Showing papers by "University of Connecticut published in 2008"

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy in higher eukaryotes

Abstract: Research in autophagy continues to accelerate,(1) and as a result many new scientists are entering the field Accordingly, it is important to establish a standard set of criteria for monitoring macroautophagy in different organisms Recent reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose(2,3) There are many useful and convenient methods that can be used to monitor macroautophagy in yeast, but relatively few in other model systems, and there is much confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure macroautophagy in higher eukaryotes A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers of autophagosomes versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway; thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from fully functional autophagy that includes delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi) Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of the methods that can be used by investigators who are attempting to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as by reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that investigate these processes This set of guidelines is not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to verify an autophagic response

Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration.

Abstract: Background Meta-analyses of antidepressant medications have reported only modest benefits over placebo treatment, and when unpublished trial data are included, the benefit falls below accepted criteria for clinical significance. Yet, the efficacy of the antidepressants may also depend on the severity of initial depression scores. The purpose of this analysis is to establish the relation of baseline severity and antidepressant efficacy using a relevant dataset of published and unpublished clinical trials. Methods and Findings We obtained data on all clinical trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the licensing of the four new-generation antidepressants for which full datasets were available. We then used meta-analytic techniques to assess linear and quadratic effects of initial severity on improvement scores for drug and placebo groups and on drug–placebo difference scores. Drug–placebo differences increased as a function of initial severity, rising from virtually no difference at moderate levels of initial depression to a relatively small difference for patients with very severe depression, reaching conventional criteria for clinical significance only for patients at the upper end of the very severely depressed category. Meta-regression analyses indicated that the relation of baseline severity and improvement was curvilinear in drug groups and showed a strong, negative linear component in placebo groups.

Beyond deforestation: restoring forests and ecosystem services on degraded lands

Abstract: Despite continued forest conversion and degradation, forest cover is increasing in countries across the globe. New forests are regenerating on former agricultural land, and forest plantations are being established for commercial and restoration purposes. Plantations and restored forests can improve ecosystem services and enhance biodiversity conservation, but will not match the composition and structure of the original forest cover. Approaches to restoring forest ecosystems depend strongly on levels of forest and soil degradation, residual vegetation, and desired restoration outcomes. Opportunities abound to combine ambitious forest restoration and regeneration goals with sustainable rural livelihoods and community participation. New forests will require adaptive management as dynamic, resilient systems that can withstand stresses of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other anthropogenic effects.

Global Warming, Elevational Range Shifts, and Lowland Biotic Attrition in the Wet Tropics

Abstract: Many studies suggest that global warming is driving species ranges poleward and toward higher elevations at temperate latitudes, but evidence for range shifts is scarce for the tropics, where the shallow latitudinal temperature gradient makes upslope shifts more likely than poleward shifts. Based on new data for plants and insects on an elevational transect in Costa Rica, we assess the potential for lowland biotic attrition, range-shift gaps, and mountaintop extinctions under projected warming. We conclude that tropical lowland biotas may face a level of net lowland biotic attrition without parallel at higher latitudes (where range shifts may be compensated for by species from lower latitudes) and that a high proportion of tropical species soon faces gaps between current and projected elevational ranges.

Superwetting nanowire membranes for selective absorption

Abstract: The construction of nanoporous membranes is of great technological importance for various applications, including catalyst supports, filters for biomolecule purification, environmental remediation and seawater desalination. A major challenge is the scalable fabrication of membranes with the desirable combination of good thermal stability, high selectivity and excellent recyclability. Here we present a self-assembly method for constructing thermally stable, free-standing nanowire membranes that exhibit controlled wetting behaviour ranging from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. These membranes can selectively absorb oils up to 20 times the material's weight in preference to water, through a combination of superhydrophobicity and capillary action. Moreover, the nanowires that form the membrane structure can be re-suspended in solutions and subsequently re-form the original paper-like morphology over many cycles. Our results suggest an innovative material that should find practical applications in the removal of organics, particularly in the field of oil spill cleanup.

Evidence-Based Practices in Classroom Management: Considerations for Research to Practice.

Abstract: Classroom management is a critical skill area. Teachers should be trained and supported in implementing practices that are likely to be successful; that is, practices that are backed by evidence. The purpose of this paper is to describe the outcomes of a systematic literature search conducted to identify evidence-based classroom management practices. Although the need for additional research exists, 20 practices, in general, were identified as having sufficient evidence to be considered for classroom adoption. Considerations for incorporating these pracfices are suggested, and a self-assessmen t tool is proposed as means of evaluating and enhancing use of these practices. Suggesfions for future research are also presented.

A meta‐analysis of teamwork processes: tests of a multidimensional model and relationships with team effectiveness criteria

Abstract: Drawing from Marks, Mathieu, and Zaccaro (2001), we proposed that narrowly focused teamwork processes load onto 3 higher-order teamwork process dimensions, which in turn load onto a general teamwork process factor. Results of model testing using meta-analyses of relationships among narrow teamwork processes provided support for the structure of this multidimensional theory of teamwork process. Meta-analytic results also indicated that teamwork processes have positive relationships with team performance and member satisfaction, and that the relationships are similar across the teamwork dimensions and levels of process specificity. Supplemental analyses revealed that the 3 intermediate-level teamwork processes are positively and strongly related to cohesion and potency. Results of moderator analyses suggested that relationships among teamwork processes and team performance are somewhat dependent on task interdependence and team size.

Self-Selection and Information Role of Online Product Reviews

Abstract: Online product reviews may be subject to self-selection biases that impact consumer purchase behavior, online ratings' time series, and consumer surplus. This occurs if early buyers hold different preferences than do later consumers about the quality of a given product. Readers of early product reviews may not successfully correct for these preference differences when interpreting ratings and making purchases. In this study, we develop a model that examines how idiosyncratic preferences of early buyers can affect long-term consumer purchase behavior as well as the social welfare created by review systems. Our model provides an explanation for the structure of product ratings over time, which we empirically test using online book reviews posted on Amazon.com. Our analysis suggests that firms could benefit from altering their marketing strategies such as pricing, advertising, or product design to encourage consumers likely to yield positive reports to self-select into the market early and generate positive ...

Growth Hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factors, and the Skeleton

Abstract: GH and IGF-I are important regulators of bone homeostasis and are central to the achievement of normal longitudinal bone growth and bone mass. Although GH may act directly on skeletal cells, most of its effects are mediated by IGF-I, which is present in the systemic circulation and is synthesized by peripheral tissues. The availability of IGF-I is regulated by IGF binding proteins. IGF-I enhances the differentiated function of the osteoblast and bone formation. Adult GH deficiency causes low bone turnover osteoporosis with high risk of vertebral and nonvertebral fractures, and the low bone mass can be partially reversed by GH replacement. Acromegaly is characterized by high bone turnover, which can lead to bone loss and vertebral fractures, particularly in patients with coexistent hypogonadism. GH and IGF-I secretion are decreased in aging individuals, and abnormalities in the GH/IGF-I axis play a role in the pathogenesis of the osteoporosis of anorexia nervosa and after glucocorticoid exposure.

Multicarrier Communication Over Underwater Acoustic Channels With Nonuniform Doppler Shifts

Abstract: Underwater acoustic (UWA) channels are wideband in nature due to the small ratio of the carrier frequency to the signal bandwidth, which introduces frequency-dependent Doppler shifts. In this paper, we treat the channel as having a common Doppler scaling factor on all propagation paths, and propose a two-step approach to mitigating the Doppler effect: 1) nonuniform Doppler compensation via resampling that converts a "wideband" problem into a "narrowband" problem and 2) high-resolution uniform compensation of the residual Doppler. We focus on zero-padded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to minimize the transmission power. Null subcarriers are used to facilitate Doppler compensation, and pilot subcarriers are used for channel estimation. The receiver is based on block-by-block processing, and does not rely on channel dependence across OFDM blocks; thus, it is suitable for fast-varying UWA channels. The data from two shallow-water experiments near Woods Hole, MA, are used to demonstrate the receiver performance. Excellent performance results are obtained even when the transmitter and the receiver are moving at a relative speed of up to 10 kn, at which the Doppler shifts are greater than the OFDM subcarrier spacing. These results suggest that OFDM is a viable option for high-rate communications over wideband UWA channels with nonuniform Doppler shifts.

Hand-grip dynamometry predicts future outcomes in aging adults.

Abstract: Background and Purpose:One use of clinical measures is the prediction of future outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the literature addressing the value of grip strength as a predictor of important outcomes.Methods:Relevant literature was located using 4 bibliogra

Personal and workgroup incivility: impact on work and health outcomes.

Abstract: This article develops a theoretical model of the impact of workplace incivility on employees' occupational and psychological well-being. In Study 1, the authors tested the model on 1,158 employees, finding that satisfaction with work and supervisors, as well as mental health, partially mediated effects of personal incivility on turnover intentions and physical health; this process did not vary by gender. Study 2 cross- validated and extended these results on an independent sample of 271 employees, showing negative effects of workgroup incivility that emerged over and above the impact of personal incivility. In both studies, all results held while controlling for general job stress. Implications for organizational science and practice are discussed. Over the past decade, workplace aggression has garnered in- creasing interest in the social and organizational sciences. In researching such conduct as bullying (e.g., Rayner, 1997), psycho- logical aggression (e.g., Baron & Neuman, 1996), and interper- sonal aggression (Glomb & Liao, 2003), scholars have focused on behaviors that involve a clear sense of intentional hostility from the aggressor. In contrast, the current study addresses workplace incivility, a "milder" form of interpersonal mistreatment in which intentionality is less apparent. Unlike other antisocial work behav- iors, such as harassment or sabotage, incivility typically does not warrant legal attention. Yet because of the lack of sanctions, organizations might often dismiss incivility as transient and trivial conduct that merits no intervention. We aim in this study to dispel these notions by demonstrating that seemingly minor instances of disrespect can have a measurable adverse impact on the workforce. Specifically, this study extends the nascent literature on workplace incivility in three primary ways. First, we propose a model of medi- ating processes that link incivility to key outcomes in occupational health psychology. Although it might seem obvious that experiences of mistreatment should have negative outcomes, it is important to understand why and how such everyday forms of disrespect can have wide-ranging costs. We help advance the incivility-outcome literature by grounding our model more extensively in theory (e.g., affective events theory; dysempowerment theory) and by identifying both direct and indirect pathways of harm. Second, extant research on workplace incivility has been restricted to a single level of analysis, focusing primarily on individual instigators and targets. This has likely led to the assumption that incivility is an individual-level problem that is limited to the parties directly involved. We challenge this assumption by examining incivility at the group level and inves- tigate whether its negative impact extends beyond targeted individuals to other employees who work alongside them. Finally, theory sug- gests that women demand stronger norms of respect than men do because of enhanced interpersonal sensitivity. Although incivility represents a violation of interpersonal norms of respect, past research has not examined whether men and women experience the effects of workplace incivility differentially; we address this question in the current study.

Summarizing 25 Years of Research on Men's Gender Role Conflict Using the Gender Role Conflict Scale New Research Paradigms and Clinical Implications

Abstract: This article reviews 232 empirical studies that used the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) over the past 25 years (1982-2007). The article introduces the gender role conflict (GRC) construct using past definitions and theoretical models. The research findings for diverse men are summarized and studies related to men's intrapersonal, interpersonal, and therapeutic lives are analyzed. The empirical support, criticism, and challenges to the gender role conflict research program are reviewed. A contextual research paradigm with seven domains is presented and 18 research questions and two research models are discussed to foster more moderation and mediation studies on men's GRC. A new diagnostic schema to assess men's GRC in therapy and during psychoeducational interventions is discussed. The research review concludes that GRC is significantly related to men's psychological and interpersonal problems and therefore an important construct for psychologists and other helping professionals.

Decentralized Authoritarianism in China: The Communist Party's Control of Local Elites in the Post-Mao Era

Abstract: 1 Authoritarianism and decentralization 2 Organizing decentralization 3 Promoting high-level generalists: the management of mayors 4 Organizational power: the view from within 5 Explaining cadre rank 6 The impact of village elections on the appointment of party branch secretaries 7 Conclusion

DBR: depth-based routing for underwater sensor networks

Abstract: Providing scalable and efficient routing services in underwater sensor networks (UWSNs) is very challenging due to the unique characteristics of UWSNs. Firstly, UWSNs often employ acoustic channels for communications because radio signals do not work well in water. Compared with radio-frequency channels, acoustic channels feature much lower bandwidths and several orders of magnitudes longer propagation delays. Secondly, UWSNs usually have very dynamic topology as sensors move passively with water currents. Some routing protocols have been proposed to address the challenging problem in UWSNs. However, most of them assume that the full-dimensional location information of all sensor nodes in a network is known in prior through a localization process, which is yet another challenging issue to be solved in UWSNs. In this paper, we propose a depth-based routing (DBR) protocol. DBR does not require full-dimensional location information of sensor nodes. Instead, it needs only local depth information, which can be easily obtained with an inexpensive depth sensor that can be equipped in every underwater sensor node. A key advantage of our protocol is that it can handle network dynamics efficiently without the assistance of a localization service. Moreover, our routing protocol can take advantage of a multiple-sink underwater sensor network architecture without introducing extra cost. We conduct extensive simulations. The results show that DBR can achieve very high packet delivery ratios (at least 95%) for dense networks with only small communication cost.

Interaction Orientation and Firm Performance

Abstract: Marketing managers are being required to demonstrate the profitability of their marketing actions down to the level of their individual customers and on an ongoing basis. At the same time, customers expect firms to increasingly customize their products and services to meet their demands. Firms still need to produce superior products, sell smarter, and understand the markets as a whole, but the ability of firms to orient themselves to interact successfully with their individual customers will differentiate them in the future. Advances in technology have resulted in increasing opportunities for interactions between firms and customers, between customers, and between firms. An interaction orientation reflects a firm's ability to interact with its individual customers and to take advantage of information obtained from them through successive interactions to achieve profitable customer relationships. First, the authors identify the components of interaction orientation: (1) customer concept, (2) inter...

Stimuli-responsive polymer gels

Abstract: Stimuli-responsive polymer gels have received considerable attention due to their singular mechanical properties, which make them materials of choice for niche applications. Polymer gels comprising either physical or chemical cross-links can undergo controlled and reversible shape changes in response to an applied field. The stimulus or external field applied may include thermal, electrical, magnetic, pH, UV/visible light, ionic or metallic interactions or combinations thereof. The shape change can manifest itself in two-dimensional actuation, bending motion, or three-dimensional actuation, volume change. This reversible contraction and expansion of polymer gels as well as their mechanical properties are similar to that of biological muscles. This review will describe and critique some of the recent advances in the field of stimuli-responsive polymer gels including the design of new classes of polymeric gels, controlled actuation in response to external stimuli, and ability to tailor material properties for different applications.

Recovery of activities of daily living in older adults after hospitalization for acute medical illness

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To compare functional outcomes in the year after discharge for older adults discharged from the hospital after an acute medical illness with a new or additional disability in their basic self-care activities of daily living (ADL) (compared with preadmission baseline 2 weeks before admission) with those of older adults discharged with baseline ADL function and identify predictors of failure to recover to baseline function 1 year after discharge. DESIGN: Observational. SETTING: Tertiary care hospital, community teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Older (aged ≥70) patients nonelectively admitted to general medical services (1993–1998). MEASUREMENTS: Number of ADL disabilities at preadmission baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Outcomes were death, sustained decline in ADL function, and recovery to baseline ADL function at each time point. RESULTS: By 12 months after discharge, of those discharged with new or additional ADL disability, 41.3% died, 28.6% were alive but had not recovered to baseline function, and 30.1% were at baseline function. Of those discharged at baseline function, 17.8% died, 15.2% were alive but with worse than baseline function, and 67% were at their baseline function (P<.001). Of those discharged with new or additional ADL disability, the presence or absence of recovery by 1 month was associated with long-term outcomes. Age, cardiovascular disease, dementia, cancer, low albumin, and greater number of dependencies in instrumental ADLs independently predicted failure to recover. CONCLUSION: For older adults discharged with new or additional disability in ADL after hospitalization for medical illness, prognosis for functional recovery is poor. Rehabilitation interventions of longer duration and timing than current reimbursement allows, caregiver support, and palliative care should be evaluated.

Recurrent reciprocal 1q21.1 deletions and duplications associated with microcephaly or macrocephaly and developmental and behavioral abnormalities

Abstract: Chromosome region 1q21.1 contains extensive and complex low-copy repeats, and copy number variants (CNVs) in this region have recently been reported in association with congenital heart defects, developmental delay, schizophrenia and related psychoses. We describe 21 probands with the 1q21.1 microdeletion and 15 probands with the 1q21.1 microduplication. These CNVs were inherited in most of the cases in which parental studies were available. Consistent and statistically significant features of microcephaly and macrocephaly were found in individuals with microdeletion and microduplication, respectively. Notably, a paralog of the HYDIN gene located on 16q22.2 and implicated in autosomal recessive hydrocephalus was inserted into the 1q21.1 region during the evolution of Homo sapiens; we found this locus to be deleted or duplicated in the individuals we studied, making it a probable candidate for the head size abnormalities observed. We propose that recurrent reciprocal microdeletions and microduplications within 1q21.1 represent previously unknown genomic disorders characterized by abnormal head size along with a spectrum of developmental delay, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, dysmorphic features and congenital anomalies. These phenotypes are subject to incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity.

Ecosystem energetic implications of parasite and free-living biomass in three estuaries

Abstract: Parasites can have strong impacts but are thought to contribute little biomass to ecosystems. We quantified the biomass of free-living and parasitic species in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California. Here we show that parasites have substantial biomass in these ecosystems. We found that parasite biomass exceeded that of top predators. The biomass of trematodes was particularly high, being comparable to that of the abundant birds, fishes, burrowing shrimps and polychaetes. Trophically transmitted parasites and parasitic castrators subsumed more biomass than did other parasitic functional groups. The extended phenotype biomass controlled by parasitic castrators sometimes exceeded that of their uninfected hosts. The annual production of free-swimming trematode transmission stages was greater than the combined biomass of all quantified parasites and was also greater than bird biomass. This biomass and productivity of parasites implies a profound role for infectious processes in these estuaries.

Transformational Leadership's Role in Promoting Corporate Entrepreneurship: Examining the CEO-TMT Interface

Abstract: Research about transformational CEOs' impact on firm-level outcomes, particularly corporate entrepreneurship, has been equivocal, partially because the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Given that the individuals most closely influenced by a firm's CEO are its top management team (TMT) members, we focus on the CEO-TMT interface as a salient intervening mechanism. We posit that transformational CEOs influence TMTs' behavioral integration, risk propensity, decentralization of responsibilities, and long-term compensation and that these TMT characteristics impact corporate entrepreneurship. Data from 152 firms supported most of our hypothesized links, underscoring how the CEO-TMT interface helps explain transformational CEOs' role in promoting corporate entrepreneurship.

The impact of professional isolation on teleworker job performance and turnover intentions: does time spent teleworking, interacting face-to-face, or having access to communication-enhancing technology matter?

Abstract: Although the teleworking literature continues to raise concerns regarding the adverse consequences of professional isolation, researchers have not examined its impact on work outcomes. Consequently, the authors first examine professional isolation's direct impact on job performance and turnover intentions among teleworkers and then investigate the contingent role of 3 salient work-mode-related factors. Survey data from a matched sample of 261 professional-level teleworkers and their managers revealed that professional isolation negatively impacts job performance and, contrary to expectations, reduces turnover intentions. Moreover, professional isolation's impact on these work outcomes is increased by the amount of time spent teleworking, whereas more face-to-face interactions and access to communication-enhancing technology tend to decrease its impact. On the basis of these findings, an agenda for future research on professional isolation is offered that takes into account telework's growing popularity as a work modality.

Culture, Power, and Institutions: A Multi-Institutional Politics Approach to Social Movements*:

Abstract: We argue that critiques of political process theory are beginning to coalesce into a new approach to social movements—a “multi-institutional politics” approach. While the political process model assumes that domination is organized by and around one source of power, the alternative perspective views domination as organized around multiple sources of power, each of which is simultaneously material and symbolic. We examine the conceptions of social movements, politics, actors, goals, and strategies supported by each model, demonstrating that the view of society and power underlying the political process model is too narrow to encompass the diversity of contemporary change efforts. Through empirical examples, we demonstrate that the alternative approach provides powerful analytical tools for the analysis of a wide variety of contemporary change efforts.

Crude Democracy: Natural Resource Wealth and Political Regimes

Abstract: This book challenges the conventional wisdom that natural resource wealth promotes autocracy. Oil and other forms of mineral wealth can promote both authoritarianism and democracy, the book argues, but they do so through different mechanisms; an understanding of these different mechanisms can help elucidate when either the authoritarian or democratic effects of resource wealth will be relatively strong. Exploiting game-theoretic tools and statistical modeling as well as detailed country case studies and drawing on fieldwork in Latin America and Africa, this book builds and tests a theory that explains political variation across resource-rich states. It will be read by scholars studying the political effects of natural resource wealth in many regions, as well as by those interested in the emergence and persistence of democratic regimes.

Prolonged Therapy of Advanced Chronic Hepatitis C with Low-Dose Peginterferon

Abstract: Background In patients with chronic hepatitis C who do not have a response to antiviral treatment, the disease may progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. Whether long-term antiviral therapy can prevent progressive liver disease in such patients remains uncertain. Methods We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of peginterferon alfa-2a at a dosage of 90 μg per week for 3.5 years, as compared with no treatment, in 1050 patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced fibrosis who had not had a response to previous therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin. The patients, who were stratified according to stage of fibrosis (622 with noncirrhotic fibrosis and 428 with cirrhosis), were seen at 3-month intervals and underwent liver biopsy at 1.5 and 3.5 years after randomization. The primary end point was progression of liver disease, as indicated by death, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic decompensation, or, for those with bridging fibrosis at baseline, an increase in the Is...

Integrating Agricultural Landscapes with Biodiversity Conservation in the Mesoamerican Hotspot

Abstract: CELIA A. HARVEY,∗‡‡‡ OLIVER KOMAR,† ROBIN CHAZDON,‡ BRUCE G. FERGUSON,§ BRYAN FINEGAN,∗∗ DANIEL M. GRIFFITH,†† MIGUEL MARTINEZ-RAMOS,‡‡ HELDA MORALES,§ RONALD NIGH,§§ LORENA SOTO-PINTO,§ MICHIEL VAN BREUGEL,∗∗∗ AND MARK WISHNIE††† ∗Department of Agriculture and Agroforestry, CATIE, Apdo 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica †Programa de Ciencias para la Conservacion, SalvaNATURA, Colonia Flor Blanca, 33 Avenida Sur #640, San Salvador, El Salvador ‡Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268-3043, U.S.A. §Departamento de Agroecoloǵia, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Panamericana y Periferico Sur s-n, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico ∗∗Department of Natural Resources and Environment, CATIE, Apdo 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica ††Biodiversity of BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve, Saint Louis Zoo, Managua, Nicaragua ‡‡Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, UNAM, AP 27-3 Santa Maŕia de Guido, CP 58089, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico §§Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropoloǵia Social, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico ∗∗∗Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands †††Equator Environmental, LLC, 250 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003, U.S.A.

The developmental origins of a disposition toward empathy: Genetic and environmental contributions

Abstract: The authors investigated the development of a disposition toward empathy and its genetic and environmental origins. Young twins' (N = 409 pairs) cognitive (hypothesis testing) and affective (empathic concern) empathy and prosocial behavior in response to simulated pain by mothers and examiners were observed at multiple time points. Children's mean level of empathy and prosociality increased from 14 to 36 months. Positive concurrent and longitudinal correlations indicated that empathy was a relatively stable disposition, generalizing across ages, across its affective and cognitive components, and across mother and examiner. Multivariate genetic analyses showed that genetic effects increased, and that shared environmental effects decreased, with age. Genetic effects contributed to both change and continuity in children's empathy, whereas shared environmental effects contributed to stability and nonshared environmental effects contributed to change. Empathy was associated with prosocial behavior, and this relationship was mainly due to environmental effects.