9 research outputs found
A Genetic Basis for Mechanosensory Traits in Humans
Hearing and touch are genetically related, and people with excellent hearing are more likely to have a fine sense of touch and vice versa
Cross-correlations between the investigated sensory traits.
<p>Three different types of intramodal and intermodal correlations were distinguished (A). Three mechanosensory and one non-mechanosensory intermodal correlation were detected (B). <sup>ns</sup>, not significant; * <i>p</i><0.05; ** <i>p</i><0.01; *** <i>p</i><0.001. False discovery rates for <i>p</i> value cutoff at 0.05 for (1) intramodal correlations: 0.004, (2) mechanosensory intermodal correlations: 0.14, and (3) non-mechanosensory intermodal correlations: 0.83. Values were corrected for age before analysis.</p
Cross-twin correlations and heritability estimates of hearing traits.
<p>For all three hearing traits—pure tone thresholds (A), otoacoustic emission reproducibility (B), and otoacoustic emission strength (C)—cross-twin correlations were higher in MZ than in DZ twins, and very high heritability values could be estimated. <i>r</i>, intra-class correlation; <i>h<sup>2</sup></i>, heritability estimate; 95% confidence interval in brackets; AE, preferred model used to estimate heritability.</p
Cross-twin correlations and heritability estimates of touch sensitivity traits.
<p>For both vibration detection threshold (A) and tactile acuity (B) cross-twin correlations were higher in monozygotic (MZ) than in dizygotic (DZ) twins and significant heritability values could be estimated. <i>r</i>, intra-class correlation; <i>h<sup>2</sup></i>, heritability estimate; 95% confidence interval in brackets; AE, preferred model used to estimate heritability.</p
Cross-twin correlations and heritability estimates of baroreflex traits.
<p>For both baroreflex traits—baroreflex sequence slope (A) and baroreflex sequence frequency (B)—the cross-twin correlations were higher in MZ than in DZ twins. Significant heritability estimates could be calculated. <i>r</i>, intra-class correlation; <i>h<sup>2</sup></i>, heritability estimate; 95% confidence interval in brackets; AE, preferred model used to estimate heritability.</p
Touch sensitivity in a cohort of Braille reading blind people.
<p>The vibration detection threshold was not different in comparison to a control cohort, but the tactile acuity was significantly higher in the blind cohort. *** <i>p</i><0.001; <i>t</i> test.</p
Touch sensitivity in different cohorts of people suffering from the Usher syndrome.
<p>The mean tactile acuity and vibration detection thresholds were elevated in the group of people carrying pathogenic mutations in the gene USH2A (A, B) but not in a cohort of Usher syndrome type II patients with unknown genotype where tactile acuity thresholds were lower than in the control cohort (D), and vibration detection thresholds were not significantly different (C). <sup>ns</sup>, not significant; * <i>p</i><0.05 Student's <i>t</i> test.</p
Summary of psychophysical and physiological tests carried out in different cohorts.
<p>Summary of psychophysical and physiological tests carried out in different cohorts.</p
Cross-twin correlations and heritability estimates (where applicable) of temperature sensitivity traits.
<p>For all traits except the cold pain threshold, the cross-twin correlations were higher in MZ than in DZ twins. Significant heritability estimates could be calculated for cold (A) and warmth (B) detection thresholds, whereas for the heat (C) and cold (D) pain thresholds, the CE model, not containing a heritable component, was preferred. <i>r</i>, intra-class correlation; <i>h<sup>2</sup></i>, heritability estimate; 95% confidence interval in brackets; AE/CE, preferred model used to estimate heritability.</p