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Exploring interactive effects of genes and environments in etiology of individual differences in reading comprehension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2007

Elena L. Grigorenko ,
Colin G. Deyoung ,
Marya Getchell ,
Gerald J. Haeffel ,
Britt A.F. Klinteberg ,
Roman A. Koposov ,
Lars Oreland ,
Andrew J. Pakstis ,
Vladislav V. Ruchkin  and
Carolyn M. Yrigollen
Elena L. Grigorenko*
Affiliation:
Yale University Moscow State University, Russia
Colin G. Deyoung
Affiliation:
Yale University
Marya Getchell
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Gerald J. Haeffel
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Britt A.F. Klinteberg
Affiliation:
Stockholm University Karolinska Institute
Roman A. Koposov
Affiliation:
University of Tromsø Northern State Medical University, Russia
Lars Oreland
Affiliation:
Uppsala University
Andrew J. Pakstis
Affiliation:
Yale University
Vladislav V. Ruchkin
Affiliation:
Yale University Karolinska Institute Skonviks Psychiatric Clinic, Sweden
Carolyn M. Yrigollen
Affiliation:
Yale University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Elena L. Grigorenko, Child Study Center, Yale University, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06519; E-mail: elena.grigorenko@yale.edu.
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Abstract

It is established that reading and reading-related processes are heritable; genes thus play an important role in the foundation of individual differences in reading. In this article, we focus on one facet of reading–comprehension. Comprehension is a higher order cognitive skill that requires many other cognitive processes for it to unfold completely and successfully. One such process is executive functioning, which has been associated with genetic variation in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. Genotypes and haplotypes of four single nucleotide polymorphisms in COMT were investigated in 179 incarcerated adolescent delinquents. Four hierarchical logistic regression models predicting the presence/absence of comprehension difficulties were fitted to the data; genetic variation in COMT and the presence/absence of maternal rejection were investigated as main effects and as effects acting interactively. Three out of four interaction terms were found to be important predictors of individual differences in comprehension. These findings were supported by the results of the haplotype analyses, in which the four investigated polymorphisms were considered simultaneously.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , Fall 2007 , pp. 1089 - 1103
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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