Twin Study Finds Sensitivity Is Partly in Our Genes

The study, led by Queen Mary University of London, compared pairs of identical and non-identical 17-year-old twins to see how strongly they were affected by positive or negative experiences – their ‘sensitivity’ level. The aim was to tease out how much of the differences in sensitivity could be explained by either genetic or environmental factors during development: nature or nurture. Twins who are brought up together will mostly experience the same environment. But only identical twins share the same genes: non-identical twins are like any other sibling. If identical twins show no more similarity in their levels of sensitivity than non-identical twins, then genes are unlikely to play a role. Using this type of analysis, the team found that 47 percent of the differences in sensitivity between individuals were down to genetics, leaving 53 percent accounted for by environmental factors. The research, from Queen Mary University of London and Kings College London, is the first to show this link conclusively in such a large study. The findings are published in Molecular Psychiatry. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/twin-study-finds-sensitivity-is-partly-in-our-genes-335679?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=88976795&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--BU6Avw1x0eiOOYr7SpbhzcPZO1B3xB_U5HFtjqGfRSNA00MR3Z1Wd5E8WiQPdOjNS-ZblNdf58eHH8iBO81uGIYrxzg&utm_content=88976795&utm_source=hs_email