scholarly journals Genetic basis in motor skill and hand preference for tool use in chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1800) ◽  
pp. 20141223 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Hopkins ◽  
Lisa Reamer ◽  
Mary Catherine Mareno ◽  
Steven J. Schapiro
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
Significant Heritability ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms

Chimpanzees are well known for their tool using abilities. Numerous studies have documented variability in tool use among chimpanzees and the role that social learning and other factors play in their development. There are also findings on hand use in both captive and wild chimpanzees; however, less understood are the potential roles of genetic and non-genetic mechanisms in determining individual differences in tool use skill and laterality. Here, we examined heritability in tool use skill and handedness for a probing task in a sample of 243 captive chimpanzees. Quantitative genetic analysis, based on the extant pedigrees, showed that overall both tool use skill and handedness were significantly heritable. Significant heritability in motor skill was evident in two genetically distinct populations of apes, and between two cohorts that received different early social rearing experiences. We further found that motor skill decreased with age and that males were more commonly left-handed than females. Collectively, these data suggest that though non-genetic factors do influence tool use performance and handedness in chimpanzees, genetic factors also play a significant role, as has been reported in humans.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Heritability of Handedness in a Hong Kong Chinese Twin and Singleton Sample

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mo Zheng ◽  
Catherine McBride ◽  
Connie Suk-Han Ho ◽  
Jonathan Ka-Chun Chan ◽  
Kwong Wai Choy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Left Handedness ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Chinese School ◽  
Heritability Analysis ◽  
Definition Of

Left-Handedness prevalence has been consistently reported at around 10% with heritability estimates at around 25%. Higher left-handedness prevalence has been reported in males and in twins. Lower prevalence has been reported in Asia, but it remains unclear whether this is due to biological or cultural factors. Most studies are based on samples with European ethnicities and using the preferred hand for writing as the key assessment. Here, we investigated handedness in a sample of Chinese school children in Hong Kong, including 426 singletons and 205 pairs of twins, using both the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory and Pegboard Task. Based on a binary definition of writing hand, we found a higher prevalence of left-handedness (8%) than what was previously reported in Asian datasets. We found no evidence of increased left-handedness in twins, but our results were in line with previous findings showing that males have a higher tendency to be left-handed than females. Heritability was similar for both hand preference (21%) and laterality indexes (22%). However, these two handedness measures present only a moderate correlation (.42) and appear to be underpinned by different genetic factors. In summary, we report new reference data for an ethnic group usually underrepresented in the literature. Our heritability analysis supports the idea that different measures will capture different components of handedness and, as a consequence, datasets assessed with heterogeneous criteria are not easily combined or compared.

Bipolar Disorder: From Families to Genes

1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Alda
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Bipolar Affective Disorder ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Linkage Studies ◽  
Heterogeneous Condition ◽  
Bipolar Illness ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Methodological Difficulties

Background: Genetic factors are known to contribute to the etiology of bipolar illness, but the actual genetic mechanisms remain to be clarified. Methods: This paper reviews the research undertaken to establish the genetic basis of bipolar illness and to elucidate the nature of its genetic predisposition. Results: The presented findings suggest that bipolar affective disorder is a heterogeneous condition characterized by a complex relationship between the genetic susceptibility and the clinical presentation. Linkage studies have generated promising and replicated findings on chromosomes 18 and 21. Conclusion: In spite of the methodological difficulties inherent in the genetic study of psychiatric disorders, recent investigations have made important advances and promise to identify specific susceptibility genes.

scholarly journals Heritability of Gray Matter Structural Covariation and Tool Use Skills in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): A Source-Based Morphometry and Quantitative Genetic Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 3702-3711 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D Hopkins ◽  
Robert D Latzman ◽  
Mary Catherine Mareno ◽  
Steven J Schapiro ◽  
Aida Gómez-Robles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gray Matter ◽  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Genetic Contributions

Abstract Nonhuman primates, and great apes in particular, possess a variety of cognitive abilities thought to underlie human brain and cognitive evolution, most notably, the manufacture and use of tools. In a relatively large sample (N = 226) of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) for whom pedigrees are well known, the overarching aim of the current study was to investigate the source of heritable variation in brain structure underlying tool use skills. Specifically, using source-based morphometry (SBM), a multivariate analysis of naturally occurring patterns of covariation in gray matter across the brain, we investigated (1) the genetic contributions to variation in SBM components, (2) sex and age effects for each component, and (3) phenotypic and genetic associations between SBM components and tool use skill. Results revealed important sex- and age-related differences across largely heritable SBM components and associations between structural covariation and tool use skill. Further, shared genetic mechanisms appear to account for a heritable link between variation in both the capacity to use tools and variation in morphology of the superior limb of the superior temporal sulcus and adjacent parietal cortex. Findings represent the first evidence of heritability of structural covariation in gray matter among nonhuman primates.

scholarly journals Motor skill for tool-use is associated with asymmetries in Broca’s area and the motor hand area of the precentral gyrus in chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )

2017 ◽  
Vol 318 ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Hopkins ◽  
Adrien Meguerditchian ◽  
Olivier Coulon ◽  
Maria Misiura ◽  
Sarah Pope ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Hand Area

scholarly journals Shifts in morphology, gene expression, and selection underlie web loss in Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory A. Berger ◽  
Michael S. Brewer ◽  
Nobuaki Kono ◽  
Hiroyuki Nakamura ◽  
Kazuharu Arakawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Adaptive Traits ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Silk Production ◽  
Silk Glands ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Web Building

Abstract Background A striking aspect of evolution is that it often converges on similar trajectories. Evolutionary convergence can occur in deep time or over short time scales, and is associated with the imposition of similar selective pressures. Repeated convergent events provide a framework to infer the genetic basis of adaptive traits. The current study examines the genetic basis of secondary web loss within web-building spiders (Araneoidea). Specifically, we use a lineage of spiders in the genus Tetragnatha (Tetragnathidae) that has diverged into two clades associated with the relatively recent (5 mya) colonization of, and subsequent adaptive radiation within, the Hawaiian Islands. One clade has adopted a cursorial lifestyle, and the other has retained the ancestral behavior of capturing prey with sticky orb webs. We explore how these behavioral phenotypes are reflected in the morphology of the spinning apparatus and internal silk glands, and the expression of silk genes. Several sister families to the Tetragnathidae have undergone similar web loss, so we also ask whether convergent patterns of selection can be detected in these lineages. Results The cursorial clade has lost spigots associated with the sticky spiral of the orb web. This appears to have been accompanied by loss of silk glands themselves. We generated phylogenies of silk proteins (spidroins), which showed that the transcriptomes of cursorial Tetragnatha contain all major spidroins except for flagelliform. We also found an uncharacterized spidroin that has higher expression in cursorial species. We found evidence for convergent selection acting on this spidroin, as well as genes involved in protein metabolism, in the cursorial Tetragnatha and divergent cursorial lineages in the families Malkaridae and Mimetidae. Conclusions Our results provide strong evidence that independent web loss events and the associated adoption of a cursorial lifestyle are based on similar genetic mechanisms. Many genes we identified as having evolved convergently are associated with protein synthesis, degradation, and processing, which are processes that play important roles in silk production. This study demonstrates, in the case of independent evolution of web loss, that similar selective pressures act on many of the same genes to produce the same phenotypes and behaviors.

scholarly journals A-079 Hand Preference in Men and Women with Parkinson’s Disease: A Preliminary Investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-871
Author(s):  
Ryan J ◽  
Kreiner D ◽  
Gontkovsky S ◽  
Paolo A
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Objective Research has identified common genetic influences on handedness and neurological/mental health phenotypes. It also has been shown there may be increased risk for development of neurological disorders/diseases among individuals naturally left-handed or demonstrating non-right-hand preference. This investigation examined prevalence of right-handed versus non-right-handed individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) compared to controls. Method Participants were 264 patients with PD (mean age = 69.83 years) and 256 control volunteers (mean age = 71.42 years). Mean Dementia Rating Scale composites for the groups were 123.68 and 136.00, respectively. Participants self-identified their dominant hand for writing and usage was confirmed during the session. Results Proportions of non-right- and right-handed controls (7.0% and 93.0%) versus individuals with PD (6.8% and 93.2%) did not differ. Changes in proportions of non-right- and right-handedness across age ranges were not significant for controls or patients. There was a trend for a larger proportion of women (55.9%) versus men among controls (44.1%), □ 2 (1) = 3.29, p < .10; whereas, the proportion of men (64.4%) with PD was larger than that of women. (35.6%), □ 2 (1) = 21.31, p < .001. For controls and patients, non-right and right handedness gender proportions were similar. Conclusions This study is the first to assess handedness prevalence rates in PD. Results suggest prevalence of non-right handedness is similar in PD and healthy individuals and does not appear to differ markedly by gender or with advancing age. The occurrence of a trend for a larger proportion of women than men among controls is consistent with census-based statistics.

scholarly journals Editorial for Special Issue “Genetic Basis and Epidemiology of Myopathies”

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 2152
Author(s):  
Eleni Peristeri ◽  
Efthimios Dardiotis
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Future Studies

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue on the Genetic Basis and Epidemiology of Myopathies. This Special Issue is collecting papers pertaining to various lines of research focusing on the genetic basis and the epidemiology of myopathies. The Guest Editors’ note combines the contributing authors’ reviews and findings of relevant research, and we hope that future studies on myopathies will attempt to confirm these findings and, additionally, evaluate supplementary phenotypic and histological expressions of myopathies, as well as genetic factors in their pathogenesis.

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