Developmental Synchronies of Brain-Wave Patterns in Monozygotic Twins
Stassen H.H., Katsanis J., Malone S., Iacono W.G., Propping P.,
Guggenbühl St. and Hell D.
Evidence from previous studies has suggested that the
inter-individual differences of human brain-wave
patterns (EEG) are predominantly determined by genetic
factors, and that the EEG maturation is under strict
genetic control. Yet investigations into monozygotic
(MZ) twins discordant and concordant for schizophrenia
yielded a reduced within-pair EEG concordance as
compared to healthy control twins, and the severity of
illness, as derived from EEG-differences between
affected and unaffected individuals, was closely related
to the severity of illness as provided by
psychopathology scores and axis-V overall social
functioning. Consequently, EEG abnormalities associated
with schizophrenia and manifested differently in the
co-twins concordant for schizophrenia were hypothesized to
reflect nongenetic, pathologic developments of
genetically identical brains. Little is known about the
"normal" range of EEG variation throughout the process
of brain maturation. Our study of 337 healthy,
adolescent twin pairs with repeated assessments at
3-year intervals, together with EEG recordings of their
parents, aimed to determine normative data with respect
to EEG maturation and the developmental synchronies in
MZ and DZ (dizygotic) twins during adolescence. It
turned out that the within-pair EEG similarity in MZ/DZ
twins was, at each stage of development, identical in
magnitude to that of adult MZ/DZ twins, while the
parent-offspring EEG similarity during adolescence was
significantly lower than that seen with adult offspring.
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