Identity domains in complex behavior: Toward a biology of personality

AbstractPersonality traits offer considerable insight into the biological basis of individual differences. However, existing approaches toward understanding personality across species rely on subjective criteria and limited sets of behavioral readouts, resulting in noisy and often inconsistent outcomes. Here, we introduce a mathematical framework for studying individual differences along dimensions with maximum consistency and discriminative power. We validate this framework in mice, using data from a system for high-throughput longitudinal monitoring of group-housed mice that yields a variety of readouts from all across an individual’s behavioral repertoire. We describe a set of stable traits that capture variability in behavior and gene expression in the brain, allowing for better informed mechanistic investigations into the biology of individual differences.

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Decoding individual differences in STEM learning from functional MRI data

10.31234/osf.io/6ac7f ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua S. Cetron ◽

Andrew C. Connolly ◽

Solomon G. Diamond ◽

Vicki V. May ◽

James V. Haxby ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Conceptual Understanding ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Data Driven ◽

Stem Learning ◽

Concept Knowledge ◽

Wide Range ◽

Concept Inventories ◽

Using Data ◽

The Brain

Traditional tests of concept knowledge generate scores to assess how well a learner understands a concept. Here, we investigated whether patterns of brain activity collected during a concept knowledge task could be used to compute a neural 'score' to complement traditional scores of an individual’s conceptual understanding. Using a novel data-driven multivariate neuroimaging approach—informational network analysis—we successfully derived a neural score from patterns of activity across the brain that predicted individual differences in multiple concept knowledge tasks in the physics and engineering domain. These tasks include an fMRI paradigm, as well as two other previously validated concept inventories. The informational network score outperformed alternative neural scores computed using data-driven neuroimaging methods, including multivariate representational similarity analysis. This technique could be applied to quantify concept knowledge in a wide range of domains, including classroom-based education research, machine learning, and other areas of cognitive science.

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Altered transcription factor binding events predict personalized gene expression and confer insight into functional cis-regulatory variants

10.1101/228155 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Wenqiang Shi ◽

Oriol Fornes ◽

Wyeth W. Wasserman

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Transcription Factor ◽

External Validation ◽

Genetic Studies ◽

Functional Roles ◽

Regulatory Variants ◽

Regulatory Variant ◽

Using Data ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into

AbstractDeciphering the functional roles of cis-regulatory variants is a critical challenge in genome analysis and interpretation. We hypothesize that altered transcription factor (TF) binding events are a central mechanism by which cis-regulatory variants impact gene expression. We present TF2Exp, the first gene-based framework (to our knowledge) to predict the impact of altered TF binding on personalized gene expression based on cis-regulatory variants. Using data from lymphoblastoid cell lines, TF2Exp models achieved suitable performance for 3,060 genes. Alterations within DNase I hypersensitive, CTCF-bound, and tissue-specific TF-bound regions were the greatest contributors to the models. Our cis-regulatory variant-based TF2Exp models performed as well as the state-of-the-art SNP-based models, both in cross-validation and external validation. In addition, unlike SNP-based models, our TF2Exp models have the unique advantages to evaluate impact of uncommon variants and distinguish the functional roles of variants in linkage disequilibrium, showing broader utility for future human genetic studies.

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Self-Reported Sense of Smell Predicts Disgust Sensitivity and Disgust Reactivity

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000263 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 191-195

Author(s):

Nicholas J. Kelley ◽

Adrienne L. Crowell

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Individual Difference ◽

Olfactory Stimulus ◽

Disgust Sensitivity ◽

Sense Of Smell ◽

Olfactory Ability ◽

Good Proxy ◽

Insight Into

Abstract. Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-reported sense of smell (i.e., metacognitive insight into one’s olfactory ability) predicts disgust sensitivity and disgust reactivity. Consistent with our predictions two studies demonstrated that disgust correlates with self-reported sense of smell. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated, from an individual difference perspective, that trait-like differences in disgust relate to self-reported sense of smell. Physical forms of disgust (i.e., sexual and pathogen disgust) drove this association. However, the association between self-reported sense of smell and disgust sensitivity is small, suggesting that it is likely not a good proxy for disgust sensitivity. The results of Study 2 extended this finding by demonstrating that individual differences in self-reported sense of smell influence how individuals react to a disgusting olfactory stimulus. Those who reported having a better sense of smell (or better insight into their olfactory ability) found a disgusting smell significantly more noxious as compared to participants reporting having a poor sense of smell (or poor insight into their olfactory ability). The current findings suggest that a one-item measure of self-reported sense of smell may be an effective tool in disgust research.

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1805-P: Insulin Regulates a Broad Network of Gene Expression in the Brain to Regulated Brain Metabolism and Neurotransmission

Diabetes ◽

10.2337/db19-1805-p ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 68 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 1805-P

Author(s):

WEIKANG CAI ◽

THIAGO M. BATISTA ◽

RUBEN GARCIA MARTIN ◽

ALFRED RAMIREZ ◽

MASAHIRO KONISHI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Brain Metabolism ◽

The Brain

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Nanoparticle-plasma Membrane Interactions: Thermodynamics, Toxicity and Cellular Response

Current Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/0929867325666181112090648 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (20) ◽

pp. 3330-3345

Author(s):

Ana G. Rodríguez-Hernández ◽

Rafael Vazquez-Duhalt ◽

Alejandro Huerta-Saquero

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Cellular Response ◽

Cellular Level ◽

Membrane Interactions ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Cellular Physiology ◽

Associated Proteins ◽

First Contact ◽

Insight Into

Nanomaterials have become part of our daily lives, particularly nanoparticles contained in food, water, cosmetics, additives and textiles. Nanoparticles interact with organisms at the cellular level. The cell membrane is the first protective barrier against the potential toxic effect of nanoparticles. This first contact, including the interaction between the cell membranes -and associated proteins- and the nanoparticles is critically reviewed here. Nanoparticles, depending on their toxicity, can cause cellular physiology alterations, such as a disruption in cell signaling or changes in gene expression and they can trigger immune responses and even apoptosis. Additionally, the fundamental thermodynamics behind the nanoparticle-membrane and nanoparticle-proteins-membrane interactions are discussed. The analysis is intended to increase our insight into the mechanisms involved in these interactions. Finally, consequences are reviewed and discussed.

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Alternative splicing during mammalian organ development

Nature Genetics ◽

10.1038/s41588-021-00851-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pavel V. Mazin ◽

Philipp Khaitovich ◽

Margarida Cardoso-Moreira ◽

Henrik Kaessmann

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Alternative Splicing ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Organ Development ◽

Functional Diversification ◽

Mammalian Genomes ◽

Species Comparisons ◽

Time Specific ◽

The Brain ◽

Gene Expression Levels

AbstractAlternative splicing (AS) is pervasive in mammalian genomes, yet cross-species comparisons have been largely restricted to adult tissues and the functionality of most AS events remains unclear. We assessed AS patterns across pre- and postnatal development of seven organs in six mammals and a bird. Our analyses revealed that developmentally dynamic AS events, which are especially prevalent in the brain, are substantially more conserved than nondynamic ones. Cassette exons with increasing inclusion frequencies during development show the strongest signals of conserved and regulated AS. Newly emerged cassette exons are typically incorporated late in testis development, but those retained during evolution are predominantly brain specific. Our work suggests that an intricate interplay of programs controlling gene expression levels and AS is fundamental to organ development, especially for the brain and heart. In these regulatory networks, AS affords substantial functional diversification of genes through the generation of tissue- and time-specific isoforms from broadly expressed genes.

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Gene Expression and Carcass Traits Are Different between Different Quality Grade Groups in Red-Faced Hereford Steers

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11071910 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1910

Author(s):

Bailey Engle ◽

Molly Masters ◽

Jane Ann Boles ◽

Jennifer Thomson

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Transcriptome Profiling ◽

Fat Deposition ◽

Lower Shear ◽

The Us ◽

Quality Grade ◽

Longissimus Lumborum ◽

Muscle Biochemistry ◽

Marbling Deposition ◽

Insight Into

Fat deposition is important to carcass value and some palatability characteristics. Carcasses with higher USDA quality grades produce more value for producers and processors in the US system and are more likely to have greater eating satisfaction. Using genomics to identify genes impacting marbling deposition provides insight into muscle biochemistry that may lead to ways to better predict fat deposition, especially marbling and thus quality grade. Hereford steers (16) were managed the same from birth through harvest after 270 days on feed. Samples were obtained for tenderness and transcriptome profiling. As expected, steaks from Choice carcasses had a lower shear force value than steaks from Select carcasses; however, steaks from Standard carcasses were not different from steaks from Choice carcasses. A significant number of differentially expressed (DE) genes was observed in the longissimus lumborum between Choice and Standard carcass RNA pools (1257 genes, p < 0.05), but not many DE genes were observed between Choice and Select RNA pools. Exploratory analysis of global muscle tissue transcriptome from Standard and Choice carcasses provided insight into muscle biochemistry, specifically the upregulation of extracellular matrix development and focal adhesion pathways and the downregulation of RNA processing and metabolism in Choice versus Standard. Additional research is needed to explore the function and timing of gene expression changes.

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Individual Uniqueness in the Neonatal Functional Connectome

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhab041 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qiushi Wang ◽

Yuehua Xu ◽

Tengda Zhao ◽

Zhilei Xu ◽

Yong He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Individual Identification ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Functional Connectome ◽

Middle Range ◽

Human Connectome Project ◽

The Individual ◽

And Behavior ◽

Identification Analysis ◽

The Brain

Abstract The functional connectome is highly distinctive in adults and adolescents, underlying individual differences in cognition and behavior. However, it remains unknown whether the individual uniqueness of the functional connectome is present in neonates, who are far from mature. Here, we utilized the multiband resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 40 healthy neonates from the Developing Human Connectome Project and a split-half analysis approach to characterize the uniqueness of the functional connectome in the neonatal brain. Through functional connectome-based individual identification analysis, we found that all the neonates were correctly identified, with the most discriminative regions predominantly confined to the higher-order cortices (e.g., prefrontal and parietal regions). The connectivities with the highest contributions to individual uniqueness were primarily located between different functional systems, and the short- (0–30 mm) and middle-range (30–60 mm) connectivities were more distinctive than the long-range (>60 mm) connectivities. Interestingly, we found that functional data with a scanning length longer than 3.5 min were able to capture the individual uniqueness in the functional connectome. Our results highlight that individual uniqueness is present in the functional connectome of neonates and provide insights into the brain mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognition and behavior later in life.

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Estimation of the Actual Incidence of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Emergent Hotspots: The Example of Hokkaido, Japan during February–March 2020

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10112392 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2392

Author(s):

Andrei R. Akhmetzhanov ◽

Kenji Mizumoto ◽

Sung-Mok Jung ◽

Natalie M. Linton ◽

Ryosuke Omori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cumulative Incidence ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Actual Number ◽

Public Health Response ◽

The Public ◽

Health Response ◽

Using Data ◽

Insight Into ◽

Actual Incidence

Following the first report of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Sapporo city, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, on 14 February 2020, a surge of cases was observed in Hokkaido during February and March. As of 6 March, 90 cases were diagnosed in Hokkaido. Unfortunately, many infected persons may not have been recognized due to having mild or no symptoms during the initial months of the outbreak. We therefore aimed to predict the actual number of COVID-19 cases in (i) Hokkaido Prefecture and (ii) Sapporo city using data on cases diagnosed outside these areas. Two statistical frameworks involving a balance equation and an extrapolated linear regression model with a negative binomial link were used for deriving both estimates, respectively. The estimated cumulative incidence in Hokkaido as of 27 February was 2,297 cases (95% confidence interval (CI): 382–7091) based on data on travelers outbound from Hokkaido. The cumulative incidence in Sapporo city as of 28 February was estimated at 2233 cases (95% CI: 0–4893) based on the count of confirmed cases within Hokkaido. Both approaches resulted in similar estimates, indicating a higher incidence of infections in Hokkaido than were detected by the surveillance system. This quantification of the gap between detected and estimated cases helped to inform the public health response at the beginning of the pandemic and provided insight into the possible scope of undetected transmission for future assessments.

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LSD1 enzyme inhibitor TAK-418 unlocks aberrant epigenetic machinery and improves autism symptoms in neurodevelopmental disorder models

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aba1187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (11) ◽

pp. eaba1187

Author(s):

Rina Baba ◽

Satoru Matsuda ◽

Yuuichi Arakawa ◽

Ryuji Yamada ◽

Noriko Suzuki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Enzyme Activity ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽

Specific Inhibitor ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Poly I:C ◽

Control Of Gene Expression ◽

Epigenetic Machinery ◽

The Brain

Persistent epigenetic dysregulation may underlie the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we show that the inhibition of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) enzyme activity normalizes aberrant epigenetic control of gene expression in neurodevelopmental disorders. Maternal exposure to valproate or poly I:C caused sustained dysregulation of gene expression in the brain and ASD-like social and cognitive deficits after birth in rodents. Unexpectedly, a specific inhibitor of LSD1 enzyme activity, 5-((1R,2R)-2-((cyclopropylmethyl)amino)cyclopropyl)-N-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)thiophene-3-carboxamide hydrochloride (TAK-418), almost completely normalized the dysregulated gene expression in the brain and ameliorated some ASD-like behaviors in these models. The genes modulated by TAK-418 were almost completely different across the models and their ages. These results suggest that LSD1 enzyme activity may stabilize the aberrant epigenetic machinery in neurodevelopmental disorders, and the inhibition of LSD1 enzyme activity may be the master key to recover gene expression homeostasis. TAK-418 may benefit patients with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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