The heritability of personality was addressed using a psychophysiological measure, midfrontal EEG asymmetry, and a paper and pencil measure, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). The degree to which midfrontal EEG asymmetry was correlated with the scales of the MPQ was assessed. Relatively greater right midfrontal EEG asymmetry was associated with higher Absorption and Negative Emotionality scores in both the Cz and linked mastoid reference schemes in females, but not in males. Relatively greater right midfrontal EEG asymmetry was also associated with higher Traditionalism and Positive Emotionality scores in the Cz reference scheme in females but not in males. Midfrontal EEG asymmetry was found to be modestly heritable in females, but not in males. Further, each of the scales of the MPQ correlated with midfrontal EEG asymmetry demonstrated moderate to high heritability. A bivariate Cholesky model was used to estimate the heritability of the phenotypic correlations between midfrontal EEG asymmetry and each of the scales with which it was related. Only the midfrontal EEG Asymmetry/Negative Emotionality Cholesky model demonstrated sufficient fit the observed data. According to this model, common genetic effects accounted for approximately 40% of the observed phenotypic correlation between midfrontal EEG asymmetry and Negative Emotionality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/280273 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Coan, Jr., James A. |
| Contributors | Allen, John J. B. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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