Evidence of a prominent genetic basis for associations between psychoneurometric traits and common mental disorders.
Threat sensitivity (THT) and weak inhibitory control (or disinhibition; DIS) are trait constructs that relate to multiple types of psychopathology and can be assessed psychoneurometrically (i.e., using self-report and physiological indicators combined). However, to establish that psychoneurometric assessments of THT and DIS index biologically-based liabilities, it is important to clarify the etiologic bases of these variables and their associations with clinical problems. The current work addressed this important issue using data from a sample of identical and fraternal adult twins (N=454). THT was quantified using a scale measure and three physiological indicators of emotional reactivity to visual aversive stimuli. DIS was operationalized using scores on two scale measures combined with two brain indicators from cognitive processing tasks. THT and DIS operationalized in these ways both showed appreciable heritability (0.45, 0.68), and genetic variance in these traits accounted for most of their phenotypic associations with fear, distress, and substance use disorder symptoms. Our findings suggest that, as indices of basic dispositional liabilities for multiple forms of psychopathology with direct links to neurophysiology, psychoneurometric assessments of THT and DIS represent novel and important targets for biologically-oriented research on psychopathology.
Florida State University, USA. Electronic address: venables@psy.fsu.edu.
Noah C
NC
Venables
University of Michigan, USA.
Brian M
BM
Hicks
Florida State University, USA.
James R
JR
Yancey
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Mark D
MD
Kramer
Medical College of Wisconsin, USA.
Lindsay D
LD
Nelson
Florida State University, USA.
Casey M
CM
Strickland
University of Minnesota, USA.
Robert F
RF
Krueger
University of Minnesota, USA.
William G
WG
Iacono
Florida State University, USA. Electronic address: cpatrick@psy.fsu.edu.
Christopher J
CJ
Patrick
D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010641:Phenotype; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic
Disinhibition; Externalizing; Fear; Inhibitory control; Internalizing; Mental disorders; Psychopathology; Threat sensitivity
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