Margaret Luciano
Biographic Data
| ID | 658049 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Margaret Luciano |
| GIVEN NAMES | Margaret |
| FAMILY NAME | Luciano |
| SIGNATURE | LUCIANO M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7306-3008 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Familial similarity and heritability of personality traits and life satisfaction are higher than shown in typical single-method studies
Personality trait similarity among ordinary relatives is surprisingly low, with parent-offspring and sibling-sibling correlations usually r ≤ .15. We explain why these correlations are biased in typical single-method studies and argue that this problem can only be addressed with multimethod designs. We also explain why ordinary relative comparisons can provide a more generalizable way of estimating (additive, narrow-sense) heritability than the b…
Maternal education and prenatal smoking associations with adolescent executive function are substantially confounded by genetics
Twin studies have suggested extremely high estimates of heritability for adolescent executive function, with no substantial contributions from shared environment. However, developmental psychology research has found significant correlations between executive function outcomes and elements of the environment that would be shared in twins. It is unclear whether these seemingly contradictory findings are best explained by genetic confounding in deve…
The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm
This study aimed to test theoretical predictions over biological underpinnings of previously documented phenotypic correlations between human language-related and musical rhythm traits. Here, after identifying significant genetic correlations between rhythm, dyslexia and various language-related traits, we adapted multivariate methods to capture genetic signals common to genome-wide association studies of rhythm (N = 606,825) and dyslexia (N = 1,…
Social expectations as a possible mechanism for adult personality change
OBJECTIVE: Personality traits change in both mean levels and variance across the life span but the mechanisms underlying these developmental trends remain unclear. Social Investment Principle (SIP) suggests that social expectations drive personality changes in adulthood. Accordingly, we tested whether differences between personality traits in social expectations for them can explain their different change trajectories in young adulthood. METHODS:…
A symptom level perspective on reactive and proactive aggressive behaviours and ADHD symptoms in childhood
OBJECTIVE: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent childhood disorders, affecting around 3.4% of children worldwide. A common and impairing correlate of ADHD is aggressive behaviour. ADHD symptoms and aggression are both heterogeneous and it has been speculated that certain symptoms of ADHD might be more important in aggressive behaviours of different types than others. This study uses a symptom-level analysis…
Polygenic risks for joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems
BACKGROUND: Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems show considerable heterogeneity; however, this can be parsed into a small number of meaningful subgroups. Doing so offered insights into risk factors that lead to different patterns of internalizing/externalizing trajectories. However, despite both domains of problems showing strong heritability, no study has yet considered genetic risks as predictors of join…
Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
Handedness has been extensively studied because of its relationship with language and the over-representation of left-handers in some neurodevelopmental disorders. Using data from the UK Biobank, 23andMe and the International Handedness Consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of handedness (N = 1,766,671). We found 41 loci associated (P < 5 × 10−8) with left-handedness and 7 associated with ambidexterity. Tissue-enrichmen…
Brain Peak Width of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity (PSMD) and Cognitive Function in Later Life
It is suggested that the brain's peak width of skeletonized water mean diffusivity (PSMD) is a neuro-biomarker of processing speed, an important aspect of cognitive aging. We tested whether PSMD is more strongly correlated with processing speed than with other cognitive domains, and more strongly than other structural brain MRI indices. Participants were 731 Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 members, mean age = 73 years (SD = 0.7); analytical sample was …
Current Versus Lifetime Depression, Apoe Variation, and Their Interaction on Cognitive Performance in Younger and Older Adults
OBJECTIVE: An interaction effect of depressive symptoms and APOE e4 allele status on cognitive decline has been shown in old age: e4 allele carriers with more depressive symptoms have faster cognitive decline than those with either depression or the e4 allele. We test this interaction effect on four cognitive domains, using a clinical depression measure comparing current versus lifetime depression. METHODS: 14,379 individuals aged 18 to 59 years,…
Reverse Causation in the Association Between C-Reactive Protein and Fibrinogen Levels and Cognitive Abilities in an Aging Sample
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that increased levels of inflammatory and hemostatic markers are associated with poorer cognitive performance and to assess the influence of childhood intelligence quotient (IQ) and current cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on this relationship. Blood inflammatory markers have been shown to predict late-life cognition, although the mechanism through which this occurs is unknown. METHODS: Levels of the bio…
Commentary
Psychology has long struggled with defining constructs while preserving their meaning within a cultural context. Autonomy and relatedness have been construed as a dichotomy, which does not contribute to the understanding of how humans can act autonomously while being attached to one another. It is more fruitful to discuss the constructs in the context of an inclusive relationship in which autonomy and relatedness are proposed to be compatible as …
Happiness Is a Personal(ity) Thing
Subjective well-being is known to be related to personality traits. However, to date, nobody has examined whether personality and subjective well-being share a common genetic structure. We used a representative sample of 973 twin pairs to test the hypothesis that heritable differences in subjective well-being are entirely accounted for by the genetic architecture of the Five-Factor Model's personality domains. Results supported this model. Subjec…
Heritability of Adult Body Height
A major component of variation in body height is due to genetic differences, but environmental factors have a substantial contributory effect. In this study we aimed to analyse whether the genetic architecture of body height varies between affluent western societies. We analysed twin data from eight countries comprising 30,111 complete twin pairs by using the univariate genetic model of the Mx statistical package. Body height and zygosity were se…
Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
Handedness has been extensively studied because of its relationship with language and the over-representation of left-handers in some neurodevelopmental disorders. Using data from the UK Biobank, 23andMe and the International Handedness Consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of handedness (N = 1,766,671). We found 41 loci associated (P < 5 × 10−8) with left-handedness and 7 associated with ambidexterity. Tissue-enrichmen…
Commentary
Psychology has long struggled with defining constructs while preserving their meaning within a cultural context. Autonomy and relatedness have been construed as a dichotomy, which does not contribute to the understanding of how humans can act autonomously while being attached to one another. It is more fruitful to discuss the constructs in the context of an inclusive relationship in which autonomy and relatedness are proposed to be compatible as …
Heritability of Adult Body Height
A major component of variation in body height is due to genetic differences, but environmental factors have a substantial contributory effect. In this study we aimed to analyse whether the genetic architecture of body height varies between affluent western societies. We analysed twin data from eight countries comprising 30,111 complete twin pairs by using the univariate genetic model of the Mx statistical package. Body height and zygosity were se…
Happiness Is a Personal(ity) Thing
Subjective well-being is known to be related to personality traits. However, to date, nobody has examined whether personality and subjective well-being share a common genetic structure. We used a representative sample of 973 twin pairs to test the hypothesis that heritable differences in subjective well-being are entirely accounted for by the genetic architecture of the Five-Factor Model's personality domains. Results supported this model. Subjec…
Reverse Causation in the Association Between C-Reactive Protein and Fibrinogen Levels and Cognitive Abilities in an Aging Sample
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that increased levels of inflammatory and hemostatic markers are associated with poorer cognitive performance and to assess the influence of childhood intelligence quotient (IQ) and current cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on this relationship. Blood inflammatory markers have been shown to predict late-life cognition, although the mechanism through which this occurs is unknown. METHODS: Levels of the bio…
Commentary
Psychology has long struggled with defining constructs while preserving their meaning within a cultural context. Autonomy and relatedness have been construed as a dichotomy, which does not contribute to the understanding of how humans can act autonomously while being attached to one another. It is more fruitful to discuss the constructs in the context of an inclusive relationship in which autonomy and relatedness are proposed to be compatible as …
Current Versus Lifetime Depression, Apoe Variation, and Their Interaction on Cognitive Performance in Younger and Older Adults
OBJECTIVE: An interaction effect of depressive symptoms and APOE e4 allele status on cognitive decline has been shown in old age: e4 allele carriers with more depressive symptoms have faster cognitive decline than those with either depression or the e4 allele. We test this interaction effect on four cognitive domains, using a clinical depression measure comparing current versus lifetime depression. METHODS: 14,379 individuals aged 18 to 59 years,…
Brain Peak Width of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity (PSMD) and Cognitive Function in Later Life
It is suggested that the brain's peak width of skeletonized water mean diffusivity (PSMD) is a neuro-biomarker of processing speed, an important aspect of cognitive aging. We tested whether PSMD is more strongly correlated with processing speed than with other cognitive domains, and more strongly than other structural brain MRI indices. Participants were 731 Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 members, mean age = 73 years (SD = 0.7); analytical sample was …
Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
Handedness has been extensively studied because of its relationship with language and the over-representation of left-handers in some neurodevelopmental disorders. Using data from the UK Biobank, 23andMe and the International Handedness Consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of handedness (N = 1,766,671). We found 41 loci associated (P < 5 × 10−8) with left-handedness and 7 associated with ambidexterity. Tissue-enrichmen…
A symptom level perspective on reactive and proactive aggressive behaviours and ADHD symptoms in childhood
OBJECTIVE: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent childhood disorders, affecting around 3.4% of children worldwide. A common and impairing correlate of ADHD is aggressive behaviour. ADHD symptoms and aggression are both heterogeneous and it has been speculated that certain symptoms of ADHD might be more important in aggressive behaviours of different types than others. This study uses a symptom-level analysis…
Polygenic risks for joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems
BACKGROUND: Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems show considerable heterogeneity; however, this can be parsed into a small number of meaningful subgroups. Doing so offered insights into risk factors that lead to different patterns of internalizing/externalizing trajectories. However, despite both domains of problems showing strong heritability, no study has yet considered genetic risks as predictors of join…
Social expectations as a possible mechanism for adult personality change
OBJECTIVE: Personality traits change in both mean levels and variance across the life span but the mechanisms underlying these developmental trends remain unclear. Social Investment Principle (SIP) suggests that social expectations drive personality changes in adulthood. Accordingly, we tested whether differences between personality traits in social expectations for them can explain their different change trajectories in young adulthood. METHODS:…
The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm
This study aimed to test theoretical predictions over biological underpinnings of previously documented phenotypic correlations between human language-related and musical rhythm traits. Here, after identifying significant genetic correlations between rhythm, dyslexia and various language-related traits, we adapted multivariate methods to capture genetic signals common to genome-wide association studies of rhythm (N = 606,825) and dyslexia (N = 1,…
Familial similarity and heritability of personality traits and life satisfaction are higher than shown in typical single-method studies
Personality trait similarity among ordinary relatives is surprisingly low, with parent-offspring and sibling-sibling correlations usually r ≤ .15. We explain why these correlations are biased in typical single-method studies and argue that this problem can only be addressed with multimethod designs. We also explain why ordinary relative comparisons can provide a more generalizable way of estimating (additive, narrow-sense) heritability than the b…
Maternal education and prenatal smoking associations with adolescent executive function are substantially confounded by genetics
Twin studies have suggested extremely high estimates of heritability for adolescent executive function, with no substantial contributions from shared environment. However, developmental psychology research has found significant correlations between executive function outcomes and elements of the environment that would be shared in twins. It is unclear whether these seemingly contradictory findings are best explained by genetic confounding in deve…
Psychology (12 works) · Developmental psychology (6 works) · Clinical Psychology (5 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Biology (4 works) · Cognition (4 works) · Genetics (4 works) · Psychiatry (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Big Five personality traits (3 works)