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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Interspecific aggression causes negative selection on sexual characters.

Interspecific aggression originating from mistaken species recognition may cause selection on secondary sexual characters, but this hypothesis has remained untested. Here we report a field experiment designed to test directly whether interspecific aggression causes selection on secondary sexual characters, wing spots, in wild damselfly populations. Males of Calopteryx virgo are more aggressive toward males of C. splendens with large than with small wing spots. This differential interspecific aggression may cause negative selection on wing spot size. Indeed, our results show that directional survival selection on wing spot size of C. splendens males was changed by experimental removal of C. virgo males. Without removal, directional selection went from positive to negative with increasing relative abundance of C. virgo males. In populations where C. virgo males were removed, this relationship disappeared. These results verify that interspecific aggression can cause negative selection on sexual characters. Thus, interspecific aggression has the potential to cause divergence on these characters between two species offering an alternative explanation for reinforcement for generating character displacement in secondary sexual characters.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Confounding asymmetries in evolutionary diversification and character change.

Studies of character evolution often assume that a phylogeny's shape is determined independently of the characters, which then evolve as mere passengers along the tree's branches. However, if the characters help shape the tree, but this is not considered, biased inferences can result. Simulations of asymmetrical speciation (i.e., one character state conferring a higher rate of speciation than another) result in data that are interpreted to show a higher rate of change toward the diversification-enhancing state, even though the rates to and from this state were in fact equal. Conversely, simulations of asymmetrical character change yield data that could be misinterpreted as showing asymmetrical rates of speciation. Studies of biased diversification and biased character change need to be unified by joint models and estimation methods, although how successfully the two processes can be teased apart remains to be seen.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed2006

[Distinguishing the characters Bo and Tuan in Shanhan Lun (Treatise on Exopathogenic Cold Disease) and Jingui Yaolue (Synopsis of Golden Chamber)].

The vulgar form of the Chinese character Tuan is printed as "[symbol: see text]" which is quite similar to Bo in its form. In the Zhao Kaimei's version of Shanhan Lun (Treatise of Exopathogenic Cold Disease) and the version of Qianjin Yifang (A Supplement to Recipes Worth a Thousand Gold) of Dade reign of the Yuan Dynasty all set this character either in the vulgar form or in its full form of "[symbol: see test]". Whereas, in the last century, this character in all the modern printing versions and computerized version of Shanhan Lun and Jingui Yaolue are mistakenly printed either in its vulgar form or in its full form. The versions of Jingui Yaolue of Deng Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty and Zhao Kaimei all set this character as "[symbol: see text]". Obviously, it can be concluded that none of the good rare versions of Shanhan Lun and Jingui Yaolue give the right character "[symbol: see text]". The version in modern Chinese language of Shanhan Lun and Jingui Yaolue published by the People's Medical Publishing House in Aug., 2005 substitutes the full form of the character "[symbol: see text]" with its simplified form "[symbol: see text]".

China↗
PubMed1982

On the character of the electrical activity of the stomach, pyloric sphincter and duodenum of cats.

In cats with chronically implanted electrodes in the muscle wall of the gastro-intestinal tract, the electrical activity of the stomach (S) pyloric sphincter (PS) and duodenum (D) is characterized by cycles consisting of two phases: active--whereby 2 to 3 slow potential changes (SPC) are accompanied by spike potentials (SP) and a pause during which for 60-90 s only SPC are recorded. After bilateral transthoracic vagotomy there is a disruption of the cyclic character of the electrical activity in the investigated regions of the gastro-intestinal tract--SP from S and PS are recorded with each SPC. The active phase of the cycle from D is strongly prolonged at the expense of the shorter pause. This lasts for 1-2 days, after which there is a tendency towards shaping the cycles characteristic of the electrical activity of S, PS and D of cats. The pauses, however remain relatively short and the number of SP in the group is much greater. Gradually during the second month the character of the electrical activity of S, PS, and D approaches that prior to the vagotomy, but even until the 6th month after vagotomy the number of SP in the group is greater and the active phase of the cycle is longer. On the background of antagonists of the adrenoreceptors (propranolol--2 mg/kg and dihydroergotamine--300 micrograms/kg), the cyclic character of the electrical activity of S, PS and D is disturbed. The relatively rapid restoration of the cyclic character of cat S, PS and D after vagotomy is assumed to be the result of the organizing role of the intrinsic nervous system. The disturbance of the cyclic character after adrenoblockers demonstrates the significance of the balance between the cholinergic and adrenergic parts of the intrinsic nervous system for the realization of the cyclic character of the electrical activity of S, PS and D of cats.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methods of utilization of regularities in modificational variability of quantitative characters in plant breeding.

The nature of the modificational and genotypic variability of 30 quantitative characters in wheat varieties with different numbers of genes for dwarfing, and nine characters in contrasting pea varieties, differing in leaf type, was investigated. The experimental data, obtained in 1971--1974 and analyzed in the M-220M and Minsk-22 computers, showed a high degree of similarity in the modificational variability of similar quantitative characters for all varieties of the same crop. Significant similarities were also found in the modificational variability of identical quantitative characters for the two species (wheat and peas), which showed that the regularities in modificational variability are generally applicable in biology. The coefficients of variation, calculated from the total data obtained, for modificational (CVm), genotypic (CVg) and overall modificational-genotypic (CVm+g) variability, for the different quantitative characters, may be useful criteria in plant breeding. They may reveal genotypic differences in the quantitative characters in hybrids and mutant populations, and may thus be useful in improving the efficiency of selection of wheat and pea strains.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1993

Effects of prenatal litter size in inbred mice on morphometric characters with different developmental patterns.

Prenatal litter size effects were assessed in two inbred, cross-fostered strains of house mice (A/J and C57BL/10J) in order to see whether they differed among morphometric characters with different developmental histories. Three characters were used: body size, which exhibits both prenatal and postnatal development; the width of the second mandibular molar (M2), which exhibits mostly prenatal development; and the width of the third mandibular molar (M3), which exhibits all postnatal development. Prenatal litter size regressions differed significantly between fostered and non-fostered groups for each of the three characters in at least one of the two inbred strains, and as hypothesized, tended to be more negative in sign for the M2 versus the M3. Prenatal litter size differences accounted for 19% of the total variation in body size, but just 5% in both molar widths. Prenatal litter size also significantly affected the covariation among the characters, and in a direction consistent with their developmental histories. It was concluded that prenatal litter size can significantly affect a number of morphometric characters and that the magnitude and nature of these effects may be related to the developmental patterns of the characters.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Migration-of Kanji characters and their radicals in rapid serial visual presentation].

We investigated the spatio-temporal characteristics of visual attention. In rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks using Kanji characters, we found temporal migration of characters (Experiment 1) and radicals (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, the migration was more frequent for the word condition than for the pseudoword condition. Migration with the distractor preceding the target was more frequent than that with the distractor following the target in both experiments. Temporal character and radical migration suggests that characters in words and radicals of characters are separately integrated in RSVP situations where attention is overloaded. However, the hypothesis of independent feature integration is rejected. This dependency means that the attentional units of words and characters might exist.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2007

Temperament and character in pathological gambling.

OBJECTIVE: We have studied temperament and character in pathological gambling (PG). METHODS: Thirty-eight DSM-IV verified pathological gamblers (31 males and 7 females; mean age 35.4 +/- 10.4 years) were tested with Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Matched controls were chosen from the normal population. RESULTS: Pathological gamblers scored higher on the temperament factors novelty seeking (NS) and harm avoidance (HA). The most pronounced difference was found in the character factor self-directedness (SD). The pathological gamblers differed from controls in cooperativeness and self-transcendence. A personality disorder was found in 29% of the pathological gamblers 84% of whom scored either low on SD and high on impulsivity or had a more dishonest behaviour. Two-thirds of pathological gamblers showed immature character with or without high HA in temperament. The other third showed normal-character extravagant behaviour (86%), high impulsivity (36%) and less responsibility (50%) being the most common personality traits. CONCLUSION: HA and NS might be trait-like characteristics in PG.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

An Australian validation study of the temperament and character inventory.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the validity of the temperament and character inventory (TCI) measure in an Australian sample. METHOD: A sample of depressed subjects completed the TCI and a measure assessing personality disorder constructs (PDCs), while family members and psychiatrists also returned PDC ratings. RESULTS: Factor analyses generally supported the TCI constructs, when the temperament and character scales were analysed separately. Self-reported PDC scores were validated against corroborative witness ratings and used to assess the TCIs concurrent validity. Validation analyses supported all TCI temperament scales, but the Self-transcendence Character scale was unassociated with PDC scores. The remaining two character scales (i.e. cooperativeness and self-directedness) were non-specifically associated with all PDC scores. CONCLUSION: Study results support the validity of the TCI scales, but question the best model for conceptualizing the TCI. It is suggested that two character scales quantify disordered functioning, while temperament scales quantify style, constructs that may be inter-related or independent in individual subjects.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), a self-report questionnaire based on Cloninger's biosocial model of personality. The TCI was translated into Korean and administered to 851 Korean college students. A test-retest study of the TCI was conducted across a 3-month interval with 130 subjects. Internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach alpha. Test-retest reliability was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Factor analyses for the temperament and character dimensions were performed using principal component analysis, rotating factors obliquely by promax. A comparison of TCI scores between Korean and United States college students was done using independent t tests. Cronbach alpha values for the TCI scales ranged from.60 to.85 for the temperament scales and from.82 to.87 for the character scales. Test-retest correlations (r) ranged from.52 to.72 for the temperament scales and from.52 to.71 for the character scales. Principal component factor analyses showed similar factor structures of four temperaments and three characters as the American version of the TCI, except for the Reward Dependence and Persistence temperament scales. Explorative factor analysis with a condition of eigenvalue greater than 1 produced five factors, as compared to seven factors extracted in Cloninger's original report. Results using a preset seven-factor solution was forced and did not successfully extract Cloninger's seven factors. Korean college students had higher mean scores on Harm Avoidance and lower mean scores on the rest of the scales as compared to a sample of US college students. The results of this study confirm that the Korean TCI has satisfactory psychometric properties and reflects Cloninger's biosocial model of personality.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Cytochrome P450 2D6 polymorphism and character traits.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is involved in dopamine metabolism within the brain. The dopamine system is suggested to play a role in determining normal character. The purpose of this study was to examine whether character traits are dependent on cytochrome P450 2D6 activity. METHODS: We investigated the association between temperament and CYP2D6 gene polymorphism. The subjects were all Japanese and the polymorphism genotyped in the present study was CYP2D6*10. Character traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. RESULTS: There was no overall or specific association between personality traits and the CYP2D6*10 allele and genotype frequencies. CONCLUSIONS: The present results do not support the hypothesis that CYP2D6 activity affects temperament and character.

Character↗
PubMed1996

Towards an understanding of defense style in terms of temperament and character.

The aim was to investigate the relationships between a model of personality based on the concept of defense mechanisms, as articulated by Vaillant, with the psychobiological model of personality, as developed by Cloninger. A total of 128 adults from 11 family pedigrees with at least two alcohol-dependent members completed the self-report Defense Style Questionnaire and the Temperament and Character Inventory. Immature defenses were largely explained by low character scores, while neurotic defenses were part temperament and part character. Cluster A, B and C defenses were related to low reward dependence, high novelty-seeking and high harm avoidance respectively. In a regression analysis, cluster B and C defenses were more related to low character scores than to temperament but, for cluster A defenses, temperament and character both contributed. The results suggest that it is possible to integrate an ego defense model of personality with a psychobiological model of personality, thereby enriching both approaches.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Relationship of dissociation to temperament and character in men and women.

OBJECTIVE: This study approaches the question of nature and nurture of dissociative phenomena. Within Cloninger's concept of personality, character traits are thought to develop in response to environmental stimuli and conditions during childhood and adolescence, whereas temperament traits are considered to be genetically predisposed. The hypothesis is tested that dissociative symptoms are associated with distinct character traits but not with temperament dimensions. METHOD: Psychiatric patients (N = 191) and healthy subjects (N = 41) were evaluated for dissociative symptoms (Dissociative Experience Scale), temperament and character (Temperament and Character Inventory), and current psychopathology (SCL-90-R). Regression analyses for women and men were calculated separately. RESULTS: For both genders, the character traits of self-transcendence and self-directedness were significant and independent predictors for dissociation. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that dissociative symptoms are caused by environmental factors and point against a genetic predisposition in the development of dissociative symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Do the dimensions of the temperament and character inventory map a simple genetic architecture? Evidence from molecular genetics and factor analysis.

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that the human temperament dimensions of novelty seeking and harm avoidance are associated with polymorphisms in the D(4) dopamine receptor gene (D4DR) and the serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR), respectively. Although these findings are consistent with Cloninger's hypothesized psychobiological model of temperament and character, many studies failed to replicate these findings. In the present study the authors tested whether the psychobiological model taps the genetic architecture of personality by exploring associations between these candidate genes and the dimensions of the Temperament and Character Inventory and by examining its phenotypic structure. METHOD: Of the 946 male and female participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging to whom the Temperament and Character Inventory was administered, 587 were genotyped for a polymorphism with a 48-base-pair repeat in the D4DR gene and 425 were genotyped for a 44-base-pair insertion or deletion in the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. RESULTS: There was no significant association between D4DR polymorphisms and novelty seeking. The authors also failed to find an association between 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms and harm avoidance. The factor structure of the Temperament and Character Inventory did not reveal the hypothesized phenotypic structure. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation produced no support for the temperament-character model at either the biological or psychological level.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Role of the serotonin transporter gene in temperament and character.

The biosocial model postulates that personality is comprised of two broad domains: temperament, which is largely due to inherited variations in specific monoamine neurotransmitter systems; and character, which arises from socioculturally learned differences in values, goals, and self-concepts and is the strongest predictor of personality disorders. The model also proposes that serotonin modulates the temperament trait of harm avoidance. We analyzed the association of temperament and character traits with the 5-HTTLPR, an inherited variation that modulates serotonin transporter gene expression, in 634 volunteer subjects. Contrary to theory, the 5-HTTLPR was most strongly associated with the character traits of cooperativeness and self-directedness. Associations with the temperament traits of reward dependence and harm avoidance were weaker and could be attributable largely to cross-correlations with the character traits and demographic variables. Psychometric analysis indicated that the serotonin transporter influences two broad areas of personality, negative affect and social disaffiliation, that are consistent across inventories but are more concisely described by the 5-factor model of personality than by the biosocial model. These results suggest that there is no fundamental mechanistic distinction between character and temperament in regard to the serotonin transporter gene, and that a single neurotransmitter can influence multiple personality traits.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Homosexual parents: a comparative forensic study of character and harms to children.

40 appeals cases of custody disputes drawn systematically from all cases involving a homosexual parent in the United States were compared to 38 appeals cases involving heterosexual custody disputes drawn randomly from listings under parental "character" and 18 appeals cases drawn randomly from "general" cases in Dicennial Digest from 1966 to 1991. Each case involving homosexual vs heterosexual claimants was examined for recorded information about (1) the character of the homosexual parent, the associates of the homosexual parent, the heterosexual parent, and the associates of the heterosexual parent, (2) the effects, particularly harms, upon the child(ren), and (3) psychiatric opinion. 82% of the homosexual vs 18% of the heterosexual parents and 54% of the homosexual's associates vs 19% of the heterosexuals' associates were recorded as having poor character in cases involving a homosexual claimant. Of the 66 recorded harms, e.g., molestation, physical abuse, to the 73 children, homosexual persons accounted for 64 (97%). Of the 32 lesbians, 6 were recorded as having engaged in criminal activity and 3 of bringing false charges of child sexual abuse against the father. Psychiatric opinion, however, ran 25 to 12 in favor of custody for the homosexual parent. In the 56 heterosexual vs heterosexual comparison cases, 38% of the heterosexual parents and 28% of their associates were recorded as having poor character. Six harms to their 105 children and 3 instances of criminality but no false charges of sexual abuse were recorded. In the appeals court literature, homosexual parents were disproportionately of poor character and disproportionately associated with various harms to their children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[The relationship between mood disorders and temperament, character and personality].

The terms temperament, character and personality have been used almost synonymously despite their different meanings. Hippocratic physicians conceptualized illness, including melancholia, in dimensional terms as an out-growth of premorbid characteristics. In modern times, full-scale application of this dimensional concept to psychiatric disorders led Kraepelin, Schneider and Kretschmer to hypothesize that the 'endogenous psychoses are nothing other than marked accentuation of normal types of temperament'. Akiskal's 'soft-bipolarity' and 'affective temperaments' concepts and Cloninger's psychobiological model of temperament and character, which includes four temperament and three character dimensions, are examples of this dimensional approach from the last two decades. Hypotheses concerning the relationship between personality disorders and mood disorders have been described, but it is likely that a single unitary model would not adequately capture the complexity inherent in the relationship between mood and personality disorders. The DSM multiaxial approach to diagnosis encourages the clinician to distinguish state (Axis I) from trait (Axis II) features of mental disorders. Categorical systems like DSM have been criticised because of their inability to mention temperament, character and personality features. In this review, examples of dimensional approaches to mood disorders are given and discussed under the influence of temperament, character and personality disorders. For this purpose, literature from 1980 to 2004 has been reviewed through Pub/med, using the following key words.

Character↗
PubMed1999

Ontogeny and phylogeny of femoro-tibial characters in humans and hominid fossils: functional influence and genetic determinism.

Three different human femoro-tibial characters are selected as functionally relevant and derived hominid characters: femoral bicondylar angle, shape of the femoral distal epiphysis, and the tibial insertion of the lateral meniscus. The timing and mode of formation of these characters are investigated during human ontogeny and are shown to differ considerably. The available hominid fossils (Australopithecus afarensis and early Homo) are interpreted in the light of this ontogenetic analysis with the conclusion that, during hominid evolution, different modes of selection of these features must have occurred. In modern humans, the femoral bicondylar angle proves to be an epigenetic functional feature, which develops during early childhood growth. It is present in all australopithecines and we suggest that it developed following a change in their locomotor behavior and not upon a genomic change: the early practice of bipedal walking, with adducted knee joints, in the locomotor repertoire of infant australopithecines, was sufficient to promote this angle. Later in hominid evolution, the knee joint evolved from having a single insertion of the lateral meniscus on the tibia to a double one. While Australopithecus afarensis exhibits a single insertion, early Homo clearly exhibits a double insertion of the lateral meniscus on the tibia. The double insertion restricts the mobility of the meniscus on the tibial plateau, indicating a habitual practice of full extension movements of the knee joint. Among modern humans, the posterior insertion of the lateral meniscus appears early in fetal life. Consequently in early Homo, this new selected feature developed directly as a result of a genomic change. The derived shape of human distal femoral epiphysis includes a prominence of the lateral lip of the femoral trochlea, an elliptical profile of the lateral condyle, and an anteroposterior lengthening of the epiphysis. Analysis of human fetal and neonatal distal epiphyses shows that the prominence of the lateral lip of the trochlea arises before any use, and thus appears to be genetically determined. However, the postnatal development of this joint shows that this feature is also modified epigenetically by use. It is argued that the hominid femoro-patellar joint would have been reshaped following the process of genetic assimilation (Waddington [1942] Nature 3811:563-565). The prominence of the lateral lip of the femoral trochlea was probably selected following a two-staged process-first epigenetic, then genetic. Far from being a Lamarckian explanation, this concept applies precisely to adaptive characters that are induced by an external stimulus during a single lifetime and are replaced through natural selection by genetically based equivalent characters. The nature of the structures involved in the studied features is shown to be an important parameter determining their mode of development and selection.

Adaptation, Physiological↗