No.125 Seminar ： Developmental behavioral genetics on personality traits and psychopathology
- Yusuke Takahashi(The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research)
- 2017/02/07 4:30pm
- The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research (Research Administration Building 1F)
- Japanese(This seminar is open for students and researchers at Kyoto Univ.)
Summary
Human behavioral genetics is the methodology that allows us to examine the genetic and environmental influences statistically separately, just using observational data from questionnaire surveys and behavioral experiments collected from twin samples. Human behavioral genetic research relies on different levels of genetic relatedness between monozygotic twin pairs who are genetically identical and dizygotic twin pairs who share an average of 50% of their genetic material. An academic discipline of human behavioral genetics might be unfamiliar in Japan, but this is the only methodology that can overcome confounding in the genetic and environmental influences behind the survey and behavioral data. In this seminar talk, three basic analytical methods (i.e., univariate genetic analysis, multivariate genetic analysis, and gene by environment interaction analysis) in the human behavioral genetic research could be introduced, and especially I will talk on the genetic and environmental influences in individual differences in personality traits and psychopathology (e.g., depression and anxiety). Finally, I would like to discuss future directions, challenges, limitations, and the possibility of future collaborations on my research projects.