Nature vs. nurture has been a long-standing argument between the fields of biology and psychology. However…investigators have identified six loci or regions of the human genome that are significantly linked to personality traits. Moreover, the new findings also show correlations with psychiatric disorders.
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Five psychological factors are commonly used to measure individual differences in personality:
- Extraversion (versus introversion) reflects talkativeness, assertiveness, and a high activity level
- Neuroticism (versus emotional stability) reflects negative affect, such as anxiety and depression
- Agreeableness (versus antagonism) measures cooperativeness and compassion
- Conscientiousness (versus undependability) indicates diligence and self-discipline
- Openness to experience (versus being closed to experience) suggests intellectual curiosity and creativity.
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Related on the SLP
The UCSD researchers analyzed genetic variations among the five personality traits and six psychiatric disorders….Interestingly, the researchers found that extraversion was associated with variants in the gene WSCD2 and near gene PCDH15—whereas neuroticism was associated with variants on chromosome 8p23.1 and gene L3MBTL2….
Additionally, there were high genetic correlations between extraversion and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and between openness and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Neuroticism was genetically correlated with internalized psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Personality Traits Mapped to Specific Genomic Locations
