Morell Robert J, Brewer Carmen C, Ge Dongliang, Snieder Harold, Zalewski Christopher K, King Kelly A, Drayna Dennis, Friedman Thomas B
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, 5 Research Court, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
Hum Genet. 2007 Aug;122(1):103-11. doi: 10.1007/s00439-007-0384-5. Epub 2007 May 29.
We administered tests commonly used in the diagnosis of auditory processing disorders (APDs) to twins recruited from the general population. We observed significant correlations in test scores between co-twins. Our analyses of test score correlations among 106 MZ and 33 DZ twin pairs indicate that dichotic listening ability is a highly heritable trait. Dichotic listening is the ability to identify and distinguish different stimuli presented simultaneously to each ear. Deficits in dichotic listening skills indicate a lesion or defect in interhemispheric information processing. Such defects or lesions can be prominent in elderly listeners, language-impaired children, stroke victims, and individuals with PAX6 mutations. Our data indicates that other auditory processing abilities are influenced by shared environment. These findings should help illuminate the etiology of APDs, and help to clarify the relationships between auditory processing abilities and learning/language disorders associated with APDs.
我们对从普通人群中招募的双胞胎进行了常用于诊断听觉处理障碍（APD）的测试。我们观察到双胞胎之间的测试分数存在显著相关性。我们对106对同卵双胞胎和33对异卵双胞胎的测试分数相关性分析表明，双耳分听能力是一种高度可遗传的特征。双耳分听是指识别和区分同时分别呈现给每只耳朵的不同刺激的能力。双耳分听技能的缺陷表明半球间信息处理存在损伤或缺陷。这种缺陷或损伤在老年听众、语言障碍儿童、中风患者以及携带PAX6突变的个体中可能很明显。我们的数据表明，其他听觉处理能力受共享环境的影响。这些发现应有助于阐明APD的病因，并有助于厘清听觉处理能力与与APD相关的学习/语言障碍之间的关系。
