Why are Finns anxious?
Specific alleles and haplotypes of six of the examined genes revealed some evidence for association (p ≤ .01). The most significant evidence for association with different anxiety disorder subtypes were: p = .0009 with ALAD (δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase) in social phobia, p = .009 with DYNLL2 (dynein light chain 2) in generalized anxiety disorder, and p = .004 with PSAP (prosaposin) in panic disorder.
Furthermore, the team’s international collaborators in Spain and the United States are trying to replicate these findings in their anxiety disorder datasets to see whether the genes identified by Finnish scientists predispose to anxiety disorders in other populations as well. Only by replicating the results firm conclusions can be drawn about the role of these genes in the predisposition to anxiety in more general.
Haplotter shows selection around ALAD for Africans. PSAP is interesting:
This gene encodes a highly conserved glycoprotein which is a precursor for 4 cleavage products: saposins A, B, C, and D. Each domain of the precursor protein is approximately 80 amino acid residues long with nearly identical placement of cysteine residues and glycosylation sites. Saposins A-D localize primarily to the lysosomal compartment where they facilitate the catabolism of glycosphingolipids with short oligosaccharide groups. The precursor protein exists both as a secretory protein and as an integral membrane protein and has neurotrophic activities. Mutations in this gene have been associated with Gaucher disease, Tay-Sachs disease, and metachromatic leukodystrophy….
Labels: Association, Finn baiting, Genomics
Interesting that the two diseases mentioned are those that Greg Cochran says are associated with high intelligence in Ashkenazi Jews. I come from a nonjewish family which has a history of both abnormally high intelligence and a tendancy to anxiety disorder and obsessive/compulsive disorder–usually in the same individuals. I have always felt that there must be a connection between the two. Somebody should measure the IQ’s of people who possess these variants.
Finns don’t make so much eye contact either.
I come from a nonjewish family which has a history of both abnormally high intelligence and a tendancy to anxiety disorder and obsessive/compulsive disorder–usually in the same individuals. I have always felt that there must be a connection between the two.
Maybe the development of Xanax will allow more of us high-IQ, socially anxious freaks to pass on our genes. It sure got me out of my shell. Now I actually POST things on blogs!
Finns don’t make so much eye contact either.
A Finnish girl knows a Finnish boy is interested in her when he stops looking at his own shoes and starts looking at hers.
I come from a nonjewish family which has a history of both abnormally high intelligence and a tendancy to anxiety disorder and obsessive/compulsive disorder–usually in the same individuals. I have always felt that there must be a connection between the two.
The GSS doesn’t seem to show much of a relationship between anxiety and IQ, or much else emotionally. Here are all the positive and negative affect questions (how many days last week did you feel X).
Excited = .15
At Ease = .13
Contented = .09
Mad = .06
Sad = .06
Angry = .05
Anxious = .05
Happy = .05
Embarrassed = .02
Outraged = .01
Ashamed = -.01
Worried = -.02
Calm = -.03
Fearful = -.04
Lonely = -.05
Overjoyed = -.08
Proud = -.08
Restless = -.13
Depressed = -.13
IQ seems to be significantly related to mental health. For ‘ever had a mental health problem’ it’s -.18. And for duration and severity of mental health problem it’s -.31.
Also, while the Ns are small, it does appear to be different for Jews. The correlation between IQ and anxiety is .25 for Jews, and between mental illness and IQ is .24.
Jason Malloy – perhaps this reflects that many tests show Jewish intelligence to be mainly verbal, and therefore presumably correlated with low testosterone? This would suggest that the most intelligent Jews will be those with least testosterone, and therefore highest anxiety and propensity for non-sociopathic mental disorders. High-testosterone Jews, meanwhile, will still be barely average on visuospatial IQ while their verbal IQ will be greatly lowered – but they’ll worry about it a lot less. In white Gentiles, however, verbal and visuospatial IQ is usually roughly even, so that the level of testosterone would have no overall correlation with general intelligence – raising it raises visuospatial intelligence at the expense of verbal and vice versa. This would mean IQ wasn’t noticably correlated with personality. Just a suggestion and I know focusing on testosterone level alone is a bit one-dimensional, but I think this could be partially correct.
“Jewish intelligence to be mainly verbal, and therefore presumably correlated with low testosterone?”
What the…? The first part of the above sentence is something I’ve seen the data for, and seems to be real, but the second part seems like a HUGE leap.
The obvious problem is that the well-documented verbal IQ bump found in Ashkenazi populations is found in both the males and females. It seems unlikely testosterone has anything to do with it.
Whiskeydrinker — Where are you getting this idea that high verbal ability correlates with low IQ? Furthermore, where is the data for low testerone in high achieving Ashkenazim?
dulion.f2s.com/ashkenaz.htm
Also, according to this:
http://www.lagriffe
the average Ashkenazi “math iq” is ~111. In as much as testerone correlates with mathematical abililty, defense of your position would require a bit more data that directly defends your thesis.
Jason
The association between anxiety and high intelligence in my family history is very striking, but I suspect that it is being caused by a gene which is at low frequency in the general population. If the gene for Tay-Sachs caused both anxiety and high intelligence in heterozygotes for example, you would still not expect those traits to be highly correlated at the level of the general population.
If one accepts some anecdotal evidence about my earliest acestors, the “family brain chemistry” has been present in my family for eight generations. It seems to be passed along by a single autosomal dominant gene with medium to high penetrance. It is very much more a curse than a blessing. Looking back, I realize that it would have been a good trade if I could have given away 30 points of my IQ in exchange for a happier life.
the testosterone-IQ assertions would seem to be extremely sensitive to population structure and what not. probably best to dump that extrapolation.
I would tend to doubt that Jews have low amounts of testosterone. Look at how many Jews have succeeded in finance, trading, politics, law, media, entertainment, etc….. These are fields where high testosterone folk tend to have anb advantage. I don’t we’d see much of a Jewish presence in Hollywood or Wall Street if they, as a group, had lower levels of testosterone. If anything, I’d guess Jews tend toward higher levels of testosterone (once adjusted for IQ). I could be wrong though…..
Finns don’t make so much eye contact either.
A (male) Finnish friend of mine says that, back in Finland, if he manages to make eye contact with a girl, she’s likely to have sex with him. Here in England, this doesn’t work for him…
Free Thinker/Marc,
I fall into the same pattern too. My Mom and many of her family has high or very high IQ, OCD, Anxiety disorders and Asperger symptoms.
I have inherited most of these traits myself. As a kid I was extremely shy, so much so that my primary school teacher caned me a number of times for disobediance when it seemed like I was refusing to speak, but was actually suffering from “stage fright” and couldn’t speak.
My daughter too is the same way, very bright, very shy – whenever we visit her friends, she needs about 20 minutes or more to warm up, before she will talk to them.
I have inherited most of these traits myself. As a kid I was extremely shy, so much so that my primary school teacher caned me a number of times for disobediance when it seemed like I was refusing to speak, but was actually suffering from “stage fright” and couldn’t speak.
You got caned for disobedience? Where/when did you grow up?
I have to admit, I always kind of hoped that my disorders (ADD, social anxiety, OCD) were associated with something positive; otherwise you just get bitter, like “Why the Hell do I have to deal with this crap?” But if that’s not what the data says, well, another comforting/self-aggrandizing illusion laid to rest, I suppose. Bury it with the others. :)
I’m sure someone has thought of this before on this board, but could be the relationship between IQ and mental illness in Jews was the result of overclocking…they selected for IQ too quickly and wound up with deleterious genes connected to it. Sorta like the cochran hypothesis.
Also, anxiety might have had a beneficial role for a stigmatized group that was intermittently persecuted. Last one out of the village when the Cossacks come might have been the one to get killed…and I’d like to see the genes of the first Jews out of Europe before the Nazis took over. Remember the dude in Cabaret? “Oh, we’ll be fine…we’ve survived other things…”