Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Genetic Determination of Mental Activity Parameters in the Families of Schizophrenia Patients

  • Published:
Russian Journal of Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Psychological parameters of mental activity (30 in total) and their genetic determination were studied in 67 families of schizophrenia patients (67 patients, 107 parent, and 30 sibs). Abnormalities of most of the examined characteristics were found in both the patients and their healthy relatives. Parameters of attention shifting and emotionality revealed the largest genetic component (25–75 and 17–98%, respectively) in all analyzed groups of relatives (probands–affected sibs, probands–healthy sibs, healthy parents–healthy children, affected parents–affected children). Significant impact of genetic factors was also found in parameters “stability of attention under conditions of continuous concentration,” “mediated retention span” “productivity of voluntary retention by reproduction data,” “personal anxiety level,” “reflection of unusual social groups,” and “self-assessment.” The relationships among the characteristics examined in the system of mental activity were established by means of cluster analysis. The results of this study can be used in medical genetic counseling for identifying subjects at high risk for schizophrenia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Egorova, M.S., The Nature of Individual Variation in the Cognitive Style Parameters, Cand. Sci. Dissertation, Moscow, 1983.

  2. Rusalov, V., To the Nature of Temperament and Its Place in the Structure of Individual Personality Traits, Vopr. Psikhol., 1985, no. 1, pp. 22-27.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Gambini, O., Campana, A., Macciardi, F., et al., A Preliminary Report of a Strong Genetic Component for Thought Disorder in Normals: A Twin Study, Neuropsychobiology, 1997, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 13-18.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Snezhnevskii, A.V., Syndromological and Nosological Classifications of Mental Disorders, in Rukovodstvo po psikhiatrii (A Handbook on Psychiatry), Moscow: Meditsyna, 1983, vol. 1, pp. 80-86.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Conred, K., Die beginnende Schizophrenie Versuch einer Bestaltanalyse des Wahns, Stuttgart: George Thieme Verlag, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Huber, G., Das Konzept Substrathaher Basissymptome und Scene Bedeutung fur Theorie und Therapie schizophrener Erkan Kunger, Nervenarzt, 1983, vol. 54, pp. 23-32.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Cornblatt, B. and Keilp, J.G., Impaired Attention, Genetics and the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia Bull., 1994, vol. 20, pp. 31-46.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L., Friedman, D., and Cornblatt, B., High-Risk Research in Schizophrenia: A Summary of What Has Been Learned, J. Psychiat. Res., 1985, vol. 14, pp. 149-161.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Harris, J.G., Adler, L.E., Young, D.A., et al., Neuropsychological Dysfunction in Parents of Schizophrenics, Schizophrenia Res., 1996, vol. 20, pp. 259-260.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Holzman, P.S., Recent Studies of Psychophysiology in Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia Bull., 1987, vol. 13, p. 81.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Lifshits, M., Kugelmass, S., and Karov, M., Perceptual-Motor and Memory Performance of High-Risk Children, Schizophrenia Bull., 1985, vol. 11, pp. 74-84.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Romney, D.M., Thought Disorder in the Relatives of Schizophrenics: A Metaanalytic Review of Selected Published Studies, J. Nerv. Ment. Dis., 1990, vol. 178, no. 8, pp. 481-486.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Shenton, M.E., Solovay, M.R., Holzman, P.S., et al., Thought Disorder in the Relatives of Psychotic Patients, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 1989, vol. 46, no. 10, pp. 897-901.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Shapiro, Yu.A., Multiway Genetic Analysis of Clinical and Experimental Characteristics of Genetic Predisposition to Schizophrenia, Cand. Sci. (Med.) Dissertation, Moscow, 1980.

  15. Smulevich, A.B., Continuous Sluggish Schizophrenia, Rukovodstvo po psikhiatrii (A Handbook on Psychiatry), Tiganov, A.S., Ed., Moscow: Meditsyna, 1999, vol. 1, pp. 437-445.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Tiganov, A.S., Schizophrenia, Rukovodstvo po psikhiatrii (A Handbook on Psychiatry), Tiganov, A.S., Ed., Moscow: Meditsyna, 1999, vol. 1, pp. 407-554.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Dunker, K., Psikhologiya produktivnogo myshleniya (Psychology of Productive Mentality), Moscow: Meditsyna, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Zeigarnik, B.V. and Kholmogorova, A.B., Disturbed Self-Regulation of the Cognitive Ability in Schizophrenics, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1985, no. 12, pp. 1813-1819.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Luria, A.R., Mozg cheloveka i psikhicheskie protsessy (Human Brain and Mental Processes), Moscow: Izd-vo Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1963.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Savina, T.D., On the Specific Attention Features in Schizophrenics Differing in Disease Severity, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1980, no. 1, pp. 1846–1850.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Savina, T.D. and Serebryakova, T.V., On the Specific Disorders of Mental Activity in Schizophrenics, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1985, no. 12, pp. 1819-1825.

    Google Scholar 

  22. El'-Beblavi, V.F., A Study of the Relationships between Attention and Intellect in Junior Schoolchildren and Adolescents, Cand. Sci. (Med.) Dissertation, Moscow: Inst. Psikhologii RAN, 1974.

  23. Kurek, N.S., A Study of the Emotional Sphere in Schizophrenics with a Model of Recognizing Emotions from Nonverbal Expression, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1986, no. 12, pp. 1831-1836.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kuhn, M., The Reference Group Reconsidered, Symbolic Interaction, Manis, J. and Meltzer, B., Eds., Boston, 1972.

  25. Carrol, I.B., Laurence, L.C., MacLay, H.C., and Eroin, S.M., Studies in Comparative Efficiency, in Field Manual of the Southwest Project in Comparative Psycholinguistics, Cambridge, 1956.

  26. Marishuk, V.L., Bludov, Yu.M., Plakhtienko, V.A., et al., Metodiki psikhodiagnostiki v sporte (Methods of Psychodiagnostics in Sportsmen), Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 1984, pp. 159-162.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Kritskaya, V.P., Meleshko, T.K., and Polyakov, Yu.F., Patologiya psikhicheskoi deyatel'nosti pri shizofrenii: motivatsiya, obshchenie, poznanie (Mental Disorders in Schizophrenia: Motivation, Communication, Cognition), Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1991.

  28. Polyakov, Yu.F., Patologiya poznavatel'noi deyatel'nosti pri shizofrenii (Cognition Disorders in Schizophrenia), Moscow: Meditsyna, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lil'in, E.T., Trubnikov, V.I., and Vanyukov, M.M., Vvedenie v sovremennuyu farmakogenetiku (Introduction to Modern Pharmacogenetics), Moscow: Meditsyna, 1984, p. 159, 186.

  30. Nance, W.E. and Correy, L.A., Genetic Models for the Analysis of Data from the Families of Identical Twins, Genetics, 1976, vol. 83, pp. 811-826.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Orlova, V.A., Vavilov, S.B., Trubnikov, V.I., and Belova, O.G., Genetic Analysis of Signs Revealed by Computer Imaging in Schizophrenia, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1994, no. 2, pp. 85-90.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Shakhmatova, I.V., Genealogical Studies, in Shizofreniya. Mul'tidistsiplinarnoe issledovanie (Schizophrenia: A Multidiscipline Study), Moscow: Meditsyna, pp. 166-185.

  33. Kety, S.S., Wender, P.H., Jacobsen, B., et al., Mental Illness in the Biological and Adoptive Relatives of Schizophrenic Adoptees, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 1964, vol. 51, pp. 422-455.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Moldin, S.O. and Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L., Measuring Liability to Schizophrenia: Progress Report, 1994, Schizophrenia Bull., 1994, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 25-30.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Rutschmann, J., Cornblatt, B., and Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L., Sustained Attention in Children at Risk for Schizophrenia: Findings with Two Visual-Continuous Performance Tests in a New Sample, J. Abn. Ch. Psychol., 1986, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 365-385.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Harris, J.G., Adler, L.E., Yong, D.A., et al., Neuropsychological Dysfunction in Parents of Schizophrenics, Schizophrenia Res., 1996, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 253-260.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Keefe, R.S., Selverman, J.M., Mohs, R.C., et al., Eye Tracking, Attention and Schizotypal Symptoms in Nonpsychotic Relatives of Patients with Schizophrenia, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 1997, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 169-176.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Trubnikov, V.I., Alfimova, M.V., Uvarova, L.G., and Orlova, V.A., Multiway Genetic Analysis of the Data from Complex Tests for Predisposition to Schizophrenia, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1995, no. 2, pp. 50-56.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Savina, T.D., Orlova, V.A., and Trubnikov, V.I., Genetic Determination of Some Manifestations of Mental Activity in the Families of Schizophrenics, Am. J. Med. Genet., 1997, vol. 74, no. 6, p. 564.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Savina, T.D., Orlova, V.A., and Trubnikov, V.I., Genetic Determination of Some Parameters of Attention in the Families of Schizophrenics, Am. Med. Genet., 1998, vol. 81, no. 6, p. 536.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Vovin, R.Ya., Golenkov, A.V., Ivanov, M.V., et al., Organic Insufficiency of the Brain in Schizophrenia and Affective Psychoses and Generation of the Signs of the Defect, in Shizofrenicheskii defekt (Schizophrenia Defect), St. Petersburg: Psikhonevrol. Inst., 1991, vol. 130, pp. 61-86.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Orlova, V.A., Clinical and Genetic Approaches to Estimating the Risk of Schizophrenia in Families, Doctoral (Med.) Sci. Dissertation, Moscow: Nauchn. Tsentr Psikh. Zdorov., 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Savina, T.D., Predisposition States under the Conditions of Long-Term Activation Revealed by VP in Schizophrenics, Zh. Nevropatol. Psikhiatr., 1977, no. 12, pp. 1848-1853.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Tkachenko, S.V. and Bocharov, A.V., Neuropsychological Analysis of the Defect in Schizophrenia and Affective Psychoses, in Shizofrenicheskii defekt (Schizophrenia Defect), St. Petersburg: Psikhonevrol. Inst., 1991, vol. 130, pp. 95-124.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Uranova, N.A., Vikhreva, O.V., Orlovskaya, D.D., and Denisov, D.V., A Higher Density of Interneuronal Synaptic Contacts in Autopsy Specimens of the Prefrontal Cerebral Cortex of Schizophrenics, Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii psikhiatrov (Proc. Int. Conf. of Psychiatrists), Moscow, 1998, pp. 289-290.

  46. Aganova, E.A. and Uranova, N.A., Morphometric Analysis of Synaptic Contacts in the Anterior Limbic Cortex in the Endogenous Psychoses, Neurosci. Behav. Physiol., 1992, vol. 22, pp. 59-65.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Andreasen, N.C., Arndt, S., Swayze, V., et al., Thalamic Abnormalities in Schizophrenia: Visualized through Magnetic Resonance Image Averaging, Science, 1994, vol. 266, pp. 294-298.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Bogerts, B., Neuropathological Abnormalities and Their Clinical Correlates in Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia Bull., 1989, vol. 15, pp. 1-15.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Savina, T.D., Orlova, V.A., Trubnikov, V.I., et al., Correlations between Neuropsychological and MRI Characteristics in Families of Schizophrenics: International Academy for Biomedical and Drug Research, Novel Therapeutic Strategies in the Schizophrenic Spectrum and Mood Disorders: European Decade of Brain Research. Final Programme and Abstract Book, Venice, 1998, p. 136.

  50. Seidman, L.J., Faraone, S.V., Goldstain, J.M., et al., Reduced Subcortical Brain Volumes in Nonpsychotic Siblings of Schizophrenic Patients: A Pilot Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study, Am. J. Med. Genet., 1997, vol. 74, pp. 507-514.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Tsuang, M.T., Seidman, L.J., Faraone, S.V., et al., Brain Abnormalities in Relatives of Schizophrenic Patients Identified by Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Am. J. Med. Genet., 1998, vol. 81, pp. 532-533.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Mental Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, 113152

    T. D. Savina & V. A. Orlova

Authors
  1. T. D. Savina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. A. Orlova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Savina, T.D., Orlova, V.A. Genetic Determination of Mental Activity Parameters in the Families of Schizophrenia Patients. Russian Journal of Genetics 39, 77–86 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022079012736

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022079012736

Keywords

Search

Navigation