Nurturing Our Better Nature: A Proposal for Cognitive Integrity as a Foundation for Autonomous Living.

As we account for the genetic and environmental influences on morally-relevant character traits like intellectual honesty, industriousness, and self-control, do we risk becoming ever less accountable to ourselves? Behavioral genetic research suggests that about half the variance in such character traits is likely attributable to heredity, and a small fraction to the shared family environment. The remaining 40-60% is explained by neither genes nor family upbringing. This raises the question: how active a role can individuals play in shaping their own character? What, if anything, can and should one do to take responsibility for the kind of person one becomes? This paper sketches a novel theoretical proposal for addressing these questions, by drawing on several previously disparate lines of research within behavior genetics, philosophy, and experimental psychology. Our core proposal concerns the metacognitive capacity to engage in active, reality-based cognition, as opposed to passive, stimulus-driven processing or an active pretense at cognition (i.e., self-deception). We review arguments and evidence indicating that human beings both can and should exercise this capacity, which we have termed "cognitive integrity." We argue that doing so can in a certain sense "set us free" of our genetic and environmental influences-not by rendering them irrelevant, but by giving us the awareness and motivation to manage them more responsibly. This perspective has important implications for guiding the development of psychosocial interventions, and for informing how we direct ourselves more generally, both as individuals and as a society.

El Registro de Gemelos de Murcia. Un recurso para la investigación sobre conductas relacionadas con la salud / The Murcia Twin Registry. A resource for research on health-related behaviour

Los diseños genéticamente informativos, y en particular los estudios de gemelos, constituyen la metodología más utilizada para analizar la contribución relativa de los factores genéticos y ambientales a la variabilidad interindividual. Básicamente, consisten en comparar el grado de similitud, con respecto a una característica o rasgo determinado, entre gemelos monocigóticos y dicigóticos. Además de la clásica estimación de heredabilidad, este tipo de registros permite una amplia variedad de análisis únicos por las características de la muestra. El Registro de Gemelos de Murcia es un registro de base poblacional centrado en el análisis de conductas relacionadas con la salud. Las prevalencias de problemas de salud observadas son comparables a las de otras muestras de referencia de ámbito regional y estatal, lo que avala su representatividad. En conjunto, sus características facilitan el desarrollo de diversas modalidades de investigación, además de diseños genéticamente informativos y la colaboración con distintas iniciativas y consorcios (AU)

Genetically informative designs and, in particular, twin studies, are the most widely used methodology to analyse the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to inter-individual variability. These studies basically compare the degree of phenotypical similarity between monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. In addition to the traditional estimate of heritability, this kind of registry enables a wide variety of analyses which are unique due to the characteristics of the sample. The Murcia Twin Registry is population-based and focused on the analysis of health-related behaviour. The observed prevalence of health problems is comparable to that of other regional and national reference samples, which guarantees its representativeness. Overall, the characteristics of the Registry facilitate developing various types of research as well as genetically informative designs, and collaboration with different initiatives and consortia (AU)

The Trustworthiness Deficit in Postgenomic Research on Human Intelligence.

In the past, work on racial and ethnic variation in brain and behavior was marginalized within genetics. Against the backdrop of genetics' eugenic legacy, wide consensus held such research to be both ethically problematic and methodologically controversial. But today it is finding new opportunistic venues in a global, transdisciplinary, data-rich postgenomic research environment in which such a consensus is increasingly strained. The postgenomic sciences display worrisome deficits in their ability to govern and negotiate standards for making postgenomic claims in the transdisciplinary space between human population variation research, studies of intelligence, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. Today some researchers are pursuing the genomics of intelligence on a newly grand scale. They are sequencing large numbers of whole genomes of people considered highly intelligent (by varying empirical and social measures) in the hope of finding gene variants predictive of intelligence. Troubling and at times outlandish futurist claims accompany this research. Scientists involved in this research have openly discussed the possibility of marketing prenatal tests for intelligence, of genetic engineering or selective embryo implantation to increase the likelihood of a high-IQ child, and of genotyping children to guide their education. In this permissive and contested environment, what would trustworthy research on the genomics of high intelligence look like?

Genetic Prediction.

The fundamental reason that the genetics of behavior has remained so controversial for so long is that the layer of theory between data and their interpretation is thicker and more opaque than in more established areas of science. The finding that variations in tiny snippets of DNA have small but detectable relations to variation in behavior surprises no one, at least no one who was paying attention to the twin studies. How such snippets of DNA are related to differences in behavior-known as the gene-to-behavior pathway-is the great theoretical problem of modern behavioral genetics. Given that intentional human breeding is a horrific prospect, what kind of technology might we want (or fear) out of human behavioral genetics? One possibility is a technology that could predict important behavioral characteristics of humans based on their genomes alone. A moment's thought suggests significant benefits and risks that might be associated with such a possibility, but for the moment, just consider how convincing it would be if on the day of a baby's birth we could make meaningful predictions about whether he or she would become a concert pianist or an alcoholic. This article will consider where we are right now as regards that possibility, using human height and intelligence as the primary examples.

Why Is Studying the Genetics of Intelligence So Controversial?

From the very beginning, studies of the nature and nurture of intelligence have been closely associated with an interest in intervening, and those interventions have been surrounded by controversy. The nature of those controversies has not always been the same, however. Since the mid-nineteenth century, when Francis Galton imagined a science that would assess the extent to which a trait like "genius" was due to nature or due to nurture, science and technology have changed dramatically, and so have the interventions that have been envisioned in light of those developments. A scientist today can search for particular stretches of DNA and assess whether differences in those stretches are associated with differences in a human trait of interest; a genetic counselor today can genetically test an individual (be it an embryo, fetus, newborn, child, or adult) and provide information about what that genetic result means, allowing for interventions that can range from terminating a pregnancy to prescribing chemotherapy. So when one asks a question like, "Why is studying the genetics of intelligence controversial?," it is important to realize up front that the answer will be, "It can be controversial for a variety of different reasons, and those reasons have evolved over time." The purpose of this essay is to provide a survey of the controversies that surround genetic studies of intelligence. With the survey in place, I will then draw out several lessons both for scientists who study the genetics of intelligence as well as for science studies scholars (bioethicists, philosophers, historians, sociologists) who reflect and comment on the controversies surrounding that research.

Behavioral Genetics and the Forensic Mental Health Provider: An Overview.

The area of behavioral genetics has sufficiently entered the area of forensic mental health work that providers should have some working knowledge of the strengths and limitations of these exciting technical advances. Using MAOA as an example, this essay reviews some of the recurring themes in forensic behavioral genetics and suggests additional ways in which the technology might be used in legal matters.

Ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of behavioral genetics.

The field of behavioral genetics has engendered a host of moral and social concerns virtually since its inception. The policy implications of a genetic basis for behaviors are widespread and extend beyond the clinic to the socially important realms of education, criminal justice, childbearing, and child rearing. The development of new techniques and analytic approaches, including whole-genome sequencing, noninvasive prenatal genetic testing, and optogenetics, has clearly changed the study of behavioral genetics. However, the social context of biomedical research has also changed profoundly over the past few decades, and in ways that are especially relevant to behavioral genetics. The ever-widening scope of behavioral genetics raises ethical, legal, social, and policy issues in the potential new applications to criminal justice, education, the military, and reproduction. These issues are especially critical to address because of their potentially disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations such as children, the unborn, and the incarcerated.

Epigenetics and its implications for Psychology / La epigenética y sus implicaciones para la Psicología

Background: Epigenetics is changing the widely accepted linear conception of genome function by explaining how environmental and psychological factors regulate the activity of our genome without involving changes in the DNA sequence. Research has identified epigenetic mechanisms mediating between environmental and psychological factors that contribute to normal and abnormal behavioral development. Method: the emerging field of epigenetics as related to psychology is reviewed. Results: the relationship between genes and behavior is reconsidered in terms of epigenetic mechanisms acting after birth and not only prenatally, as traditionally held. Behavioral epigenetics shows that our behavior could have long-term effects on the regulation of the genome function. In addition, epigenetic mechanisms would be related to psychopathology, as in the case of schizophrenia. In the latter case, it would be especially relevant to consider epigenetic factors such as life adversities (trauma, disorganized attachment, etc.) as related to its clinical manifestations, rather than genetic factors. Moreover, epigenetics implies overcoming classical dualist dichotomies such as nature-nurture, genotype-phenotype or pathogenesis-pathoplasty. Conclusions: In general, it can be stated that behavior and environment will finally take on a leading role in human development through epigenetic mechanisms (AU)

La epigenética está cambiando la concepción lineal que se suele tener de la genética al mostrar cómo eventos ambientales y psicológicos regulan la actividad de nuestro genoma sin implicar modificación en la secuencia de ADN. La investigación ha identificado mecanismos epigenéticos que juegan un papel mediador entre eventos ambientales y psicológicos y el desarrollo normal y alterado. Método: el artículo revisa el campo emergente de la epigenética y sus implicaciones para la psicología. Resultados: entre sus implicaciones destacan la reconsideración de la relación entre genes y conducta en términos de procesos epigenéticos que acontecen a lo largo de la vida y no solo prenatalmente como se asumía. La epigenética conductual muestra que nuestra conducta puede tener efectos a largo plazo sobre la función genómica. Otra implicación concierne a la psicopatología, señaladamente a la esquizofrenia. Más que de causas genéticas, habría que hablar de mediadores epigenéticos entre las adversidades de la vida (trauma, apego desorganizado) y formas clínicas. Asimismo, la epigenética implica la superación de dicotomías dualistas como herencia-medio, genotipo-fenotipo y patogenia-patoplastia. Conclusiones: en general, se puede decir que la conducta y el ambiente asumirán finalmente un papel protagonista en el desarrollo humano mediante mecanismos epigenéticos (AU)

Insatisfacción corporal en la adolescencia: Evolución en una década / Body dissatisfaction in adolescence. Changes in a decade

La presente investigación examina los cambios en la imagen corporal y en el índice de masa corporal ocurridos en un periodo de 11 años en una muestra de adolescentes españoles con edades comprendidas entre los 13 y 21 años. Los datos provienen de dos submuestras recogidas en el año 1997 (n = 3468) y en el año 2008 (n = 846). La imagen corporal fue operacionalizada por medio de la escala insatisfacción corporal perteneciente al inventario de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (Garner, 1998, 2004). Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que el índice de masa corporal es una covariable importante en el estudio de la insatisfacción corporal. Se observó una disminución no-significativa de los valores medios de insatisfacción corporal en la muestra de mujeres. Las puntuaciones de los varones no han cambiado durante los últimos 11 años (AU)

This study examines the changes in adolescents’ body image and body mass index over the last 11 years. Data came from two different subsamples collected in the years 1997 (n = 3468) and 2008 (n = 846). The body image was assessed by the Body Dissatisfaction scale belonging to Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner, 1998, 2004). The results showed that the Body Mass Index is an important covariable in the study of the body dissatisfaction. The body dissatisfaction mean values decreased in the female sample, although the observed reduction was not statistically significant. The male’s values didn’t change over the last 11 years (AU)

On the genetic modification of psychology, personality, and behavior.

I argue that the use of heritable modifications for psychology, personality, and behavior should be limited to the reversal or prevention of relatively unambiguous instances of pathology or likely harm (e.g. sociopathy). Most of the likely modifications of psychological personality would not be of this nature, however, and parents therefore should not have the freedom to make such modifications to future children. I argue by examining the viewpoints of both the individual and society. For individuals, modifications would interfere with their capacity for self-determination in a way that undermines the very concept of self-determination. I argue that modification of psychology and personality is unlike present parenting in morally significant ways. For society, modification offers a medium for power to manipulate the makeup of persons and populations, possibly causing biological harm to the species and altering our conceptions of social responsibility.

Dealing with the long-term social implications of research.

Biomedical and behavioral research may affect strongly held social values and thereby create significant controversy over whether such research should be permitted in the first place. Institutional review boards (IRBs) responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of participants in research are sometimes faced with review of protocols that have significant implications for social policy and the potential for negative social consequences. Although IRB members often raise concerns about potential long-term social implications in protocol review, federal regulations strongly discourage IRBs from considering them in their decisions. Yet IRBs often do consider the social implications of research protocols and sometimes create significant delays in initiating or even prevent such research. The social implications of research are important topics for public scrutiny and professional discussion. This article examines the reasons that the federal regulations preclude IRBs from assessing the social risks of research, and examines alternative approaches that have been used with varying success by national advisory groups to provide such guidance. The article concludes with recommendations for characteristics of a national advisory group that could successfully fulfill this need, including sustainability, independence, diverse and relevant expertise, and public transparency.

Risky individuals and the politics of genetic research into aggressiveness and violence.

New genetic technologies promise to generate valuable insights into the aetiology of several psychiatric conditions, as well as a wider range of human and animal behaviours. Advances in the neurosciences and the application of new brain imaging techniques offer a way of integrating DNA analysis with studies that are looking at other biological markers of behaviour. While candidate 'genes for' certain conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, are said to be 'un-discovered' at a faster rate than they are discovered, many studies are being conducted on personality traits such as aggressiveness and anti-social traits. The clinical applicability and implications of these studies are often discussed within the scientific community. However, little attention has so far been paid to their possible policy implications in relation to criminality management and to Criminal Law itself. Similarly, the related ethical issues arising in the field of crime control, and the tensions between enhancing security for society and protecting civil liberties, are currently under-explored. This paper investigates these ethical issues by focusing on the views of those professionals - including judges, lawyers, probation officers and social workers - who work with individuals 'deemed at risk' of violent and aggressive behaviours. It also discusses and problematizes mainstream rhetoric and arguments around the notion of 'risky individuals'.

Scientific responsibility for the dissemination and interpretation of genetic research: lessons from the "warrior gene" controversy.

This paper discusses the announcement by a team of researchers that they identified a genetic influence for a range of "antisocial" behaviours in the New Zealand Maori population (dubbed the "warrior gene"). The behaviours included criminality, violence, gambling and alcoholism. The reported link between genetics and behaviour met with much controversy. The scientists were described as hiding behind a veneer of supposedly "objective" western science, using it to perpetuate "racist and oppressive discourses". In this paper we examine what went wrong in the dissemination of the research. We chose as our framework the debate around the "internal/external" responsibilities of scientists. Using this discourse we argue that when the researchers ventured to explain their research in terms of social phenomena, they assumed a duty to ensure that their findings were placed "in context". By "in context", we argue that evidence of any genetic influence on behavioural characteristics should not be reported in isolation, but instead presented alongside other environmental, cultural and socio-economic influences that may also contribute to the studied behaviour. Rather than imposing a new obligation on scientists, we find this duty to contextualise results is in keeping with the spirit of codes of ethics already in place. Lessons from the "warrior gene" controversy may assist researchers elsewhere to identify potential areas of conflict before they jeopardise research relationships, or disseminate findings in a manner that fuels misleading and/or potentially discriminatory attitudes in society.

Warrior genes and risk-taking science.

This article provides a summary of our ethical concerns regarding the so-called "warrior gene" line of research. Prompted by recent claims that there is a genetic explanation for negative social and health statistics for Maori, the article discusses issues related to informed consent of research participants, the validity of the underlying science related to the "warrior gene", and scientifically unfounded speculation regarding the causality of complex social issues. We conclude that in all science, and particularly where there is a highly charged social and political setting, the scientist has a responsibility for the way in which findings are disseminated and for ensuring a clear public understanding of the limitations of the work.

Risk-taking: behind the warrior gene story.

In 2006, the monoamine oxidase-A gene was widely reported in the media as being associated with risk-taking and aggressive behaviour in Maori. We examine the scientific evidence underlying this claim. Whilst there is credible evidence for a contribution of a monoamine oxidase-A genetic variant to antisocial behaviour in Caucasians, there is no direct evidence to support such an association in Maori. Insufficient rigour in interpreting and applying the relevant literature, and in generating new data, has (in conjunction with a lack of scientific investigative journalism) done science and Maori a disservice.