The gene environment aetiology of freezing and its relationship with internalizing symptoms during adolescence.
Adolescence
Behavioural genetic modelling
Defensive stress response
Internalizing symptoms
Longitudinal research design
Toddlerhood
Journal
EBioMedicine
ISSN: 2352-3964
Titre abrégé: EBioMedicine
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 101647039
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Jul 2022
Jul 2022
Historique:
received:
25
01
2022
revised:
18
05
2022
accepted:
19
05
2022
pubmed:
14
6
2022
medline:
20
7
2022
entrez:
13
6
2022
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The freezing response is a universal response to threat, linked to attentive immobility and action preparation. It is relevant for acute stress coping in animals and humans, and subtle deviations in toddler freezing duration (absence of, or excessively long reactions) have been linked to higher risk for internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Yet, while individual freezing tendencies are relatively stable throughout life, little is known about their gene-environment aetiology. We investigated the heritability of toddler freezing in the Quebec Newborn Twin Study (QNTS; n=508 twins) by fitting behavioural genetic models to video-coded freezing responses during a robot confrontation. Furthermore, we examined the predictive associations between toddler freezing and internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depressive symptoms), as they unfold during adolescence (ages 12-19 years) using linear mixed-effects models. Freezing was found to be moderately heritable (45% of the variance accounted for by genetic factors). The remaining variance was explained by unique environmental factors, including measurement error. No significant contribution of shared environmental factors was noted. Additionally, shorter freezing was associated with more internalizing symptoms in adolescence at trend level, a pattern that was significant for depressive but not anxiety symptoms. Freezing is an adaptive coping mechanism in early childhood, which is partly driven by genetic factors. Crucially, the absence or shorter duration of these behaviours may signal vulnerability to depressive problems later in life. Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Research Fund of Quebec-Health and Society and Culture. Consolidator grant from the European Research Council (ERC_CoG-2017_772337).
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The freezing response is a universal response to threat, linked to attentive immobility and action preparation. It is relevant for acute stress coping in animals and humans, and subtle deviations in toddler freezing duration (absence of, or excessively long reactions) have been linked to higher risk for internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Yet, while individual freezing tendencies are relatively stable throughout life, little is known about their gene-environment aetiology.
METHODS
METHODS
We investigated the heritability of toddler freezing in the Quebec Newborn Twin Study (QNTS; n=508 twins) by fitting behavioural genetic models to video-coded freezing responses during a robot confrontation. Furthermore, we examined the predictive associations between toddler freezing and internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depressive symptoms), as they unfold during adolescence (ages 12-19 years) using linear mixed-effects models.
FINDINGS
RESULTS
Freezing was found to be moderately heritable (45% of the variance accounted for by genetic factors). The remaining variance was explained by unique environmental factors, including measurement error. No significant contribution of shared environmental factors was noted. Additionally, shorter freezing was associated with more internalizing symptoms in adolescence at trend level, a pattern that was significant for depressive but not anxiety symptoms.
INTERPRETATION
CONCLUSIONS
Freezing is an adaptive coping mechanism in early childhood, which is partly driven by genetic factors. Crucially, the absence or shorter duration of these behaviours may signal vulnerability to depressive problems later in life.
FUNDING
BACKGROUND
Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Research Fund of Quebec-Health and Society and Culture. Consolidator grant from the European Research Council (ERC_CoG-2017_772337).
Identifiants
pubmed: 35696830
pii: S2352-3964(22)00275-4
doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104094
pmc: PMC9194596
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
104094Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of interests The authors declare no conflict of interest.