Individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning abilities in young twin pairs and their older siblings

Soelen van, Inge L.C. and Berg van den, Stephanie M. and Dekker, Peter H. and Leeuwen van, Marieke and Peper, Jiska S. and Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E. and Boomsma, Dorret I. (2009) Individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning abilities in young twin pairs and their older siblings. Learning and Individual Differences, 19 (4). pp. 440-444. ISSN 1041-6080

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Abstract:	We explored the genetic background of individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning ability in children, using a Dutch version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Nine-year-old twin pairs (N = 112 pairs) were recruited from the Netherlands Twin Register. When possible, an older sibling between 10 and 14 years old participated as well (N = 99). To assess verbal learning, non-linear curves were fitted for each child individually. Two parameters were estimated: Learning Speed (LS) and Forgetting Speed (FS). Larger twin correlations in monozygotic (MZ) than in dizygotic (DZ) and sibling pairs for LS and FS indicated the importance of genetic factors in explaining variation in these traits. The heritability estimate (percentage of variance explained by genetic factors) for LS was 43% for both twins and siblings. For FS heritability was estimated at 20% in twins and was slightly higher (30%) in their older siblings.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2009 Elsevier Inc.
Faculty:	Behavioural Sciences (BS)
Research Group:	Research Methodology, Measurement and Data Analysis (OMD)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/73343
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2009.03.005
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