Evidence of a prominent genetic basis for associations between psychoneurometric traits and common mental disorders. Int J Psychophysiol 2017 May;115:4-12
Date
09/28/2016Pubmed ID
27671504Pubmed Central ID
PMC5364073DOI
10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.09.011Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85000580229 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 35 CitationsAbstract
Threat sensitivity (THT) and weak inhibitory control (or disinhibition; DIS) are trait constructs that relate to multiple types of psychopathology and can be assessed psychoneurometrically (i.e., using self-report and physiological indicators combined). However, to establish that psychoneurometric assessments of THT and DIS index biologically-based liabilities, it is important to clarify the etiologic bases of these variables and their associations with clinical problems. The current work addressed this important issue using data from a sample of identical and fraternal adult twins (N=454). THT was quantified using a scale measure and three physiological indicators of emotional reactivity to visual aversive stimuli. DIS was operationalized using scores on two scale measures combined with two brain indicators from cognitive processing tasks. THT and DIS operationalized in these ways both showed appreciable heritability (0.45, 0.68), and genetic variance in these traits accounted for most of their phenotypic associations with fear, distress, and substance use disorder symptoms. Our findings suggest that, as indices of basic dispositional liabilities for multiple forms of psychopathology with direct links to neurophysiology, psychoneurometric assessments of THT and DIS represent novel and important targets for biologically-oriented research on psychopathology.
Author List
Venables NC, Hicks BM, Yancey JR, Kramer MD, Nelson LD, Strickland CM, Krueger RF, Iacono WG, Patrick CJAuthor
Lindsay D. Nelson PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ElectroencephalographyElectromyography
Fear
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Neuropsychological Tests
Phenotype
Photic Stimulation
Psychometrics
Regression Analysis
Self Report
Twins, Dizygotic
Twins, Monozygotic
