Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Biol Psychol. 2023 Nov;184:108692. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108692. Epub 2023 Sep 30.
We applied structural equation modeling to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the general factor measured by a neuroticism questionnaire administered to ∼380,000 participants in the UK Biobank. We categorized significant genetic variants as acting either through the neuroticism general factor, through other factors measured by the questionnaire, or through paths independent of any factor. Regardless of this categorization, however, significant variants tended to show concordant associations with all items. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the variants associated with the neuroticism general factor disproportionately lie near or within genes expressed in the brain. Enriched gene sets pointed to an underlying biological basis associated with brain development, synaptic function, and behaviors in mice indicative of fear and anxiety. Psychologists have long asked whether psychometric common factors are merely a convenient summary of correlated variables or reflect coherent causal entities with a partial biological basis, and our results provide some support for the latter interpretation. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which causes resembling common factors operate alongside other mechanisms to generate the correlational structure of personality.
我们应用结构方程模型对 UK Biobank 中约 38 万名参与者进行的神经症问卷测量的一般因素进行了全基因组关联研究 (GWAS)。我们将显著的遗传变异归类为通过神经症一般因素、通过问卷测量的其他因素或通过与任何因素无关的途径起作用。然而，无论这种分类如何，显著的变异往往与所有项目都表现出一致的关联。生物信息学分析表明，与神经症一般因素相关的变异不成比例地靠近或位于大脑中表达的基因附近或之内。富集的基因集指向与大脑发育、突触功能以及与恐惧和焦虑相关的小鼠行为相关的潜在生物学基础。心理学家们一直想知道，心理计量学的共同因素是否仅仅是相关变量的一个方便总结，还是反映具有部分生物学基础的连贯因果实体，我们的结果为后一种解释提供了一些支持。需要进一步研究以确定类似于共同因素的原因在多大程度上与其他机制一起作用以产生人格的相关性结构。
