Meta-analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies for Extraversion: Findings from the Genetics of Personality Consortium

Extraversion is a relatively stable and heritable personality trait associated with numerous psychosocial, lifestyle and health outcomes. Despite its substantial heritability, no genetic variants have been detected in previous genome-wide association (GWA) studies, which may be due to relatively small sample sizes of those studies. Here, we report on a large meta-analysis of GWA studies for extraversion in 63,030 subjects in 29 cohorts. Extraversion item data from multiple personality inventories were harmonized across inventories and cohorts. No genome-wide significant associations were found at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level but there was one significant hit at the gene level for a long non-coding RNA site (LOC101928162). Genome-wide complex trait analysis in two large cohorts showed that the additive variance explained by common SNPs was not significantly different from zero, but polygenic risk scores, weighted using linkage information, significantly predicted extraversion scores in an independent cohort. These results show that extraversion is a highly polygenic personality trait, with an architecture possibly different from other complex human traits, including other personality traits. Future studies are required to further determine which genetic variants, by what modes of gene action, constitute the heritable nature of extraversion

Physiological Correlates of Volunteering

We review research on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising research field. Some of these correlates seem to be causal factors influencing volunteering. Volunteers tend to have better physical health, both self-reported and expert-assessed, better mental health, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has rarely examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic correlates of volunteering to any significant extent, especially controlling for other factors as potential confounds. Evolutionary theory and behavioral genetic research suggest the importance of such physiological factors in humans. Basically, many aspects of social relationships and social activities have effects on health (e.g., Newman and Roberts 2013; Uchino 2004), as the widely used biopsychosocial (BPS) model suggests (Institute of Medicine 2001). Studies of formal volunteering (FV), charitable giving, and altruistic behavior suggest that physiological characteristics are related to volunteering, including specific genes (such as oxytocin receptor [OXTR] genes, Arginine vasopressin receptor [AVPR] genes, dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4] genes, and 5-HTTLPR). We recommend that future research on physiological factors be extended to non-Western populations, focusing specifically on volunteering, and differentiating between different forms and types of volunteering and civic participation

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for extraversion:Findings from the Genetics of Personality Consortium

Extraversion is a relatively stable and heritable personality trait associated with numerous psychosocial, lifestyle and health outcomes. Despite its substantial heritability, no genetic variants have been detected in previous genome-wide association (GWA) studies, which may be due to relatively small sample sizes of those studies. Here, we report on a large meta-analysis of GWA studies for extraversion in 63,030 subjects in 29 cohorts. Extraversion item data from multiple personality inventories were harmonized across inventories and cohorts. No genome-wide significant associations were found at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level but there was one significant hit at the gene level for a long non-coding RNA site (LOC101928162). Genome-wide complex trait analysis in two large cohorts showed that the additive variance explained by common SNPs was not significantly different from zero, but polygenic risk scores, weighted using linkage information, significantly predicted extraversion scores in an independent cohort. These results show that extraversion is a highly polygenic personality trait, with an architecture possibly different from other complex human traits, including other personality traits. Future studies are required to further determine which genetic variants, by what modes of gene action, constitute the heritable nature of extraversion

Data from: Impacts of genetic correlation on the independent evolution of body mass and skeletal size in mammals

Mammals show a predictable scaling relationship between limb bone size and body mass. This relationship has a genetic basis which likely evolved via natural selection but it is unclear how much the genetic correlation between these traits in turn impacts their capacity to evolve independently. We selectively bred laboratory mice for increases in tibia length independent of body mass to test the hypothesis that a genetic correlation with body mass constrains evolutionary change in tibia length. Over 14 generations we produced mean tibia length increases of 11-12% while mean body mass was unchanged in selectively bred mice and random-bred controls. Using evolutionary scenarios with different selection and quantitative genetic parameters we also found that this genetic correlation impedes the rate of evolutionary change in both traits slowing increases in tibia length while preventing decreases in body mass despite the latter's negative effect on fitness. Overall results from this ongoing selection experiment suggest that parallel evolution of relatively longer hind limbs among rodents for example in the context of strong competition for resources and niche partitioning in heterogeneous environments may have occurred very rapidly on geological timescales in spite of the genetic correlation between tibia length and body mass

Marchini et al 2014 BMC EvolBio - Coevolution tibia length and body mass dataset

Data file of artificial selection containing all mice measured from generations F01-F14. Measurements include body mass, tibia length, age at measurement and litter size. Pedigree information is also provide

アジア各国・地域 経済統計

Damage to and loss of glomerular podocytes has been identified as the culprit lesion in progressive kidney diseases. Here, we combine mass spectrometry-based proteomics with mRNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and hypothesis-driven studies to provide a comprehensive and quantitative map of mammalian podocytes that identifies unanticipated signaling pathways. Comparison of the in vivo datasets with proteomics data from podocyte cell cultures showed a limited value of available cell culture models. Moreover, in vivo stable isotope labeling by amino acids uncovered surprisingly rapid synthesis of mitochondrial proteins under steady-state conditions that was perturbed under autophagy-deficient, disease-susceptible conditions. Integration of acquired omics dimensions suggested FARP1 as a candidate essential for podocyte function, which could be substantiated by genetic analysis in humans and knock-down experiments in zebrafish. This work exemplifies how the integration of multi-omics datasets can identify a framework of cell-type-specific features relevant for organ health and disease

Focus groups and critical social IS research: How the choice of method can promote emancipation of respondents and researchers.

Critical social research in information systems has been gaining prominence for some time and is increasingly viewed as a valid research approach. One problem with the critical tradition is a lack of empirical research. A contributing factor to this gap in the literature is the lack of agreement on what constitutes appropriate methodologies for critical research. The present paper contributes to this debate by exploring the role that focus group research can play in the critical approach. This paper outlines the main characteristics of critical research with an emphasis on its emancipatory faculties. It then reviews the focus group method from the perspective of critical approach and provides a critical account of two research projects that used focus groups as a method of data collection. The paper presents the argument that focus groups, if designed and executed in light of a critical approach, can contribute to the emancipation of researchers and respondents. This argument is built upon the critical theories of the two most influential theorists in critical social information systems research, namely Ju¨rgen Habermas and Michel Foucault. Critically oriented focus groups have the potential to improve communication and move real discourses closer to Habermas’s ideal speech situation. At the same time, they can contribute to challenging the prevailing orthodoxy and thereby overcome established regimes of truth in the Foucauldian tradition. The paper ends by developing a set of guiding questions that provide a means for researchers to ensure that the emancipatory potential of focus group research can be achieved