In a series of experiments in which more than 150 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs, 15-27 years of age, analyzed point-light displays of biological motion (BM), or the movements of living creatures, based on local kinematics and global configuration -- representative of joint motion or skeletal structure -- researchers linked individual variation in local and global BM processing to genetic and environmental factors, respectively; additionally, the researchers found that participants with higher levels of autistic traits exhibited a decreased ability to process local BM, suggesting a common genetic basis for local BM perception and autistic traits.
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Article #17-14655: "Heritable aspects of biological motion perception and its covariation with autistic traits," by Ying Wang et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ying Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, CHINA; tel: 86-10-64871238; e-mail:< wangying@psych.ac.cn
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences