characterized immunological trait variability in the Collaborative Cross (CC), a powerful genetic resource of recombinant inbred mouse strains derived from eight diverse founder strains. Of the 18 immunological traits studied in more than 60 CC strains, eight showed genome-wide significant linkage, revealing new genetic loci linked to specific immune traits. We also found that these traits were highly subject to heritable influences. As for humans, mouse immunological traits varied as a continuum rather than as discrete immunophenotypes. The CC thus represents a useful resource to identify factors that determine immunological variations, as well as defining other immune traits likely to be heritable in humans.

Did I Inherit My Moral Compass? Examining Socialization and Evocative Mechanisms for Virtuous Character Development.

Virtuous character development in children is correlated with parenting behavior, but the role of genetic influences in this association has not been examined. Using a longitudinal twin/sibling study (N = 720; Time 1 (T1) Mage = 12-14years, Time 3 (T3) Mage = 25-27years), the current report examines associations among parental negativity/positivity and offspring responsibility during adolescence, and subsequent young adult conscientiousness. Findings indicate that associations among parental negativity and offspring virtuous character during adolescence and young adulthood are due primarily to heritable influences. In contrast, the association between concurrent parental positivity and adolescent responsibility was due primarily to heritable and shared environmental influences. These findings underscore the contributions of heritable influences to the associations between parenting and virtuous character that have previously been assumed to be only environmentally influenced, emphasizing the complexity of mechanisms involved in the development of virtuous character.