Behavior Genetics Unit

(led by A/Prof. Dr. Miriam Mosing)

In the Behavior Genetics unit, we are curious to understand the interplay between environmental exposures and genetic predispositions that underlie individual differences among humans, and to address the underlying etiology of associations we observe in everyday life.

Our research focuses on (but is not limited to) traits related to cultural and social engagement, creativity, skill learning and (mental) health and their relationships. We use state-of-the-art research designs and genetically informative data to estimate the importance of genetic and environmental factors and their interactions, to control for familial confounding, and to answer central questions of causality.

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While we regularly collect and use data from the Swedish Twin Registry, one of the largest twin registries in the world, we also use other international twin cohorts and large genotyped population samples (e.g., the UK Biobank) and are actively involved in building up the first German Twin Registry (GerTRuD). The methods we apply include twin- and family designs, genome-wide association studies, Mendelian randomization, survival modeling, and polygenic score approach, to just name a few.

We believe that understanding how genetic predispositions interact with environmental factors will reveal the nature of phenotypic associations observed in everyday life, which will not only allow us to identify truly causal and modifiable risk/protective factors (relevant environments), but may ultimately also help us to identify those individuals who are at greatest risk or may benefit most from interventions.

Current research areas

Gene-environmental Interplay for Musical Expertise

Music Engagement and Mental Health

Genetic Markers Underlying Expert Musicality

Cultural Engagement, Creativity and Mental Health

Creativity and Substance Use

Primal World Beliefs and Related Traits

Evolutionary Concepts Underlying Human Cultural Behavior

Science Communication

17 October 2024

Why certain people are more musically gifted than others is not only influenced by environmental conditions, but also partly by our genetics, as shown by both twin studies and molecular DNA research. Overall, it’s both nature and nurture, and they are intertwined. We therefore have to consider genetics to understand how our environment shapes musical abilities and be cautious about making predictions based on our DNA as exemplified by analyzing Beethoven’s DNA.

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19 July 2024

Laura Wesseldijk works at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt at the Behavioral Genetics unit in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC. We talk about her research on the genetics of music and mental health, methods in behavioural genetics, the role of large samples, the importance of twins for behavioural genetics, and much more. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

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Research Methodology

Twin and Family-Based Designs

Twin Studies, Co-Twin Control Design, Extended Family Designs, Family-Based Association Studies, Heritability Analysis, Linkage Analysis

Genome-Wide Association and Genetic Correlations

Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Genetic Overlap and Correlations

Polygenic Risk Scores and Genetic Prediction

Polygenic Risk Scores (PRSs), Polygenic Score Mapping, Genetic Risk Prediction

Causal Inference and Longitudinal Models

Mendelian Randomization, Survival Analysis, Cox Proportional Hazards Model

Latest Publications

Perizonius, S., Wesseldijk, L. W., Clifton, J. D., Ullén, F., & Mosing, M. A. (2025). The world as I see it: Genetic and environmental influences on primal world beliefs in a large Swedish twin sample. The Journal of Positive Psychology,20(3), 510-520. doi:10.1080/17439760.2024.2387340.
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Bratchenko, A., Xia, P., Boomsma, D. I., Mosing, M. A., Ullén, F., & Wesseldijk, L. W. (2025). Music style preferences and well-being: A genetic perspective. Personality and Individual Differences,241: 113162. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2025.113162.
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Bignardi, G., Wesseldijk, L. W., Mas-Herrero, E., Zatorre, R. J., Ullén, F., Fisher, S. E., & Mosing, M. A. (2025). Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment. Nature Communications,16: 2904. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58123-8.
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Bairnsfather, J. E., Mosing, M. A., Osborne, M. S., & Wilson, S. J. (2025). Conceptual coherence but methodological mayhem: A systematic review of absolute pitch phenotyping. Behavior Research Methods,57: 61. doi:10.3758/s13428-024-02577-z.
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Gustavson, D. E., Bell, T. R., Buchholz, E. J., Zellers, S., Luczak, S. E., Reynolds, C. A., Finch, B. K., Nygaard, M., Catts, V. S., Christensen, K., Finkel, D., Kremen, W. S., Latvala, A., Martin, N. G., McGue, M., Mewton, L., Mosing, M. A., Panizzon, M. S., Plassman, B. L., Kaprio, J., Gatz, M., Franz, C. E., & The IGEMS Consortium (2025). Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol consumption in middle to late life. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. doi:10.1037/adb0001052.
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du Mérac, T., Admiraal, D., Bignardi, G., Eising, E., Fisher, S. E., Gordon, R. L., Mosing, M. A., & Ullén, F. (2024). Investigating shared genetics effects between social reward sensitivity through music and human psychiatric traits. European Neuropsychopharmacology,87( Supplement 1), 165-166. doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.08.328.
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Mosing, M. A., Verweij, K. J. H., Hambrick, D. Z., Pedersen, N. L., & Ullén, F. (2024). Testing the deliberate practice theory: Does practice reduce the heritability of musical expertise? Journal of Intelligence,12(9): 87. doi:10.3390/jintelligence12090087.
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