Gene–Environment Interactions (G×E) in Behavioral Genetics

2014 ◽  
pp. 253-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laramie Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Gene Environment

Influence of genetic factors and institutional environment on entrepreneurial activity: evidence from a twin study in Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Twin Study ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment

Abstract Genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity, but we know little about how genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity when the institutional environment is favorable. Two theories from behavioral genetics explain the gene–environment interaction. One theory argues that a favorable environment favors the development of genetic factors and their influence. An alternative theory posits that unfavorable environment triggers the development of genetic factors and their influence. I test these two competing theories with a twin study based in Italy. I compare the influence of genetic factors in provinces where the institutional environment favors entrepreneurial activity with provinces where the institutional environment is unfavorable to entrepreneurial activity. I found consistent evidence that genetic factors exert a larger influence in favorable institutional environments, suggesting that favorable institutional environments complement genetic factors.

scholarly journals The relation between Oxytocin Receptor Gene polymorphisms, adult attachment and Instagram sociability: an exploratory analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Carollo ◽  
Andrea Bonassi ◽  
Ilaria Cataldo ◽  
Giulio Gabrieli ◽  
Moses Tandiono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Oxytocin Receptor ◽  
Oxytocin Receptor Gene ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Receptor Gene Polymorphisms ◽  
Oxtr Rs53576 ◽  
Desirability Index

So far literature considered the association between environmental factors (i.e. involved in adult relationships) and genetic vulnerability on Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) in the comprehension of social behavior. Although an extensive knowledge on in-person social interactions has been obtained, little is known about online social behavior. A gene-environment perspective is adopted to examine how OXTR and adult attachment moderate Instagram behavior. The Experience in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) questionnaire was used to collect participants' (N = 57, 16 males) attachment with their partners. The genetic factors within the regions OXTR rs53576 (A/A homozygotes vs. G-carriers) and rs2254298 (G/G homozygotes vs. A-carriers) were assessed. Number of posts, followed people ("followings") and followers were obtained from Instagram, and the Social Desirability Index was calculated as the ratio of followers to followings. Interaction effects between OXTR groups and ECR-R scores on the number of posts and SDI were hypothesised. Results showed an effect of rs53576 on the number of Instagram followings. Specifically, A/A homozygotes had more followings than G-carriers independently of the quality of the relationship with their partner. These preliminary results are discussed in light of the debate of behavioral genetics and offer insights into future investigations on social media behavior.

scholarly journals Developmental behavioral genetics research on school achievement is missing vulnerable children, to our detriment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
LaTasha R Holden ◽  
Rasheda Haughbrook ◽  
Sara Ann Hart
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
White Children ◽  
Gene By Environment Interaction ◽  
Genetics Research ◽  
P Gene ◽  
Gene Environment

Gene–environment processes tell us how genes and environments work together to influence children in schools. One type of gene–environment process that has been extensively studied using behavioral genetics methods is a gene-by-environment interaction. A gene-by-environment interaction shows us when the effect of your context differs depending on your genes, or vice versa, when the effect of your genes differs depending on your context. Developmental behavioral geneticists interested in children’s school achievement have examined many different contexts within the gene-by-environment interaction model, including contexts measured from within children’s home and school environments. However, this work has been overwhelmingly focused on White children, leaving us with non-inclusive scientific evidence. This can lead to detrimental outcomes when we overgeneralize this non-inclusive scientific evidence to racialized groups. We conclude with a call to include racialized children in more research samples.

Behavior Genetic Approaches for Situation Research

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Briley
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Selection Effects ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
History Of

As a field, behavior genetics has a long and often underappreciated focus on environmental and situational factors. This chapter describes the methodological details and empirical findings of this line of work, as well as what situation research can gain from behavior genetics and vice versa. Genetically informative designs offer tools to quantify the extent to which people actively create their situational experiences as opposed to randomly encountering them, and novel advances in situation research have the potential to clarify the scattered history of environmental variables in behavioral genetics. Current progress in personality psychology will be highlighted. Parallels between behavior genetics and personality work can be found both in terms of mechanisms (e.g., gene-environment correlation and gene × environment interaction contrasting with selection effects and person × situation effects) and explanatory pitfalls. Researchers interested in delineating the pathways from situations to behavior would do well to draw from and build upon work in behavior genetics.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Research at the Interface of Affective Neuroscience, Developmental Psychopathology, Health and Behavioral Genetics: Findings from the Wisconsin Twin Project

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole L. Schmidt ◽  
Rebecca J. Brooker ◽  
Ian C. Carroll ◽  
Jeffrey R. Gagne ◽  
Zhan Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Phenotypic Structure ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

AbstractThe Wisconsin Twin Project comprises multiple longitudinal studies that span infancy to early adulthood. We summarize recent papers that show how twin designs with deep phenotyping, including biological measures, can inform questions about phenotypic structure, etiology, comorbidity, heterogeneity, and gene–environment interplay of temperamental constructs and mental and physical health conditions of children and adolescents. The general framework for investigations begins with rich characterization of early temperament and follows with study of experiences and exposures across childhood and adolescence. Many studies incorporate neuroimaging and hormone assays.

Is behavioral genetics ‘too-big-to-know’ science?

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 360-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Battaglia
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Gene Environment

AbstractSeveral new molecular findings and concepts furnish evidence in support of gene–environment interdependence, challenging some of the current tenets and basic statistics of behavioral genetics. I, however, argue that (1) some of the expectations evoked by “neogenomics” are contradicted by findings; and (2) while epigenetic and gene expression effects are complex, they can to some extent be incorporated into “classical” behavioral genetics modeling.

“Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated”: Behavior Genetics in the Postgenomic Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Paige Harden
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
And Behavior

Behavior genetics studies how genetic differences among people contribute to differences in their psychology and behavior. Here, I describe how the conclusions and methods of behavior genetics have evolved in the postgenomic era in which the human genome can be directly measured. First, I revisit the first law of behavioral genetics stating that everything is heritable, and I describe results from large-scale meta-analyses of twin data and new methods for estimating heritability using measured DNA. Second, I describe new methods in statistical genetics, including genome-wide association studies and polygenic score analyses. Third, I describe the next generation of work on gene × environment interaction, with a particular focus on how genetic influences vary across sociopolitical contexts and exogenous environments. Genomic technology has ushered in a golden age of new tools to address enduring questions about how genes and environments combine to create unique human lives.

scholarly journals Estimation of parental effects using polygenic scores

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared Balbona ◽  
Yongkang Kim ◽  
Matthew C. Keller
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Environmental Influence ◽  
Relative Magnitude ◽  
Polygenic Score ◽  
Genetics Research ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Familial Environment ◽  
Additive Genetic Effects

AbstractOffspring resemble their parents for both genetic and environmental reasons. Understanding the relative magnitude of these alternatives has long been a core interest in behavioral genetics research, but traditional designs, which compare phenotypic covariances to make inferences about unmeasured genetic and environmental factors, have struggled to disentangle them. Recently, Kong et al. (2018) showed that by correlating offspring phenotypic values with the measured polygenic score of parents’ nontransmitted alleles, one can estimate the effect of “genetic nurture”— a type of passive gene-environment covariation that arises when heritable parental traits directly influence offspring traits. Here, we instantiate this basic idea in a set of causal models that provide novel insights into the estimation of parental influences on offspring. Most importantly, we show how jointly modeling the parental polygenic scores and the offspring phenotypes can provide an unbiased estimate of the variation attributable to the environmental influence of parents on offspring, even when the polygenic score accounts for a small fraction of trait heritability. This model can be further extended to a) account for the influence of assortative mating at both equilibrium and disequilibrium (after a single generation of assortment), and b) include measured parental phenotypes, allowing for the estimation of the total variation due to additive genetic effects and their covariance with the familial environment. By utilizing path analysis techniques developed for extended twin family designs, our approach provides a general framework for modeling polygenic scores in family studies and allows for various model extensions that can be used to answer old questions about familial influences in new ways.

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