Genetic variation and individual differences in language

AbstractNicotine and its primary oxidative metabolites are metabolized in part by glucuronidation. Genetic variation in UGT isoenzymes that catalyze glucuronidation activity suggests that variation in glucuronidation rate is in part genetically determined. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental sources to individual differences in the rate of glucuronidation of nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine was estimated in a twin study of nicotine pharmacokinetics. Glucuronidation rate was defined using measures that either accounted for variability in renal clearance or assumed the same relative renal clearance of parent drug and glucuronide conjugate across individuals. The former definition resulted in highly correlated nicotine and cotinine glucuronidation measures that were substantially influenced by the combined effect of additive (heritable) and non-additive (dominant and epistatic) genetic effects. These findings suggest that genetic variation in UGT isoenzymes that act in additive and interactive ways is an important determinant of individual variability in nicotine and cotinine metabolism via glucuronidation pathways.

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Individual differences: Variation by design

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x00343436 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 676-677 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anthony J. Greene ◽

William B. Levy

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Natural Selection ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Mate Selection ◽

Behavioral Variability ◽

Behavioral Variation ◽

Absolute Necessity

Stanovich & West (S&W) appear to overlook the adaptivity of variation. Behavioral variability, both between and within individuals, is an absolute necessity for phylogenetic and ontological adaptation. As with all heritable characteristics, inter-individual behavioral variation is the foundation for natural selection. Similarly, intra-individual variation allows a broad exploration of potential solutions. Variation increases the likelihood that more optimal behaviors are available for selection. Four examples of the adaptivity of variation are discussed: (a) Genetic variation as it pertains to behavior and natural selection; (b) behavioral and cognitive aspects of mate selection which may facilitate genetic diversity; (c) variation as a strategy for optimizing learning through greater exploration; and (d) behavioral variation coupled with communication as a means to propagate individually discovered behavioral success.

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Genetic variation in MAOA modulates ventromedial prefrontal circuitry mediating individual differences in human personality

Molecular Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/sj.mp.4002020 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 313-324 ◽

Cited By ~ 149

Author(s):

J W Buckholtz ◽

J H Callicott ◽

B Kolachana ◽

A R Hariri ◽

T E Goldberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Human Personality ◽

Prefrontal Circuitry

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Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants’ attention to social eye cues

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1506352112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (39) ◽

pp. E5434-E5442 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Kathleen M. Krol ◽

Mikhail Monakhov ◽

Poh San Lai ◽

Richard P. Ebstein ◽

Tobias Grossmann

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Early Development ◽

Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽

Maternal Care ◽

Social Skill ◽

Breastfeeding Duration ◽

Emotional Information ◽

Emotional Faces ◽

Infant Attention

Attending to emotional information conveyed by the eyes is an important social skill in humans. The current study examined this skill in early development by measuring attention to eyes while viewing emotional faces in 7-mo-old infants. In particular, we investigated individual differences in infant attention to eyes in the context of genetic variation (CD38 rs3796863 polymorphism) and experiential variation (exclusive breastfeeding duration) related to the oxytocin system. Our results revealed that, whereas infants at this age show a robust fear bias (increased attention to fearful eyes), their attention to angry and happy eyes varies as a function of exclusive breastfeeding experience and genetic variation in CD38. Specifically, extended exclusive breastfeeding duration selectively enhanced looking preference to happy eyes and decreased looking to angry eyes. Importantly, however, this interaction was impacted by CD38 variation, such that only the looking preferences of infants homozygous for the C allele of rs3796863 were affected by breastfeeding experience. This genotype has been associated with reduced release of oxytocin and higher rates of autism. In contrast, infants with the CA/AA genotype showed similar looking preferences regardless of breastfeeding exposure. Thus, differences in the sensitivity to emotional eyes may be linked to an interaction between the endogenous (CD38) and exogenous (breastfeeding) availability of oxytocin. These findings underline the importance of maternal care and the oxytocin system in contributing to the early development of responding to social eye cues.

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Genome-wide association analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people

10.1101/2021.11.04.466897 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Else Eising ◽

Nazanin Mirza-Schreiber ◽

Eveline L de Zeeuw ◽

Carol A Wang ◽

Dongnhu T Truong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Word Reading ◽

Written Language ◽

Phoneme Awareness ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Nonword Repetition ◽

Nonword Reading ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Multivariate Gwas

The use of spoken and written language is a capacity that is unique to humans. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30-80%, depending on the trait. The relevant genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, and yet to be investigated with well-powered studies. Here, we present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures: word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition, with total sample sizes ranging from 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5-26 years (12,411 to 27,180 for those with European ancestry, defined by principal component analyses). We identified a genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, p=1.098 x 10-8) independent of known loci associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits had robust SNP-heritability estimates (0.13-0.26), and genetic correlations between them were modest to high. Using genomic structural equation modelling, we found evidence for a shared genetic factor explaining the majority of variation in word and nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, which only partially overlapped with genetic variation contributing to nonword repetition, intelligence and educational attainment. A multivariate GWAS was performed to jointly analyse word and nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, maximizing power for follow-up investigation. Genetic correlation analysis of multivariate GWAS results with neuroimaging traits identified association with cortical surface area of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus, a brain region with known links to processing of spoken and written language. Analysis of evolutionary annotations on the lineage that led to modern humans showed enriched heritability in regions depleted of Neanderthal variants. Together, these results provide new avenues for deciphering the biological underpinnings of these uniquely human traits.

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The Shared Genetic Basis of Educational Attainment and Cerebral Cortical Morphology

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhy216 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (8) ◽

pp. 3471-3481 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tian Ge ◽

Chia-Yen Chen ◽

Alysa E Doyle ◽

Richard Vettermann ◽

Lauri J Tuominen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

The Uk ◽

Cortical Morphology ◽

Shared Genetic

Abstract Individual differences in educational attainment are linked to differences in intelligence, and predict important social, economic, and health outcomes. Previous studies have found common genetic factors that influence educational achievement, cognitive performance and total brain volume (i.e., brain size). Here, in a large sample of participants from the UK Biobank, we investigate the shared genetic basis between educational attainment and fine-grained cerebral cortical morphological features, and associate this genetic variation with a related aspect of cognitive ability. Importantly, we execute novel statistical methods that enable high-dimensional genetic correlation analysis, and compute high-resolution surface maps for the genetic correlations between educational attainment and vertex-wise morphological measurements. We conduct secondary analyses, using the UK Biobank verbal–numerical reasoning score, to confirm that variation in educational attainment that is genetically correlated with cortical morphology is related to differences in cognitive performance. Our analyses relate the genetic overlap between cognitive ability and cortical thickness measurements to bilateral primary motor cortex as well as predominantly left superior temporal cortex and proximal regions. These findings extend our understanding of the neurobiology that connects genetic variation to individual differences in educational attainment and cognitive performance.

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The Shared Genetic Basis of Educational Attainment and Cerebral Cortical Morphology

10.1101/242776 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Tian Ge ◽

Chia-Yen Chen ◽

Alysa E. Doyle ◽

Richard Vettermann ◽

Lauri J. Tuominen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

The Uk ◽

Cortical Morphology ◽

Shared Genetic

AbstractIndividual differences in educational attainment are linked to differences in intelligence, and predict important social, economic and health outcomes. Previous studies have found common genetic factors that influence educational achievement, cognitive performance and total brain volume (i.e., brain size). Here, in a large sample of participants from the UK Biobank, we investigate the shared genetic basis between educational attainment and fine-grained cerebral cortical morphological features, and associate this genetic variation with a related aspect of cognitive ability. Importantly, we execute novel statistical methods that enable high-dimensional genetic correlation analysis, and compute high-resolution surface maps for the genetic correlations between educational attainment and vertex-wise morphological measurements. We conduct secondary analyses, using the UK Biobank verbal-numerical reasoning score, to confirm that variation in educational attainment that is genetically correlated with cortical morphology is related to differences in cognitive performance. Our analyses reveal the genetic overlap between cognitive ability and cortical thickness measurements in bilateral primary motor cortex and predominantly left superior temporal cortex and proximal regions. These findings may contribute to our understanding of the neurobiology that connects genetic variation to individual differences in educational attainment and cognitive performance.

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Predominant Qualities Evoked by Quinine, Sucrose, and Capsaicin Associate With PROP Bitterness, but not TAS2R38 Genotype

Chemical Senses ◽

10.1093/chemse/bjaa028 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (5) ◽

pp. 383-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alissa A Nolden ◽

John E McGeary ◽

John E Hayes

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Genetic Variability ◽

Phenotypic Variation ◽

Magnitude Scale ◽

Laboratory Setting ◽

Perceived Intensity ◽

Report Data

Abstract Genetic variability in the ability to taste thiourea compounds has been studied for 80+ years. Over the last 3 decades, many studies have reported perceived intensity of concentrated propylthiouracil (PROP) associates with greater intensity from a broad range of stimuli, including nonbitter tastants, irritants, and retronasally delivered odorants. Thus, PROP phenotype has become a common measure of individual differences in orosensation. Much, but not all, of the phenotypic variation in PROP bitterness is explained by TAS2R38 polymorphisms. While differences in PROP bitterness are clearly due to genetic variation, mechanistically it is challenging to envision how this receptor (narrowly tuned to the N–C=S moiety) relates to overall orosensory response. Here, we report data for 200+ individuals who had been genotyped for TAS2R38 and phenotyped for PROP in a laboratory setting. Participants also reported the intensity of quinine, capsaicin, and sucrose on a general Labeled Magnitude Scale. Our data recapitulate earlier reports associating PROP bitterness with the intensity of the predominant qualities of sucrose, quinine, and capsaicin; however, we also find correlations between the intensities of sucrose, quinine, and capsaicin were much stronger with each other than with PROP. As expected, TAS2R38 diplotype did not associate with the intensity of sucrose, quinine, or capsaicin. The strength of PROP–capsaicin and PROP–sucrose relationships increased after grouping participants by TAS2R38 diplotype, with the greatest increases in association observed within homozygotes. Collectively, this suggests the suprathreshold intensity of PROP is a confounded phenotype that captures both genetic variation specific to N–C=S compounds and overall orosensation.

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