Inherited and Environmental Moderators of Mother-Child Behavioral Contingency and Contingent Negativity at 27 Months

Previous research has shown that as depressive symptomology increases, mothers tend to show withdrawn or harsh interaction patterns with their children, and the quality of these interaction patterns have subsequently been linked to child behavior problems. However, little research has examined bidirectional influences between mothers and their children, and how these moment-to-moment contingencies differ based on heritable and environmental characteristics. We used data from the Early Growth and Development Study a prospective adoption study to examine how adoptive mothers’ depressive symptoms and children’s heritable tendencies for negative affectivity interact to predict the quality of mother-child interactions at child age 27-months. Results detected two distinct dyadic interaction patterns. The first was a withdrawn interaction style and was observed in children with a high heritable tendency for negative affect. In that style, mother and child interactions were not contingent upon each other, suggesting a lack of joint engagement. The second was a volatile interaction style, observed in children with a low heritable tendency for negative affect. In these cases, mother and child interactions were highly contingent but negative. Our findings demonstrate essential differences in how dyadic interaction patterns vary according to level of depressive symptomology and heritable tendency for negative affect.     

Hyperactivity in Children: A Focus on Genetic Research and Psychological Theories

Hyperactivity has attracted a large amount of research interest in recent years. Here we review developments in genetic research and in research testing psychological theories of the condition. Family, adoptee and twin studies indicate a strong role for genetic factors in the etiology of hyperactivity. Evidence is emerging also from molecular genetic studies, implicating specific genes that may be involved. At the level of cognitive functioning, a divided, focused or sustained attention deficit does not seem to be a core deficit in hyperactivity. Although children with hyperactivity often perform poorly on certain executive function tasks, there is disagreement about the interpretation of these findings. The association reported in some studies between a slow inhibitory process and hyperactivity may reflect a generally slow, variable in speed and inaccurate pattern of responding. Hypotheses about psychological mechanisms such as state regulation or delay aversion provide alternative, and particularly encouraging, interpretations of the findings. We discuss the possible integration of the two lines of research—those of genetic research and research on psychological mechanisms.     

Differential acquisition of lever pressing in inbred and outbred mice: comparison of one-lever and two-lever procedures and correlation with differences in locomotor activity

Recent progress in mouse genetics has led to an increased interest in developing procedures for assessing mouse behavior, but relatively few of the behavioral procedures developed involve positively reinforced operant behavior. When operant methods are used, nose poking, not lever pressing, is the target response. In the current study differential acquisition of milk-reinforced lever pressing was observed in five inbred strains (C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, 129X1/SvJ, C3H/HeJ, and BALB/cJ) and one outbred stock (CD-1) of mice. Regardless of whether one or two levers (an "operative" and "inoperative" lever) were in the operant chamber, a concomitant variable-time fixed-ratio schedule of milk reinforcement established lever pressing in the majority of mice within two 120-min sessions. Substantial differences in lever pressing were observed across mice and between procedures. Adding an inoperative lever retarded acquisition in C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, 129X1/SvJ, and C3H/HeJ mice, but not in CD-1 and BALB/cJ mice. Locomotor activity was positively correlated with number of lever presses in both procedures. Analyses of durations of the subcomponents (e.g., time to move from hopper to lever) of operant behavior revealed further differences among the six types of mice. Together, the data suggest that appetitively reinforced lever pressing can be acquired rapidly in mice and that a combination of procedural, behavioral, and genetic variables contributes to this acquisition.     

The Nature and Significance of Behavioural Genetic Information

In light of the human genome project, establishing the genetic aetiology of complex human diseases has become a research priority within Western medicine. However, in addition to the identification of disease genes, numerous research projects are also being undertaken to identify genes contributing to the development of human behavioural characteristics, such as cognitive ability and criminal tendency. The permissibility of this research is obviously controversial: will society benefit from this research, or will it adversely affect our conceptions of ourselves and each other? When assessing the permissibility of this research, it is important to consider the nature and deterministic significance of behavioural genetic information. Whilst todate there has been much discussion and debate about the properties of genetic information per se and genetic determinism, this has not been applied to behavioural genetic research and its ethical implications. Therefore, this paper elucidates how behavioural genetic information can be distinguished from other types of genetic and non-genetic information and also synthesises the determinative significance of genetic factors for the development of human behavioural traits. Undertaking this analysis enables the ethical issues raised by this research to be debated in an appropriate context and indicates that separate policy considerations are warranted.

     

Metaphors in behavioral genetics

Behavioral geneticists sometimes use metaphorsto describe the role of genes in humanbehavior. In this paper, five sample texts areanalyzed: a popular book, a textbook, ascientific review article, and two originalscientific articles representing differentapproaches in behavioral genetics. Metaphorsare found in all the different kinds of sampletexts, not only in the popular book and thetextbook. This suggests that metaphors are usednot only for rhetorical or pedagogical purposesbut play a more fundamental role in scientificunderstanding. In the sample texts, themetaphors tend to be antideterministic, i.e.,they do not imply genetic determinism butstress the interaction of multiple genes andmultiple environmental factors. No conclusioncan be drawn, however, as to whetherantideterminism is representative ofpresent-day behavioral geneticists in general.Certain historically important metaphors thatmay imply genetic determinism are qualified,avoided, or explicitly rejected. There aretensions between some of the metaphors, makingthem difficult to combine. All the metaphorsthat are used appear empirically apt, howeversometimes only with certain qualifications.     

Molecular geneticists and moral responsibility: “maybe if we were working on the atom bomb I would have a different argument”

Senior molecular geneticists were interviewed about their perceptions of the ethical and social implications of genetic knowledge. Inductive analysis of these interviews identified a number of strategies through which the scientists negotiated their moral responsibilities as they participated in generating knowledge that presents difficult ethical questions. These strategies included: further analysis and application of scientific method; clarification of multiple roles; negotiation with the public through public debate, institutional processes of funding, ethics committees and legislation; and personal responsibility.     

Is variability in mate choice similar for intelligence and personality traits? Testing a hypothesis about the evolutionary genetics of personality

This study tests the hypothesis presented by Penke, Denissen, and Miller (2007a) that condition-dependent traits, including intelligence, attractiveness, and health, are universally and uniformly preferred as characteristics in a mate relative to traits that are less indicative of condition, including personality traits. We analyzed between-culture mean standard deviations of preference ratings and rankings provided by nearly 10,000 people in 37 cultures for 18 characteristics in a potential mate. Contrary to the hypothesis, preferences for traits indicating agreeableness and conscientiousness were not more variable than preferences for intelligence, and preferences for traits indicating low neuroticism were more uniform than preferences for intelligence. Discussion addresses implications of these results for hypotheses about the evolutionary genetics of intelligence and personality.     

Human values: Genetic and environmental effects on five lexically derived domains and their facets

Whereas a substantial genetic component of Conservatism and Religiosity is well documented, there is little evidence with respect to the behavior genetics of other aspects of human values. A sample of 157 monozygotic and 74 dizygotic twins reared together received the Austrian Value Questionnaire (AVQ), which measures a broad variety of value domains and their facets, found by the lexical approach in the German language. Family resemblance of Intellectualism, Harmony, Materialism, and Conservatism was best explained by additive or dominance genetic and non-shared environmental effects, whereas the influence of the environment shared by twins was negligible. In contrast, Religiosity was transmitted by additive genetic, shared and non-shared environmental influences. At the level of facets, the Intellectualism and Harmony showed a homogenous etiology while Religiosity, Materialism, and Conservatism were etiologically heterogeneous.     

直肠间质瘤致下消化道大出血1例报告

胃肠道间质瘤是一种发生于消化道的少见的间叶肿瘤,直肠间质瘤更为罕见,在直肠肿瘤中的发生率0．1％以下。直肠问质瘤的临床表现无特异性,与其他直肠肿瘤相似,随肿瘤逐渐增大可表现为排便习惯改变、便血、排便困难等。临床确定诊断困难。手术治疗是能够治愈直肠问质瘤的唯一方法。格列卫作为一线化疗药物对术前降期及改善预后都有良好疗效。本例患者因下消化道大出血入院,肿瘤近肛缘,术中病理考虑为直肠闻质瘤,完整切除肿瘤后行保肛术。术后应用格列卫,随诊3个月无复发、转移。     

What kind of kind is intelligence?

The model of human intelligence that is most widely adopted derives from psychometrics and behavioral genetics. This standard approach conceives intelligence as a general cognitive ability that is genetically highly heritable and describable using quantitative traits analysis. The paper analyzes intelligence within the debate on natural kinds and contends that the general intelligence conceptualization does not carve psychological nature at its joints. Moreover, I argue that this model assumes an essentialist perspective. As an alternative, I consider an HPC theory of intelligence and evaluate how it deals with essentialism and with intuitions coming from cognitive science. Finally, I highlight some concerns about the HPC model as well, and conclude by suggesting that it is unnecessary to treat intelligence as a kind in any sense.