2005 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript
This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2005. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.
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Since twin studies form the basis of research on behavioral genetics - would it be worthwhile looking at twins for differences in numbers of repeat sequences, epigenetic markers, etc. that may lead to underlying factors of behavioral 'disorders'and a better understanding of the so-called "alternative genome?"
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Holly Peay, M.S., C.G.C.: Yes, these sorts of twin studies could be useful to researchers. Unfortunately, this is difficult in practice. The first issue in behavioral genetics is defining the behavior we are trying to evaluate, which can be extremely challenging. The second issue is that the types of studies you are describing have not been used extensively for complex disorders like human behaviors, and we have both technical and learning curve issues. (Complex traits- also called multifactorial traits- such as human behaviors involve more than one gene, and often are highly effected by the person's environment.) Some such studies have been done, for example several studies have evaluated trinucleotide repeats in bipolar disorder. As we learn more about the complicated way our genetic material works, we will increasingly be able to evaluate non-traditional ways of passing on behavioral traits. |
| Dobrov - St. Ignatius College Prep |
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