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Questions for Robert Miranda Jr.: Parenting Cuts Genetic Risk of Teen Drinking

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Healtha118g snp, addiction researcher, adolescents, alcohol, alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, alcoholism, alcoholism risk, aud, aud diagnosis, behavior, brown university, child, david orenstein, disorder, environmental factor, european american, g allele, genetic predisposition, genetic risk factor, genomic dna, non aud youth, oprm1 gene, parenting, relationship, robert miranda, teens

In a new study, addiction researchers found that attentive parenting can overcome a genetic predisposition to alcohol use disorder among teens. Although further research is needed, says lead author Robert Miranda Jr., parents can have an impact if they “closely monitor their child’s behavior and peer group.”

In 2010 a team led by Robert Miranda Jr., associate professor (research) of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, found that teens with a single difference in their genes were more predisposed to alcohol use disorder. In a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research he found that the risk was largely overcome in teens whose parents are attentive to their behavior and peer group. Miranda, a researcher at Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, answered questions from science writer David Orenstein about the new study.

What did we know about genetic risk associated with A118G and teenage alcohol use going into this study?

In 2010, we reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research the first evidence that the A118G SNP of the OPRM1 gene is associated with a greater number of alcohol-related problems as well as the development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) among adolescents. Specifically, adolescents who met criteria for an AUD diagnosis had a higher prevalence of the G allele (51.9 percent) than non-AUD youth(16.3 percent), and the G allele accounted for 9 percent of the variance in alcohol-related problems experienced by youth in the past three months, with a moderate effect size. Although these findings are consistent with some adult studies in terms of the nature and magnitude of this association, other adult studies did not find this relationship. (more…)

Impulsive Micromanagers Help Plants to Adapt, Survive

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2012Scienceatmospheric co2, climate, concentration, drought, environmental change, environmental factor, global change, jay lennon, jen lau, plant, precipitation pattern, soil microbe, warmer temperature

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Soil microbes are impulsive. So much so that they help plants face the challenges of a rapidly changing climate.

Jen Lau and Jay Lennon, Michigan State University biologists, studied how plants and microbes work together to help plants survive the effects of global changes, such as increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations, warmer temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. The results, appearing in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that microbes in the ground not only interact with plants, but they also prompt them to respond to environmental changes.

“We found that these changes in the plants happen primarily because of what global changes do to the belowground microbes rather than the plant itself,” said Lau, who works at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station. “Drought stress affects microbes, and they, in turn, drive plants to flower earlier and help plants grow and reproduce when faced with drought.” (more…)

Testosterone-fuelled Infantile Males Might be a Product of Mom’s Behaviour

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012Healthaggression, behavioural traits, breastfeeding, environmental factor, infancy, key hormone, male reproductive organs, maternal diet, maternal smoking, parent child interactions, Richard E Tremblay, saliva sample, sexual behaviour, testosterone, testosterone level, twins, university of montreal

By comparing the testosterone levels of five-month old pairs of twins, both identical and non-identical, University of Montreal researchers were able to establish that testosterone levels in infancy are not inherited genetically but rather determined by environmental factors. “Testosterone is a key hormone for the development of male reproductive organs, and it is also associated with behavioural traits, such as sexual behaviour and aggression,” said lead author Dr. Richard E. Tremblay of the university’s Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment. “Our study is the largest to be undertaken with newborns, and our results contrast with the findings gained by scientists working with adolescents and adults, indicating that testosterone levels are inherited.” The findings were presented in an article published in Psychoneuroendocrinology on May 7, 2012. (more…)

MU Researchers Identify Differences in Facial Characteristics of Children with Autism Compared to Typically Developing Children

By Guest PostOctober 23, 2011Science3-d image, adolescence, autism, child head, embryo, environmental factor, environmental influences, face and brain, facial characteristics of children, genetics, geometry of the face, ian george, jordan austin, kimberly cole, kristina aldridge, missouri, origins of autism, philtrum, t nicole takahashi, thompson center for autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, treatments, typically developing children, wider mouth, ye duan

*Research is a step toward understanding cause of autism*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The face and brain develop in coordination, with each influencing the other, beginning in the embryo and continuing through adolescence. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found distinct differences between the facial characteristics of children with autism compared to those of typically developing children. This knowledge could help researchers understand the origins of autism.

“There is no clear answer about whether autism is caused by genetics or by environmental influences,” said Kristina Aldridge, lead author and assistant professor of anatomy in the MU School of Medicine and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. “If we can identify when these facial changes occur, we could pinpoint when autism may begin to develop in a child. Knowing that point in time could lead us to identify a genetic cause, a window of time when the embryo may be susceptible to an environmental factor, or both.” (more…)

Tag Archives: environmental factor

Questions for Robert Miranda Jr.: Parenting Cuts Genetic Risk of Teen Drinking

Impulsive Micromanagers Help Plants to Adapt, Survive

Testosterone-fuelled Infantile Males Might be a Product of Mom’s Behaviour

MU Researchers Identify Differences in Facial Characteristics of Children with Autism Compared to Typically Developing Children