Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC)

Director: Juko Ando (Professor, Faculty of Letters)

Campus: Mita

With the rapid development of life sciences such as genomics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology, we have entered an era where these fields are expected to make significant contributions to understanding the developmental processes of human psychology and behavior, which have traditionally been approached mainly from a social science perspective. In light of this trend, this center conducts long-term longitudinal research to explore the interactive processes of heredity and environment on the development of human psychology and behavior. This is done by integrating theories and methodologies from behavioral genetics, psychopathology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, social psychology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology, primarily based on large-scale samples of twins.

Twins, Behavior, Development, Education, Heredity, Environment, Society, Culture, Neuroscience, Psychology, Mental Health

■ Implementation, Research Outcomes, and Achievements for the FY2013 Project Plan

We continued to conduct developmental surveys of twin families with children in infancy and childhood using questionnaires, home visits, and on-campus visits. We also resumed video recording of natural life situations at home. For surveys targeting adolescents and adults, we established a research collaboration with the Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute for fMRI studies. In addition to our existing research collaboration with the Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine (Professor Tatsushi Toda), we also formed a new collaboration with the National Institute of Genetics (Project Associate Professor Atsushi Toyoda), and obtained ethical approval for each project. We conducted additional questionnaire surveys on altruism, educational motivation, and twin awareness. We also administered a questionnaire survey on executive functions to adolescents. Furthermore, in a joint research project with the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University and the Kochi Prefectural Noichi Zoological Park, we conducted longitudinal observations of the social development of chimpanzee twins.

From the data accumulated so far, we have analyzed the longitudinal changes and stability over a 14-year period, clarifying the genetic influence of executive functions on the general factors of cognitive ability and personality. This has brought us one step closer to becoming a research center capable of implementing both new and old methods, namely behavioral neurogenomics and the classical twin study.

Through our activities, including a 14-year long-term longitudinal study, we were able to produce findings that provide an overview of the entire developmental process—results that are only achievable through longitudinal research. Furthermore, in advancing our behavioral neurogenomics research, we have made progress in preparing for joint research projects with the Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute and the National Institute of Genetics.