Twins Early Development Study - Aims

Aims

TEDS follows three major aims.

• Firstly, to use univariate quantitative genetic methods to explore the genetic and environmental origins of common learning and cognitive abilities and disabilities, i.e. to estimate the extent to which nature and nurture influence these abilities and disabilities.

• Secondly, to use multivariate and longitudinal quantitative genetic methods to go beyond the rudimentary nature-nurture question, i.e. to address how nature and nurture contribute to stability and change in these abilities and disabilities, and how they influence the relations between different abilities and disabilities. The latter includes within-domain comparisons, e.g. to what extent do different learning disabilities (such as reading and mathematics disability) share a common genetic or environmental origin? It also includes cross-domain comparisons, e.g. to what extent to do learning disabilities (e.g. reading disability) and behaviour problems (e.g. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) share a common origin?

• Thirdly, to conduct molecular genetic research in order to identify specific genes involved in abilities and disabilities, e.g. using genetic association (such as genome-wide association) analyses to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms or Copy Number Variants associated with learning and cognitive (dis-)abilities. So far, DNA has been collected from more than 5,000 twin pairs in TEDS.