TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic influences on the spontaneous EEG
T2 - An examination of 15-year- old and 17-year-old twins
AU - McGuire, Kathryn A.
AU - Katsanis, Joanna
AU - Iacono, William G.
AU - McGue, Matt
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported bygrants from the National Institute onDrug Abuse (DA 05147) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA 00175).
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - In this study, the authors investigated the presence of genetic influences and development on the spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) by examining the similarity of 15- and 17-year-old monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. A total of 50 (nMZ = 33, nDZ = 17) 15-year-old and 69 (nMZ = 45, nDZ = 24) 17-year-old twin pairs were assessed. Spontaneous EEG was recorded from the vertex and 2 lateral posterior sites while participants rested with eyes closed. Measures of both absolute and relative power were derived for delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. The intraclass correlations of all bands across all sites for both absolute and relative power were significant for the MZ twins, indicating moderate to high degrees of MZ similarity on these measures. All MZ intraclass correlations were larger than the corresponding DZ correlations, and they were significantly larger for over 70% of the MZ-DZ comparisons involving the 2 age cohorts. Biometric modeling of EEG spectral data suggested a substantial genetic effect on EEG, with over 70% of 54 calculated heritability coefficients ≤ .70. This pattern of findings suggests a genetic influence on the spontaneous EEG of both middle and late adolescent children. Analysis of EEG power as a function of age revealed a significant decrease in all frequency bands across all sites from age 15 to 17. This EEG 'power drop' most likely reflects the result of developmental changes in brain structure and metabolism occurring during the final stages of adolescent central nervous system maturation.
AB - In this study, the authors investigated the presence of genetic influences and development on the spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) by examining the similarity of 15- and 17-year-old monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. A total of 50 (nMZ = 33, nDZ = 17) 15-year-old and 69 (nMZ = 45, nDZ = 24) 17-year-old twin pairs were assessed. Spontaneous EEG was recorded from the vertex and 2 lateral posterior sites while participants rested with eyes closed. Measures of both absolute and relative power were derived for delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. The intraclass correlations of all bands across all sites for both absolute and relative power were significant for the MZ twins, indicating moderate to high degrees of MZ similarity on these measures. All MZ intraclass correlations were larger than the corresponding DZ correlations, and they were significantly larger for over 70% of the MZ-DZ comparisons involving the 2 age cohorts. Biometric modeling of EEG spectral data suggested a substantial genetic effect on EEG, with over 70% of 54 calculated heritability coefficients ≤ .70. This pattern of findings suggests a genetic influence on the spontaneous EEG of both middle and late adolescent children. Analysis of EEG power as a function of age revealed a significant decrease in all frequency bands across all sites from age 15 to 17. This EEG 'power drop' most likely reflects the result of developmental changes in brain structure and metabolism occurring during the final stages of adolescent central nervous system maturation.
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U2 - 10.1080/87565649809540698
DO - 10.1080/87565649809540698
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0031815687
SN - 8756-5641
VL - 14
SP - 7
EP - 18
JO - Developmental Neuropsychology
JF - Developmental Neuropsychology
IS - 1
ER -