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P Parisi

Publications and source records attributed to P Parisi.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

[Twins in myth (author's transl)].

Twins have an important place in mythology and a sacred character appears to be attached to them since the most ancient times. In ancient Egypt, the royal placenta was worshipped, being considered as the Pharao's twin (a conception that is still alive among certain African populations), and actually everyone was considered to possess a spiritual twin, the Ka or astral body, through whom it was supposed to be possible to operate with magic rituals and hit enemies. Twin gods were worshipped by Babylonians and Assyrians (who even introduced them among astronomic constellations), and may be also found in the Persian and Veda religions. In the classic, Greco-Roman world, the examples of twin gods and heroes are innumerable: from the twin sons of Zeus, the Dioscuri, to the opposite-sexed twin gods Apollo and Diana, to Rome's founders, Romulus and Remus, etc. Since the most ancient times, a magic conception is connected to the twins, either in a positive or a negative sense, but often with some kind of a "fatidic" aspect. Such a two-faced approach to the phenomenon of twinning, that variously characterizes near-east, protomediterranean, classic, and other ancient civilizations, may still be found in contemporary primitive societies.

Female↗
PubMed1976

Genetic penetrance from MZ twins of absent C-triradius, a palmar dermatoglyphic trait.

Among 59 sets of MZ male twins and 48 sets of MZ female twins from Italy, 7 male sets (11.9%) and 7 female sets (14.6%) had absent c-triradius on one or more palms; among 214 individuals who had a MZ twin, 19(8.9%) had absent c-triradius in one or both palms. Due to small numbers these percentages are comparable to the occurrence of absent c-triradius found in 8.2% of 3946 Caucasians. When one member of a set of MZ twins showed the trait in one or both palms, 35.7% (5/14) of the other members also showed the trait in one or both palms. When an individual showed the trait in one palm, 26.3% (5/19) of the other palms also showed the trait. These two estimates of penetrance combined give an average value of 30.3% (10/33) which is comparable to an estimate of 30% found in a study of 478 family units in which transmission was compatible with an autosomal dominant gene.

Dermatoglyphics↗
PubMed1976

Twin resemblances in creativity and in esthetic and emotional expression.

Three sources of observation relevant to the measurement of individual differences in emotional and esthetic expressiveness were employed to study their heritability by application to a sample of some 60 pairs of young adult like-sexed twins, approximately evenly divided between male and female and MZ and DZ pairs. The sources of observation were objective test performances, trait ascription using a standard list of adjectives, and videotaped enactments of mood and esthetic performances. Perceptual and esthetic abilities do appear to have substantial heritability, although esthetic preferences do not. Heritability is also indicated for such adjectives as artistic, inventive, original, and independent. Ratings of the videotape performances yielded somewhat ambiguous results, due to the presence of a marked halo effect; the most likely interpretation congruent with earlier results is that greater MZ twin resemblances in social extroversion generated greater resemblances in the videotape situation on such other trait-rating variables as creativity, naturalness, and dominance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

The role of genetic factors in the child drawing behavior: a preliminary twin study.

A sample of 27 MZ and 32 DZ twin pairs, aged 6 to 12 years, has been tested with the Draw A Family Test. Significantly higher concordance values in MZ than DZ twins have been found with respect to some graphic-structural factors (i.e.: line, hand pressure, area of the drawing, dimensions of the figures, distribution, and shading) as well as with respect to contents factors, such as spatial representation and cotwin's valorization. These correlates of personality development would thus appear to undergo significant genetic conditioning.

Art↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Familial incidence of twinning.

The frequency of twinning among women who have already borne twins, the 'repeat frequency', is significantly higher than in the general population. Individual propensity is not necessarily genetic in origin, but pedigree studies (for reviews see refs 1, 2) confirm that twinning is a family trait. Studies based on archives restrict this conclusion to dizygotic (DZ) twinning and the maternal side, while studies based on interviews of relatives of twins find monozygotic (MZ) twinning and the paternal side also to be involved. However, interview studies can overestimate, while archive studies can underestimate, the real frequency of twinning. We have now analysed the incidence of twinning in the families of 950 zygosity-determined, unselected twin pairs under complete ascertainment. Our results indicate that a propensity to MZ twinning, as well as one to DZ twinning, can be inherited through the maternal line, and that the two mechanisms of twinning might be related. We have also found a paternal role in DZ, but not in MZ twinning.

Female↗