For those of you interested in genetic contributions to personality, a new study reported in Biological Psychology has failed to find any association between Cloninger's Temperament Scales and genes at the molecular level notwithstanding heritability estimates of 30 - 60 percent. This is a replication of earlier studies with Eysenck's Neuroticism and the Big Five personality scales according to the article. For a discussion see:
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2010/08/bad-news-for-genetics-of-personality.html Abstract: Variation in personality traits is 30-60% attributed to genetic influences. Attempts to unravel these genetic influences at the molecular level have, so far, been inconclusive. We performed the first genome-wide association study of Cloninger's temperament scales in a sample of 5117 individuals, in order to identify common genetic variants underlying variation in personality. Participants' scores on Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence, and Persistence were tested for association with 1,252,387 genetic markers. We also performed gene-based association tests and biological pathway analyses. No genetic variants that significantly contribute to personality variation were identified, while our sample provides over 90% power to detect variants that explain only 1% of the trait variance. This indicates that individual common genetic variants of this size or greater do not contribute to personality trait variation, which has important implications regarding the genetic architecture of personality and the evolutionary mechanisms by which heritable variation is maintained. This is a pre-release so this is the only reference I have: Verweij, K.J.H., et al., (2010). A genome-wide association study of Cloninger's temperament scales: Implications for the evolutionary genetics of personality. Biol. Psychol. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=4110 or send a blank email to leave-4110-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
