Interplay of Genes and Environment Across the Lifespan: Genotype x Environment Interaction

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Interplay of Genes and Environment Across the
Lifespan Genotype x Environment Interaction

• Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Ph.D.
• Center for Family Research
• Department of Psychiatry Behavioral Sciences
• George Washington University
• cfrjmn_at_gwumc.edu

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3 integrated studies focused on the interplay
between genes environment

• Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development
  (NEAD)
• Longitudinal from middle adolescence to young
  adulthood
• siblings/twins and parents
• Detailed assessment of family relationships,
  peers and adolescent adjustment
• DNA collection
• Twin/Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS)
• Parents who are twins and adolescent child
  spouse
• Detailed assessment of family relationships
  adjustment of all family members
• DNA collection
• Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS)
• Longitudinal prenatal through 7.5 years for
  children
• Adoption design follow birth parents, adopted
  child adoptive parents
• Detailed assessment of family relationships,
  adjustment of adopted children,
  adjustment/psychopathology in birth parents,
  prenatal environment
• DNA collection

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NEAD and TOSS Designs
TOSS
NEAD
1.0MZ twin parents .50DZ twin parents
Mom
Dad
Twin Parent 1
Twin Parent 2
Spouse 2
Spouse 1
Child 1
Child 2
Child of Twin 1
1.0MZ twins .50DZ twins full siblings
.25half siblings 0step siblings
.25children of MZ twin parents .125children of
DZ twin parents
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Parenting as a moderator of G E on adolescent
antisocial behavior

• Consistency across parental negativity
  positivity for adolescent antisocial behavior
• As parent-child relationship worsens, genetic
  influences on ASB increase
• Shared environmental influences deviate somewhat
  but effects are more modest
• Which came first? High conflict/low warmth or
  antisocial behavior?
• Does an antisocial child elicit more negativity
  less warmth for genetic reasons?
• Do high levels of negativity low levels of
  warmth trigger genetic tendencies towards ASB?

As parental negativity increases, variance due to
A, C E also increase
At lower levels of warmth, variance due to A is
higher
At higher levels of warmth, variance due to C is
higher
From Feinberg et al. (in press). Archives of
General Psychiatry.
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Does marital conflict moderate G E on negative
parenting?
Marital Conflict About Child
Interpretation At low levels of conflict more
variance in mothers negativity is due to shared
environmental influences At low levels of
conflict more variance in fathers negativity due
to genetic shared env influences As conflict
increases, nonshared environmental influences
also increase
Mothering
Fathering
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EGDS study design

• 559 domestic adoption placements to non-relative
  families (359 in EGDS-Toddler and 200 in
  EGDS-Prenatal)
• Yoked Adoption Unit
• Birth mother/birth father,
  adoptive mother/father,
  adopted
  child
• Adoption occurred within 3 mo. post-partum
• Infant free of major medical problems
• 3 major assessments for birth parents and 6 major
  assessments for adoptive families spanning
  infancy through 1st grade (EGDS-School)
• Multimethod, multiagent approach

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Toddlers (18 mo) response to parenting in the
presence and absence of adoptive family distress
as a function of genetic risk (via BP)
Toddlers are MORE SENSITIVE to parents
instructions and respond MORE NEGATIVELY only
when BOTH genetic risk and environmental stress
are present
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Understanding Mechanisms

• In EGDS we are beginning to see the mechanisms of
  GxE and rGE develop from 9-months to 18-months
• In NEAD we have evidence that parenting is an
  important modifier of G and E
• In NEAD we also have evidence that G and E on
  parenting is modified by marriage
• In TOSS NEAD we have evidence that
  relationships mediate the genetic influences on
  adjustment
• In TOSS we are beginning to disentangle types of
  rGE

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Thanks to the research teams that make this work
possible

• NEAD
• David Reiss (GWU)
• Robert Plomin (IoP)
• E. Mavis Hetherington (UVA)
• Mark Feinberg (PSU)
• Erica Spotts (NIA)
• Dean Hamer (NCI)
• Jody Ganiban (GWU)
• Rich Rende (Brown)
• Sam Simmens (GWU)
• George Howe (GWU)
• R01s MH43373, MH48825, MH59014 the William T.
  Grant Foundation

• TOSS
• Paul Lichtenstein (KI)
• David Reiss (GWU)
• Nancy Pedersen (KI)
• Jody Ganiban (GWU)
• Erica Spotts (NIA)
• Suzanne Haddad (GWU)
• Jurgita Naruyste (KI)
• Jennifer Ulbricht (GWU)
• Lennart Martinnson (KI)
• Elias Ericksson (Göteborgs Universitet)
• R01MH54601 Riksbankens Jubieleumsfond (DNA
  collection genotyping)

• EGDS
• David Reiss (GWU)
• Leslie Leve (OSLC)
• Xiajioa Ge (UMN)
• John Reid (OSLC)
• Danny Shaw (U Pitt)
• Laura Scaramella (UNO)
• Linda Mayes (Yale)
• Phil Fisher (OSLC)
• Rand Conger (UC Davis)
• EGDS EGDS II R01HD042608 (co-funding by NIDA)
• EGDS-Prenatal R01DA020585 (co-funding by OBSSR,
  NIMH, NICHD)