BACKGROUND Dysfunctions of the prefrontal cortex have been previously reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous studies reported that first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD show atypical brain activity during tasks associated with social function. However, developmental changes in prefrontal dysfunction in ASD and genetic influences on the phenomena remain u...

Drawing upon social cognitive & network theories, this study examines individual-level and network-level factors which potentially affect multicultural individuals’ information sharing behavior via media. The data has been collected from the foreigners (multicultural individuals) who visited visa centers in three different cities China. proposed model tests a combined effect of past experie...

Factor analysis of psychotic symptoms frequently results in positive, negative, and disorganized dimensions, but heritability estimates have not yet been reported. Symptom dimensions are usually only measured in individuals with psychotic disorders. Here, it is valuable to assess influences acting via liability to psychosis and independent modifying effects. We estimated heritability for psycho...

BACKGROUND Genetic influences contribute significantly to co-morbidity between conduct disorder and substance use disorders. Estimating the extent of overlap can assist in the development of phenotypes for genomic analyses. METHOD Multivariate quantitative genetic analyses were conducted using data from 9577 individuals, including 3982 complete twin pairs and 1613 individuals whose co-twin wa...

BACKGROUND About 30-50% of patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) experience refractory symptoms despite taking proton pump inhibitors regularly. Epidemiology studies suggest lifestyle risks, but these are under-represented in existing guidelines. The potential for changes to positively impact on symptoms may be underestimated. Lifestyle advice currently appears to be ineffectiv...

AN IMPORTANT SOURCE of current misunderstanding and controversy about diet-disease relationships is the inappropriate extrapolation of evidence from group data to the individual and vice versa. In this editorial piece the difference is illustrated between correlations of risk factors and disease found in individuals and those found between populations. An attempt is made to clarify the causal i...

Models for the evolution of cannibalism highlight the importance of asymmetries between individuals in initiating cannibalistic attacks. Studies may include measures of body size but typically group individuals into size/age classes or compare populations. Such broad comparisons may obscure the details of interactions that ultimately determine how socially contingent characteristics evolve. We ...

Phenotypic differences among individuals are often linked to differential survival and mating success. Quantifying the relative influence of genetic and environmental variation on phenotype allows evolutionary biologists to make predictions about the potential for a given trait to respond to selection and various aspects of environmental variation. In particular, the environment individuals exp...

In sub-Saharan Africa an almost universal awareness of the serious consequences of AIDS and of the sexual transmission of HIV co-exists together with a reluctance in adopting consequent preventive measures, in the form of protected sexual intercourse. The socio-psychological literature on health-related behaviour emphasises the perception of being at risk of HIV infection as being one of the ne...