Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-21T04:40:55.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An investigation of the genetic aspects of the alpha attenuation response1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

J. P. R. Young
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
G. W. Fenton
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London

Synopsis

The alpha attenuation response (AAR) and its habituation rate during the course of 60 serially presented paired flash stimuli was measured in a small but homogeneous group of male identical and fraternal twins, all within the age range 19 to 40 years. Comparison of the intraclass correlation coefficients for each of the recorded AAR parameters between the two twin series and a constructed series of genetically unrelated individuals indicated that individual differences in the variables measured were significantly influenced by heredity. The findings are discussed in relation to previously reported studies of the genetic aspects of the normal spontaneous EEG.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adrian, E. D., and Matthews, B. H. C. (1934). The Berger rhythm: potential changes from the occipital lobes in man. Brain, 57, 355385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, P., and Andersson, S. A. (1968). The Physiological Basis of the Alpha Rhythm. Appleton: New York.Google Scholar
Andersson, S. A. (1967). Suppression of cortical spontaneous barbiturate spindles via specific and unspecific projection spinal pathways. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 69, 191202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beaussart, M., Dellhay, R., and Fontan, M. (1959). Corrélations entre les caractères E.E.G. somatiques et psychologiques chez 5 couples de jumeaux monozygotes normaux. (Abstract.) Revue Neurologique, 101, 415416.Google Scholar
Blum, R. H. (1957). Alpha-rhythm responsiveness in normal, schizophrenic, and brain-damaged persons. Science, 126, 749750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bremer, F. (1935). Cerveau isolé et physiologie du sommeil. Comptes Rendus des Séances de la Société de Biologie el de ses Filiales, 118, 12351241.Google Scholar
Broadhurst, A., and Glass, A. (1969). Relationship of personality measures to the alpha rhythm of the electroencephalogram. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 199204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burt, C. (1966). The genetic determination of differences in intelligence: a study of monozygotic twins reared together and apart. British Journal of Psychology, 57, 137153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clarke, L. G., and Harding, G. F. A. (1969). Comparisons of mono and dizygotic twins with respect to some features of the electroencephalogram. Proceedings of the Electrophysiological Technological Association, 16, 94101.Google Scholar
Darlington, C. D. (1954). Heredity and environment. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Genetics, Beilagio, 1953. Caryologia, Suppl. to Vol. 6; pp. 370381.Google Scholar
Davidoff, R. A., and McDonald, D. G. (1964). Alpha blocking and autonomic responses in neurological patients. Archives of Neurology, 10, 283292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, H., and Davis, P. A. (1936). Action potentials of the brain in normal persons and in normal states of cerebral activity. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 36, 12141224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, M. E., and Greville, G. D. (1963). Biochemistry. In Electroencephalography, 2nd ed. pp. 158161. Edited by Hill, D. and Parr, G.. Macdonald: London.Google Scholar
Dieker, H. (1967). Untersuchungen zur Genetik besonders regelmässiger hoher Alpha-Wellen im EEC des Menschen. Humangenetik, 4, 189216.Google Scholar
Drillien, C. M. (1964). In The Growth and Development of the Prematurely Born Infant. Livingstone: Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Dumermuth, G. (1968). Variance spectra of electroencephalograms in twins. In Clinical Electroencephalography of Children, pp. 119154. Edited by Kellaway, P. and Petersen, I.. Grune and Stratton: New York.Google Scholar
Dumont, S., and Dell, P. (1960). Facilitation réticulaire des mécanismes visuels corticaux. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 12, 769796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dustman, R. E., and Beck, E. C. (1965). The visually evoked potential in twins. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 19, 570575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evarts, E. V. (1964). Temporal patterns of discharge of pyramidal tract neurones during sleep and waking in the monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology, 27, 152171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fenton, G. W., and Scotton, L. (1967). Personality and the alpha rhythm. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 12831289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gastaut, H. and Bert, J. (1961). Electroencephalographic detection of sleep induced by repetitive sensory stimuli. In Ciba Foundation Symposium on The Nature of Sleep, pp. 260283. Edited by Wolstenholme, G. E. W. and O'Connor, M.. Churchill: London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glass, A., and Broadhurst, A. (1966). Relationship between EEG as a measure of cortical activity and personality measures. (Abstract.) Elecetroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 21, 309.Google Scholar
Gottlober, A. B. (1938). The inheritance of brain potential patterns. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22, 193200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harding, G., Jeavons, P. M., Jenner, F. A., Drummond, P., Sheridan, M., and Howells, G. W. (1966). The electroencephalogram in three cases of periodic psychosis. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 21, 5966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heuschert, D. (1963). EEG-Untersuchungen an eineiigen Zwillingen im höheren Lebensalter. Zeitschrift für menschliche Vererbungs-und Konstitutionstehre, 37, 128172.Google Scholar
Heuschert, D. (1965). EEG examination of aged monozygotic twins. (Abstract.) Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 19, 197.Google Scholar
Hill, D. (1963). The E.E.G. in psychiatry. In Electroencephalography, pp. 368428. 2nd ed.Macdonald: London.Google Scholar
Juel-Nielsen, N., and Harvald, B. (1958). The electroencephalogram in uniovular twins brought up apart. Acta genetica et statistica medica, 8, 5764.Google ScholarPubMed
Karn, M. N. (1952). Birth weight and length of gestation of twins, together with maternal age, parity and survival rate. Annals of Eugenics, 16, 365377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kock, H. L. (1966). Twins and Twin Relations. Chicago University Press: Chicago.Google Scholar
Lennox, W. G., Gibbs, E. L., and Gibbs, F. A. (1939). The inheritance of epilepsy as revealed by the electro-encephalograph. Journal of the American Medical Association, 113, 10021003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lennox, W. G., Gibbs, E. L., and Gibbs, F. A. (1940). Inheritance of cerebral dysrhythmia and epilepsy. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry (Chicago), 44, 11551183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lennox, W. G., Gibbs, E. L., and Gibbs, F. A. (1945). The brain-wave pattern, an hereditary trait. Journal of Heredity, 36, 233243.Google Scholar
Lindsley, D. B. (1959). The reticular system and perceptual discrimination. In Reticular Formation of the Brain, pp. 513534. Edited by Jasper, H. H. and Proctor, L. D.. Churchill: London.Google Scholar
Lindsley, D. B., Schreiner, L. H., Knowles, W. B., and Magoun, H. W. (1950). Behavioral and EEG changes following chronic brain stem lesions in the cast. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 2, 483498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lippold, O. C. J., and Novotny, G. E. K. (1970). Is alpha rhythm an artefact? Lancet, 1, 976979.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loomis, A. L., Harvey, E. N., and Hobart, G. (1936). Electrical potentials of the human brain. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 249279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowenberg, E. C., and McCullough, C. E. (1963). An improved HI-Q bandpass filter for electroencephalography. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 15, 706708.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luxenburger, H. (1930). Psychiatrisch-neurologische Zwillingspathologie. Zentralblatt für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 56, 145180.Google Scholar
Lynn, R. (1966). Attention, Arousal and the Orientation Reaction. Pergamon Press: Oxford.Google Scholar
Margerison, J. H., Anderson, W. McC., and Dawson, J. (1964). Plasma sodium and the EEG during the menstrual cycle of normal human females. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 17, 540544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milstein, V., Stevens, J., and Sachdev, K. (1969). Habituation of the alpha attenuation response in children and adults with psychiatric disorders. Elecetroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 26, 1218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moruzzi, G., and Magoun, H. W. (1949). Brain stem reticular formation and activation of the EEG. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 1, 455473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newman, H. H., Freeman, F. N., and Holzinger, K. J. (1937). In Twins: A Study of Heredity and Environment. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.Google Scholar
Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes, An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex. Translated and edited by Anrep, G. V.. Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Price, B. (1950). Primary biases in twin studies. A review of prenatal and natal difference-producing factors in monozygotic pairs. American Journal of Human Genetics, 2, 293352.Google ScholarPubMed
Purpura, D. P. (1958). Organization of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic electrogenesis in the cerebral cortex. In Reticular Formation of the Brain, pp. 435457. Edited by Jasper, H. H., Proctor, L. D., Knighton, R. S., No˚shay, W. C., and Costello, R. T.. Churchill: London.Google Scholar
Race, R. R., and Sanger, R. (1968). In Blood Groups in Man. 5th ed.Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford.Google Scholar
Raney, E. T. (1939). Brain potentials and lateral dominance in identical twins. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 24, 2139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlag, J. and Balvin, R. (1963). Background activity in the cerebral cortex and reticular formation in relation with the electroencephalogram. Experimental Neurology, 8, 203219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shields, J. (1962). In Munozygotic Twins Brought up Apart and Together. Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Shields, J. (1971). Heredity and psychological abnormality. In Handbook of Abnormal Psychology. Edited by Eysenck, H. J.. 2nd ed.Pitman Medical: London. (In press.)Google Scholar
Smith, S. M., and Penrose, L. S. (1955). Monozygotic and dizygotic twin diagnosis. Annals of Human Genetics, 19, 273289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sokolov, E. N. (1960). Neuronal models and the orienting reflex. In The Central Nervous System and Behavior, pp. 187276. Edited by Brazier, M. A. B.. Transactions of the third conference sponsored by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation: New York.Google Scholar
Storrs, E. E., and Williams, R. J. (1968). A Study of monozygous quadruplet armadillos in relation to mammalian inheritance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 60, 910914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vandenberg, S. G. (1966). Contributions of twin research to psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 66, 327352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vogel, F. (1963). Genetische Aspekte des Electroenzephalogramms. Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift, 88, 17481759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogel, F. (1966a). Zur genetischen Grundlage occipitaler langsamer B-Wellen im EEG des Menschen. Humangenetik, 2, 238245.Google Scholar
Vogel, F. (1966b). Zur genetischen Grundlage frontopräzentraler B-Wellen-Gruppen im EEG des Menschen. Humangenetik, 2, 227237.Google Scholar
Wells, C. E. (1963). Alpha wave responsiveness to light in man. In EEG and Behavior, pp. 4155. Edited by Glaser, G. H.. Basic Books: New York.Google Scholar
Wells, C. E., and Wolff, H. G. (1960). Formation of temporary cerebral connections in normal and brain-damaged subjects. Neurology, 10, 335340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winter, K., Broadhurst, A., and Glass, A. (1971). Neuroticism, extraversion and EEG amplitude. British Journal of Psychiatry. (In press.)Google Scholar
Young, J. P. R. (1969). An investigation of the role of genetic factors in certain spontaneous and induced changes in the human E.E.G. M.Phil. Thesis: University of London.Google Scholar
Young, J. P. R. (1971). An investigation of auditory evoked potentials in male twins. M.D. Thesis: University of Cambridge.Google Scholar
Zung, W. W. K., and Wilson, W. P. (1967). Sleep and dream patterns in twins: Markov analysis of a genetic trait. In Recent Advances in Biological Psychiatry, Vol, IX, pp. 119130. Edited by Wortis, J.. Plenum Press: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar