Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences.

M McGue; T J Bouchard

doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.1

Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 9530489

Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences.

M McGue·T J Bouchard

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Human behavioral genetic research aimed at characterizing the existence and nature of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in cognitive ability, personality and interests, and psychopathology is reviewed. Twin and adoption studies indicate that most behavioral characteristics are heritable. Nonetheless, efforts to identify the genes influencing behavior have produced a limited number of confirmed linkages or associations. Behavioral genetic research also documents the importance of environmental factors, but contrary to the expectations of many behavioral scientists, the relevant environmental factors appear to be those that are not shared by reared together relatives. The observation of genotype-environment correlational processes and the hypothesized existence of genotype-environment interaction effects serve to distinguish behavioral traits from the medical and physiological phenotypes studied by human geneticists. Behavioral genetic research supports the heritability, not the genetic determination, of behavior.

Explore related subjects

Behavior Humans Mental Disorders Phenotype Social Environment Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.Review

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

M McGue, T J Bouchard. 1998. Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences.. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.1

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2025

The inversion In(2L)t impacts complex, environmentally sensitive behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic variation in behavioral traits allows organisms to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. Genetic variation in behavior is often affected by many genes and thus has a complex genetic basis. Inversions, the reorientation of genes along the chromosome, tightly link genetic variants together because they suppress recombination. Therefore, inversions are believed to have a major impact on phenotypic variation because they combine the effects of multiple genes, which can pleiotropically alter multiple aspects of behavior. This study investigates how the inversion In(2L)t, found in Drosophila melanogaster populations around the world, impacts different aspects of behavior in an environment-sensitive manner. We test the activity, foraging, and startle-induced behavior of flies with different In(2L)t genotypes across sex and temperatures. We observe that Drosophila homozygous for In(2L)t sleep less frequently, spend more time away from a food source, and have a longer duration of startle response. Additionally, the impacts of In(2L)t on aspects of behavior can be sex-specific and are largely consistent across temperatures. Taken together, our research demonstrates that inversions can regulate aspects of behavior, and suggests hypotheses explaining the distribution of In(2L)t across space and time.

Behavior↗

PubMed2007

Gene-environment interdependence.

Behavioural genetics was initially concerned with partitioning population variance into that due to genetics and that due to environmental influences. The implication was that the two were separate and it was assumed that gene-environment interactions were usually of so little importance that they could safely be ignored. Theoretical considerations suggested that that was unlikely to be true and empirical findings are now accumulating on the demonstrated and replicated biological interactions between identified common single genetic variants and the operation of environmentally mediated risks. The paper outlines the evidence and considers why it is changing concepts in ways that matter.

Behavior↗

PubMed2007

Endless minds most beautiful.

The marriage of evolution and development to produce the new discipline 'evo-devo' in biology is situated in the general history of evolutionary biology, and its significance for developmental cognitive science is discussed. The discovery and description of the highly conserved, robust and 'evolvable' mechanisms that organize the vertebrate body plan and fundamental physiology have direct implications for what we should investigate in the evolution of behavior and cognition.

Behavior↗