Genes, brains, and emotions Interdisciplinary and Translational Perspectives

The study of emotions has rapidly expanded in recent decades, incorporating interdisciplinary research on the genetic underpinnings and neural mechanisms of emotion. This has involved a wide range of methods from as varied fields as behavioral genetics, molecular biology, and cognitive neuroscience, and has allowed researchers to start addressing complex multi-level questions such as: what is the role of genes in individual differences in emotions and emotional vulnerability to psychopathology, and what are the neural mechanisms through which genes and experience shape these emotion?

Genes, Brain, and Emotions: Interdisciplinary and translational perspectives offers a comprehensive account of this interdisciplinary field of research, bridging psychology, genetics, and neuroscience, with rich sections dedicated to methods, cognitive and biological mechanisms, and psychopathology. Written by leading researchers who have each inspired new research directions and innovated methods and concepts, this book will be of interest to anyone working or studying in the field of affective science, whether they be behavioural geneticists, psychologists and psychiatrists, or cognitive neuroscientists.

Andrei C. Miu is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavioral Genetics at the Department of Psychology, Babe,s-Bolyai University, and the Founding Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, one of the leading research groups in the field of cognitive and affective science in Romania. His research investigates the psychological and biological mechanisms of emotion and emotion regulation, with the aim of uncovering individual differences that contribute to risk for psychopathology.

Dr. Judith Homberg obtained her PhD in 2004 at the Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam on preclinical research aiming to understand individual differences in vulnerability to drug addiction. Then she pursued a postdoc position at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht and generated and characterized knockout rats. One of the knockout rats involved the serotonin transporter knockout rat, which displays heightened emotional behaviour. After obtaining a personal subsidy from the Dutch government she started her own research group at the Donders Institute in Nijmegen in 2008. From this position she further built up her current research group focussing on the individual differences in behaviour and risk for stress-related disorders, with serotonin as main modulator.

Dr. Lesch has undergone training in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. His work has been focussing on the interdependent relationship between molecular, cellular and systems neurobiology and mechanisms of pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatments related to neurodevelopmental and life-spanning psychiatric disorders using interdisciplinary and translational research strategies. In its scope, the Lesch lab's work is regarded as an interface with contributions to bridging the sizeable gap between basic molecular, neurobiologic and clinically applicable research. The work uncompromisingly integrates pertinent research strategies to elucidate mechanisms of pathologically altered synaptic plasticity (synaptopathy), intraneuronal signaling (neuronal dysregulation) and interneuronal communication (system dysfunction) as well as their impact on the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disease.

List of Contributors
1. Introduction to Genes, Brain and Emotions. Interdisciplinary and Translational Perspectives, Andrei C. Miu, Judith R. Homberg, and Klaus-Peter Lesch
Part One: Methods and Approaches
2. Twin Studies of Emotion, Megan Flom, and Kimberly J. Saudino
3. Gene-environment interactions in humans across multiple units of analyses: A focus on psychopathology and imaging, Suzanne Vrshek-Schallhorn, Bradley M. Avery, and Vaibhav Sapuram
4. Epigenetics and twin studies: A review and applications in human aggressive behavior, Jenny van Dongen, and Dorret I. Boomsma
5. Genome-wide association studies, Thomas W. Muhleisen, and Sven Cichon
6. Gene by environment interactions in animal models of depression and anxiety, Daniela Felice, Anand Gururajan, Olivia O'Leary, and John F. Cryan
7. Methods and Theoretical Approaches: Genetic Animal Models of Emotional Disorders and Convergence with Human Data, Celine L. St. Pierre, Kayvon Sharif, Emily Funsten, Abraham A. Palmer, and Clarissa C Parker
8. Optogenetic and chemogenetic technologies for advanced functional investigations of the neural correlates of emotions, Alexandre Surget, and Catherine Belzung
Part Two: Cognitive Mechanisms
9. Fear learning and extinction, Tina B. Lonsdorf
10. Emotional action control: the role of serotonin in health and disease, Inge Volman, Hanneke Den Ouden, and Karin Roelofs
11. Genetics of emotion regulation: A systematic review, Andrei C. Miu, and Mirela I. Bilc
12. Emotional Memory, Mana R. Ehlers, and Rebecca M. Todd
13. Genetics of decision making, Joshua C. Gray, Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Abraham A. Palmer, Harriet de Wit, and James MacKillop
Part Three: Biological Mechanisms
14. Missing heritability in studies of trait anxiety and amygdala function: Is the solution in plain sight?, Turhan Canli
15. Electrocortical endophenotypes of anxiety, Erik M. Mueller
16. Imaging genetics in depression, Ulrich Rabl, and Lukas Pezawas
17. Psychosocial Stress and Telomere Regulation, Idan Shalev, and Waylon J. Hastings
18. Genetic effects on peripheral psychophysiological measures of emotion processing, Annette Conzelmann, Paul Pauli, Alexander Prehn-Kristensen, and Tobias Renner
Part Four: Disorders and Therapy
19. The Genetics of Personality/Psychopathology: A Brief Review of Constructs, Results, Approaches and Implications, Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., Wendy Johnson, and Irving I. Gottesman
20. Resilience, Rebecca Alexander, and Justine Megan Gatt
21. Understanding Risk and Resilience in Maltreated Children: Emerging Findings From Translational, Genetic, Neuroimaging, and Treatment Studies, Joan Kaufman, Janitza L. Montalvo-Ortiz, and Richard Lee
22. Animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder: Towards understanding of individual differences, Lisa Heltzel, and Judith R. Homberg
23. Genetics of impulsivity, anger and aggression as risk factors for suicidal behavior, Dan Rujescu, and Ina Giegling
24. Causes of distress-induced emotional eating, Tatjana van Strien
25. Genetics of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome, Nuno R. Zilhao, Dorret I. Boomsma, Dirk J.A. Smit, and Danielle C. Cath
26. Therapygenetics: Predicting psychological treatment response from genetic markers, Jonathan R.I. Coleman, Kathryn J. Lester, and Thalia C. Eley
27. The Role of Pharmacogenetics in the Treatment of Depression, Airiss R. Chan, Ilona Gorbovskaya, and Daniel J. Muller