Musical Instrument Engagement in Adolescence Predicts Verbal Ability Four Years Later: A Twin and Adoption Study

Individual differences in music traits are heritable and correlated with the development of cognitive and communication skills, but little is known about whether diverse modes of music engagement (e.g., playing instruments vs. singing) reflect similar underlying genetic/environmental influences. Moreover, the biological etiology underlying the relationship between musicality and childhood language development is poorly understood. Here we explored genetic and environmental associations between music engagement and verbal ability in the Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development and cognitive aging (CATSLife) project. N=1684 adolescents completed measures of music engagement and intelligence at approximately age 12 and/or multiple tests of verbal ability at age 16. Structural equation models revealed that instrument engagement was highly heritable (a2=.78), with moderate heritabilities for singing (a2=.43) and dance engagement (a2=.66). Adolescent self-perceived instrument engagement (but not singing or dance engagement) was genetically correlated with age 12 verbal intelligence, and still was associated with age 16 verbal ability even when controlling for age 12 full-scale intelligence, providing evidence for a longitudinal relationship between music engagement and language beyond shared general cognitive processes. Together, these novel findings suggest that shared genetic influences in part accounts for phenotypic associations between music engagement and language, but there may also be some (weak) direct benefits of music engagement on later language abilities.

The SARS-CoV-2 cytopathic effect is blocked with autophagy modulators

SARS-CoV-2 is a new type of coronavirus capable of rapid transmission and causing severe clinical symptoms; much of which has unknown biological etiology. It has prompted researchers to rapidly mobilize their efforts towards identifying and developing anti-viral therapeutics and vaccines. Discovering and understanding the virus’ pathways of infection, host-protein interactions, and cytopathic effects will greatly aid in the design of new therapeutics to treat COVID-19. While it is known that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, extensively explored as clinical agents for COVID-19, have multiple cellular effects including inhibiting autophagy, there are also dose-limiting toxicities in patients that make clearly establishing their potential mechanisms-of-action problematic. Therefore, we evaluated a range of other autophagy modulators to identify an alternative autophagy-based drug repurposing opportunity. In this work, we found that 6 of these compounds blocked the cytopathic effect of SARS-CoV-2 in Vero-E6 cells with EC50 values ranging from 2.0 to 13 μM and selectivity indices ranging from 1.5 to >10-fold. Immunofluorescence staining for LC3B and LysoTracker dye staining assays in several cell lines indicated their potency and efficacy for inhibiting autophagy correlated with the measurements in the SARS-CoV-2 cytopathic effect assay. Our data suggest that autophagy pathways could be targeted to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections and become an important component of drug combination therapies to improve the treatment outcomes for COVID-19.

Homo Politicus Was Born This Way: How Understanding the Biology of Political Belief Promotes Depolarization

Most individuals perceive ideological beliefs as being freely chosen. Recent research in genopolitics and neuroscience, however, suggests that this conviction is partially unwarranted given that biological and genetic factors explain more variance in political attitudes than choice and environmental factors. Thus, it is worth exploring whether exposure to this research on the biological and genetic basis of political attitudes might influence levels of affective polarization because such exposure might reduce the perceived moral culpability of partisan outgroups for the endorsement of oppositional beliefs. In this paper, I employ an online survey experiment on Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 487) to assess whether exposure to research on the genetic and biological etiology of political attitudes influences warmth toward partisan outgroups and preferences over political compromise. I present evidence that nontrivial numbers of participants in the treatment group reject the underlying science and do not update their genetic trait attributions for political attitudes. However, I also find that when the treatment is successful at increasing biological and genetic trait attributions, exposure to this research depolarizes strong-identifying partisans. Moreover, as partisans increasingly endorse biological and genetic trait attributions for political attitudes, they increasingly hold favorable attitudes toward political outgroups. These patterns suggest a potentially profitable inroad for political polarization interventions going forward.

Born this way? A review of neurobiological and environmental evidence for the etiology of psychopathy

Across a significant body of research, psychopathy has often been conceptualized as a biologically based malady. In this research, genetic and neurobiological differences have been conceptualized to underlie psychopathy, while affected individuals’ life experiences only influence expressed psychopathic features and their severity. Psychopathy research has largely ignored developmental evidence demonstrating significant influences of environment on both biological and behavioral processes, resulting in several prominent criticisms (Edens & Vincent, 2008; Loeber, Byrd, & Farrington, 2015). The current review was conducted with two main aims: (a) to collect and consider etiological evidence from the extant body of research on genetic and neurobiological factors in psychopathy; and (b) to evaluate findings from genetic, neurotransmitter, brain structure, and brain function studies in the context of relevant evidence from developmental research. Examples from research on adversity and traumatic stress, a common correlate of psychopathy, were used to highlight current research gaps and future directions to aid in the integration of developmental and neurobiological research agendas. While some promising evidence exists regarding possible underlying neurobiological processes of psychopathic traits, this evidence is insufficient to suggest a largely biological etiology for the disorder. Further, information from developmental and epigenetic research may suggest complex, multidimensional trajectories for individuals experiencing psychopathy. Based on these observations, the authors make several recommendations for future research, as well as for current clinical application and practice.

Angry characters and frightened souls: Patients and family explanatory models of bipolar disorder in Taiwan

Bipolar disorder (BD) affects a significant proportion of Taiwanese individuals (Weissman et al., 1996; Yang, Yeh, & Hwu, 2012). Psychotropic medications are typically the mainstay of treatment for BD, and there is an abundance of international research on biological etiology and medication options. However, there is comparatively little research on psychosocial aspects of BD, including how it is understood and managed within families. As culture provides the context in which psychiatric disease is managed, there is a need to identify distinct Chinese psychosocial perspectives that might shed light on intervention options. This research explored how Taiwanese patients and family members comprehend and cope with BD. A sample of 42 participants, including 20 Taiwanese patients diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder-I (BD-I) for at least 4 years, and 22 family members, participated in separate interviews on explanatory models of illness. Qualitative thematic analysis focused on features that were distinct from those in current Western research literature. Five themes were identified that represented Taiwanese conceptualizations of BD, notions of etiology, views regarding treatment, and the difficulties in managing the disorder. Participants used Chinese language terms and descriptions of BD that reflected greater concerns about irritability, anger, and family conflict than about other symptoms, and participants also emphasized characterological trait descriptions of the condition. Their responses reflected their acceptance of lifelong family responsibility for caretaking, clashing beliefs regarding biomedical versus traditional Chinese medical and spiritual models of etiology and cure, profound concerns about the effects of psychiatric medication on the liver and kidney systems, and a focus on stress rather than genetic or biological models of etiology.

Survey of the biological etiology of transsexualism

A nemi identitás zavara – vagy ahogyan széleskörűen ismert: a transzszexualizmus – igen összetett klinikai entitás. A magatartásorvoslás területén dolgozó kutatók és orvosok általános vélekedése, hogy a transzszexualizmus jól azonosítható és diagnosztizálható, a mindennapokban a személyt gátló zavar, amely sebészeti úton, nemi átalakító műtéttel gyógyítható. Habár a nemiidentitás-zavar pontos kóroktana nem ismert, eredetének több környezeti, genetikai és anatómiai elméletét is leírták. A szerzők a lehetséges genetikai, hormonális, immunológiai és anatómiai okokat tekintik át közleményükben. Vázolják a jövőbeli kutatási irányokat, kiemelve az előremutató jellemzőket.

Genetics in eating disorders: extending the boundaries of research

OBJECTIVE: To review the recent literature relevant to genetic research in eating disorders and to discuss unique issues which are crucial for the development of a genetic research project in eating disorders in Brazil. METHOD: A computer literature review was conducted in the Medline database between 1984 and may 2005 with the search terms "eating disorders", "anorexia nervosa", "bulimia nervosa", "binge eating disorder", "family", "twin" and "molecular genetic" studies. RESULTS: Current research findings suggest a substantial influence of genetic factors on the liability to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Genetic research with admixed populations should take into consideration sample size, density of genotyping and population stratification. Through admixture mapping it is possible to study the genetic structure of admixed human populations to localize genes that underlie ethnic variation in diseases or traits of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The development of a major collaborative genetics initiative of eating disorders in Brazil and South America would represent a realistic possibility of studying the genetics of eating disorders in the context of inter ethnic groups, and also integrate a new perspective on the biological etiology of eating disorders.

Towards an Integration of Psychological and Biological Models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Phylogenetic Considerations

In the past 10 to 15 years, advances in psychopharmacology and research on the neurobiological basis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have led to the currently predominant biological model of OCD. Nevertheless, the centrality of complex ideation in OCD supports the usefulness of a psychological approach.In this article, we propose an integrated psychobiological model that presumes a biological etiology without assuming biological reductionism. We hypothesize that the relationship between biological and psychological organization is best explained in the context of emergent systems theory, and that the psychological meaning of OCD reflects development across phylogeny as opposed to ontogeny. Finally, we propose that OCD reflects disruption of a behavioral inhibition/harm assessment system that incorporates brain structures from different points across human phylogeny. Hence, complex psychological symptoms of a biological etiology are generated.

Agoraphobia: A Superstitious Conditioning Perspective

The disabling escape and avoidance behaviors of agoraphobics are known to be psychological sequelae to the onset of apparently spontaneous attacks of severe anxiety. Evidence is cited in favor of the view that such spontaneous panic attacks have a biological etiology and that the avoidance rituals and escape behavior of the agoraphobic may be accounted for in terms of superstitious conditioning. Although panic attacks subside within a few minutes, in most cases, regardless of the activities of the individual, ongoing operant behavior such as flight may be adventitiously reinforced by the removal of severe anxiety. Only a few such episodes may be required to establish superstitious avoidance. This analysis is supported by extensive clinical research indicating that an effective technique in alleviating agoraphobic behavior consists of exposing the patient for prolonged periods of time to anxiety-evoking situations while he refrains from all escape and avoidance behavior. This appears to weaken the apparent established contingency relationships between panic relief, and phobic escape and avoidance, and extinguishes such superstitious behavior.