Twin Study Sheds Light on Nature vs Nurture Debate

Overview

• Recent study by UNSW and NeuRA explores how genetics and environment influence brain function.
• Published in Human Brain Mapping by Dr. Haeme Park and A/Prof. Justine Gatt.
• Used functional MRI (fMRI) scans on twins to investigate emotional and cognitive processing.

Key Findings

• Emotional and cognitive tasks have complex influences from both genetics and the environment.
• Some tasks are partly genetic, others are environment-based.
• Shared genetic and environmental factors can affect different tasks.
  • Example: Same genetic factors may influence processing fear, happiness, and sustaining attention.

Importance of Twin Studies

• Twin studies help separate genetic influence from environmental factors.
• Essential to recruit both identical and non-identical twins.
  • Identical twins: 100% shared genetics.
  • Non-identical twins: 50% shared genetics.

Study Details

• Part of the TWIN-E study.
• Sample: 270 adult twins out of an original 1600.
• Utilized fMRI to measure brain activity during tasks.
• Tasks included:
  • Emotional: Reaction to facial expressions.
  • Cognitive: Sustaining attention and short-term memory.

Twin Modelling Results

• Genetic and environmental influences analyzed using twin modeling.
• Findings:
  • Genetics play a small to moderate role in some brain networks.
  • Environmental factors solely influence other networks.
  • Shared genetic factors identified in processing emotions and sustaining attention.
  • Shared environmental contributions in sustaining attention and working memory.

Implications for Mental Wellbeing and Resilience

• Genetics and life experiences both crucial in brain function.
• Study ongoing; reassessment after 10 years.
• Potential for personalized interventions to enhance mental wellbeing.
• TWIN-E study also examines mental wellbeing and resilience trajectories.
• Important to identify controllable factors for mood and anxiety disorders.

Reference

• Park HRP, Chilver MR, Quid Y, et al. Human Brain Mapping. 2024;45(1):e26557. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26557