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Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Jan 2017Executive functions (EFs) are high-level cognitive processes, often associated with the frontal lobes, that control lower level processes in the service of goal-directed... (Review)
Review
Executive functions (EFs) are high-level cognitive processes, often associated with the frontal lobes, that control lower level processes in the service of goal-directed behavior. They include abilities such as response inhibition, interference control, working memory updating, and set shifting. EFs show a general pattern of shared but distinct functions, a pattern described as "unity and diversity". We review studies of EF unity and diversity at the behavioral and genetic levels, focusing on studies of normal individual differences and what they reveal about the functional organization of these cognitive abilities. In particular, we review evidence that across multiple ages and populations, commonly studied EFs (a) are robustly correlated but separable when measured with latent variables; (b) are not the same as general intelligence or g; (c) are highly heritable at the latent level and seemingly also highly polygenic; and (d) activate both common and specific neural areas and can be linked to individual differences in neural activation, volume, and connectivity. We highlight how considering individual differences at the behavioral and neural levels can add considerable insight to the investigation of the functional organization of the brain, and conclude with some key points about individual differences to consider when interpreting neuropsychological patterns of dissociation.
Topics: Brain; Cognition; Executive Function; Humans; Individuality; Memory, Short-Term; Neuropsychological Tests
PubMed: 27251123
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.023 -
Genetics Oct 2020' behavioral states, like those of other animals, are shaped by its immediate environment, its past experiences, and by internal factors. We here review the literature... (Review)
Review
' behavioral states, like those of other animals, are shaped by its immediate environment, its past experiences, and by internal factors. We here review the literature on behavioral states and their regulation. We discuss dwelling and roaming, local and global search, mate finding, sleep, and the interaction between internal metabolic states and behavior.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Caenorhabditis elegans; Energy Metabolism; Genetics, Behavioral; Sleep
PubMed: 33023930
DOI: 10.1534/genetics.120.303539 -
Neuron Feb 2024Daniel Kronauer explores the behavioral genetics and neurobiology of ants, tracing their evolution from solitary ancestors to supremely social insects. In this interview...
Daniel Kronauer explores the behavioral genetics and neurobiology of ants, tracing their evolution from solitary ancestors to supremely social insects. In this interview with Neuron, he discusses his lab's efforts to develop a new ant model species and describes how his passion for natural history inspires his research.
Topics: Animals; Phylogeny; Ants; Insecta; Neurobiology
PubMed: 38330899
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.010 -
Journal of Neurogenetics 2019
Topics: Genetics, Behavioral; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Japan
PubMed: 31142179
DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2019.1616720 -
Twin Research and Human Genetics : the... Apr 2020Nick Martin was a doctoral student of mine at the University of Birmingham in the mid 1970s. In this review, I discuss two of Nick's earliest and most seminal... (Review)
Review
Nick Martin was a doctoral student of mine at the University of Birmingham in the mid 1970s. In this review, I discuss two of Nick's earliest and most seminal contributions to the field of behavior genetics. First, Martin and Eaves' (1977) extension of the model-fitting approach to multivariate data, which laid the theoretical groundwork for a generation of multivariate behavior genetic studies. Second, the Martin et al.'s (1978) manuscript on the power of the classical twin design, which showed that thousands of twin pairs would be required in order to reliably estimate components of variance, and has served as impetus for the formation of large-scale twin registries across the world. I discuss these contributions against the historical backdrop of a time when we and others were struggling with the challenge of figuring out how to incorporate gene-by-environment interaction, gene-environment correlation, mate selection and cultural transmission into more complex genetic models of human behavior.
Topics: Genetics, Behavioral; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Human Genetics; Humans; Models, Genetic; Twin Studies as Topic; Twins
PubMed: 32638691
DOI: 10.1017/thg.2020.27 -
The Hastings Center Report 2015The fundamental reason that the genetics of behavior has remained so controversial for so long is that the layer of theory between data and their interpretation is...
The fundamental reason that the genetics of behavior has remained so controversial for so long is that the layer of theory between data and their interpretation is thicker and more opaque than in more established areas of science. The finding that variations in tiny snippets of DNA have small but detectable relations to variation in behavior surprises no one, at least no one who was paying attention to the twin studies. How such snippets of DNA are related to differences in behavior-known as the gene-to-behavior pathway-is the great theoretical problem of modern behavioral genetics. Given that intentional human breeding is a horrific prospect, what kind of technology might we want (or fear) out of human behavioral genetics? One possibility is a technology that could predict important behavioral characteristics of humans based on their genomes alone. A moment's thought suggests significant benefits and risks that might be associated with such a possibility, but for the moment, just consider how convincing it would be if on the day of a baby's birth we could make meaningful predictions about whether he or she would become a concert pianist or an alcoholic. This article will consider where we are right now as regards that possibility, using human height and intelligence as the primary examples.
Topics: Gene-Environment Interaction; Genetic Research; Genetic Variation; Genetics, Behavioral; Genome, Human; Humans; Intelligence; Intelligence Tests; Phenotype; Predictive Value of Tests; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Time Factors
PubMed: 26413946
DOI: 10.1002/hast.496 -
PLoS Genetics Feb 2019
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Genetics, Behavioral; Humans; Male; Neurosciences; Research Design
PubMed: 30817793
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008014 -
Twin Research and Human Genetics : the... Dec 2019The first twin study in Serbia began in 2011 as a part of the research project, 'Psychological Foundations of Mental Health: Hereditary and Environmental Factors'. At...
The first twin study in Serbia began in 2011 as a part of the research project, 'Psychological Foundations of Mental Health: Hereditary and Environmental Factors'. At the same time, the research team from the Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad established the first Serbian twin registry. The registry is intended primarily for the purpose of the research in behavioral genetics, as well as potential future studies in human genetics. It includes information on 1658 volunteers, including twin-pairs, their parent and siblings. The behavioral genetic study of adult twins has been focused on the hereditary and environmental sources of variance of different psychological characteristics, such as personality traits, cognitive abilities, executive functions and aggression, as well as some anthropometric measures and aspects of mental and physical health. Certain molecular genetic analyses have also been performed. The research team is currently starting the longitudinal twin study of children, which will be focused on different indicators of emotional, cognitive and physical development.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Diseases in Twins; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Genetics, Behavioral; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Personality; Registries; Serbia; Siblings; Twins, Dizygotic; Twins, Monozygotic; Young Adult
PubMed: 31875804
DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.114 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Sep 2022The 29 commentaries amplified our key arguments; offered extensions, implications, and applications of the framework; and pushed back and clarified. To help forge the...
The 29 commentaries amplified our key arguments; offered extensions, implications, and applications of the framework; and pushed back and clarified. To help forge the path forward for cultural evolutionary behavioral genetics, we (1) focus on conceptual disagreements and misconceptions about the concepts of heritability and culture; (2) further discuss points raised about the intertwined relationship between culture and genes; and (3) address extensions to the proposed framework, particularly as it relates to cultural clusters, development, and power. These commentaries, and the deep engagement they represent, reinforce the importance of integrating cultural evolution and behavioral genetics.
Topics: Biological Evolution; Cultural Evolution; Genetics, Behavioral; Humans
PubMed: 36098400
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X22000036 -
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences Apr 2015We describe the scientific enterprise at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics-a field that could be termed -and how modern genetic data is...
We describe the scientific enterprise at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics-a field that could be termed -and how modern genetic data is revolutionizing our ability to test questions in this field. We first explain how genetically informative data and designs can be used to investigate questions about the evolution of human behavior, and describe some of the findings arising from these approaches. Second, we explain how evolutionary theory can be applied to the investigation of behavioral genetic variation. We give examples of how new data and methods provide insight into the genetic architecture of behavioral variation and what this tells us about the evolutionary processes that acted on the underlying causal genetic variants.
PubMed: 25587556
DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.09.005