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As our increasing knowkedge of genetics gives us clues to the etiology of many disorders, behavioral scientists can extrapolate from the various symptoms that show emotional or behavioral differences and possibly learn new genetic approaches. A good example of this is a recent study by the Salk Institute.
In a rare disorder called Williams Syndrome, there is a relatively clear cut genetic defect which results in complete deletion in one elastin gene allele. In addition to a host of physical problems that these children experience (characteristic "elfin" facies, multiple developmental motor disabilities affecting strength balance, coordination, and motor planning and widespread abnormal connective tissue within various organs and systems along with a significant heart murmur (supravalvular aortic stenosis)), they exhibit a unique social hyperreactivity. According to researchers at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, they found "that children with Williams syndrome scored significantly higher on tests measuring behavior in social situations, including their ability to remember names and faces, eagerness to please others, empathy with others' emotions and tendency to approach strangers." These results were published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.
Clinicians have known that children with Williams syndrome are markedly more social than other children, in spite of the moderate mental retardation and physical problems that also are associated with the disorder. Not only is the hyper-social behavior a hallmark symptom that follows a characteristic developmental course in Williams syndrome, but science may be closer to identifying the genes involved in regulating that behavior.
Although Williams Syndrome is rare, occurring in only one in every 20,000 people. It arises from the deletion of no more than 20 genes from one chromosome of the seventh chromosome pair. Virtually everyone with Williams syndrome has exactly the same set of genes missing.
Researchers hope to understand how language is processed in the brain and what genes may be involved.
More on Williams Syndrome
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