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Title
Widespread Evidence for Non-Additive Genetic Variation in Cloninger's and Eysenck's Personality Dimensions Using a Twin Plus Sibling Design
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008:
Author(s)
Publication Date
2005
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008
Abstract
Studies using the classical twin design often conclude that most genetic variation underlying personality is additive in nature. However, studies analyzing only twins are very limited in their ability to detect non-additive genetic variation and are unable to detect sources of variation unique to twins, which can mask non-additive genetic variation. The current study assessed 9672 MZ and DZ twin individuals and 3241 of their siblings to investigate the environmental and genetic architecture underlying eight dimensions of personality: four from Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire and four from Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory. Broad-sense heritability estimates from best-fitting models were two to three times greater than the narrow-sense heritability estimates for Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence, Persistence, Extraversion, and Neuroticism. This genetic non-additivity could be due to dominance, additive-by-additive epistasis, or to additive genetic effects combined with higher-order epistasis. Environmental effects unique to twins were detected for both Lie and Psychoticism but accounted for little overall variation. Our results illustrate the increased sensitivity afforded by extending the classical twin design to include siblings, and may provide clues to the evolutionary origins of genetic variation underlying personality.
Publication Type
Journal Article
Source of Publication
Behavior Genetics, 35(6), p. 707-721
Publisher
Springer New York LLC
Place of Publication
United States of America
ISSN
1573-3297
0001-8244
Peer Reviewed
Yes
HERDC Category Description
Peer Reviewed
Yes
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