Genes unite executive functions in childhood

dc.contributor.advisorTucker-Drob, Elliot Maxen
dc.contributor.committeeMemberChurch, Jessica Aen
dc.creatorEngelhardt, Laura Ellenen
dc.creator.orcid0000-0001-7254-5702en
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-21T16:23:40Z
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-22T22:29:46Z
dc.date.available2016-04-21T16:23:40Z
dc.date.available2018-01-22T22:29:46Z
dc.date.issued2015-12en
dc.date.submittedDecember 2015
dc.date.updated2016-04-21T16:23:40Z
dc.description.abstractIndividual differences in children’s executive functions (EFs) are relevant for a wide range of normal and atypical psychological outcomes across the life span, but the origins of variation in children’s EFs are not well understood. We used data from a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 505 third- through eighth-grade twins and triplets from the Texas Twin Project to estimate genetic and environmental influences on a Common EF factor and on variance unique to four core EF domains: inhibition, switching, working memory, and updating. As has been previously demonstrated in young adults, the Common EF factor was 100% heritable, which indicates that correlations among the four EF domains are entirely attributable to shared genetic etiology. Nonshared environmental influences were evident for variance unique to individual domains. General EF may thus serve as an early life marker of genetic propensity for a range of functions and pathologies later in life.en
dc.description.departmentPsychologyen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2MB7Ren
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/34249en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.subjectExecutive functionsen
dc.subjectBehavioral geneticsen
dc.titleGenes unite executive functions in childhooden
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.materialtexten

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