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The fate of heritability in the postgenomic era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2012

Kevin MacDonald  and
Peter J. LaFreniere
Kevin MacDonald
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, California State University–Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840. kevin.macdonald@csulb.edu
Peter J. LaFreniere
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orone, ME 04469. Peter_LaFreniere@umit.maine.edu
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Abstract

This commentary argues that age changes in heritability are incompatible with Charney's theory. The new genetics must be tempered by the findings that many epigenetic phenomena are random and are linked to pathology, thus making them peripheral to the design of complex adaptations. Behavior-genetic findings are compatible with strong maternal effects; G × E correlations likely underestimate environmental effects; and G × E interactions are unlikely to be an important aspect of normal development.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 5 , October 2012 , pp. 370 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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