Skip to main content
Elsevier
View Cart

Twin Research for Everyone

From Biology to Health, Epigenetics, and Psychology

  • 1st Edition - August 17, 2022
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Adam D. Tarnoki, David L. Tarnoki, Jennifer R. Harris, Nancy L. Segal
  • Language: English

Twin Research: Biology, Health, Epigenetics, and Psychology is a comprehensive, applied resource in twinning and twin studies that is grounded in the most impactful findings… Read more

World Book Day celebration

Where learning shapes lives

Up to 25% off trusted resources that support research, study, and discovery.

Explore resources

Description

Twin Research: Biology, Health, Epigenetics, and Psychology is a comprehensive, applied resource in twinning and twin studies that is grounded in the most impactful findings from twin research in recent years. While targeted to undergraduate and graduate students, this compendium will prove a valuable resource for scholars already familiar with twin studies, as well as those coming to the field for the first time. Here, more than forty experts across an array of disciplines examine twinning and twin research methodologies from the perspectives of biology, medicine, genetic and epigenetic influences, and neuroscience. Chapters provide clear instruction in both basic and advanced research methods, family and parenting aspects of twinning, twin studies as applied across various disease areas and medical specialties, genetic and epigenetic determinants of differentiation, and academic, neurological and cognitive development.

The presentation of existing studies and methods instruction empowers students and researchers to apply twin-based research and advance new studies across a range of biomedical and behavioral fields, highlighting current research trends and future directions.

Key features

  • Offers unique insights into twinning rates, mechanisms and factors surrounding twinship
  • Provides clear instruction on both basic and advanced twin research methods and study design
  • Features leading international experts in twin biology, genetics, health and psychology
  • Examines findings from recent twin studies across a broad array of health and behavioral studies

Readership

Human geneticists; human genomicists; translational researchers in epigenetics, developmental biology, reproductive biology; psychologists; life science researchers; oncologists

Table of contents

Section 1. Background

1. History of Twin Studies
John C. Loehlin

2. Prevalence of Twinning Worldwide
András Pári

3. Twin Family Registries Worldwide
Yoon-Mi Hur, Veronika V. Odintsova, Juan R. Ordonana, Karri Silventoinen, and Gonneke Willemsen

Section 2. Phenomenon of Twinning

4. Biology of Natural Twinning
GARY David STEINMAN

5. Management and Outcome of Twin Pregnancies
Gian Carlo Di Renzo, Valentina Tosto, Irene Giardina, Valentina Tsibizova

6. Conjoined Twins
Julia Metneki and Peter Varjassy

Section 3. Twin Families

7. Growing up as Twins: The Perspective of Twin Researchers
Adam Domonkos Tarnoki, David Laszlo Tarnoki, Julia Metneki and Nancy L. Segal

8. Parenting of Twins, Triplets, or More
Monica Rankin

9. Reared Apart Twins: Background, Research, Case Studies and What They Reveal About Human Development
Nancy L. Segal and Francisca J. Niculae

10. Opposite-sex Twins in Medical Research
Lucas Calais Ferreira, Sue Malta, and John L. Hopper

Section 4. Twin Methodologies

11. Establishing a resource for genetic, epidemiological and biomarker studies: the important role of twin registers
Veronika Odintsova, Gonneke Willemsen, Conor V. Dolan, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Nicholas G. Martin, P. Eline Slagboom, Juan R. Ordoñana, Dorret I. Boomsma

12. Methodology of Twin Studies
José J. Morosoli, Brittany L. Mitchell, and Sarah Medland

13. Twin Studies of Complex Traits and Diseases
Christopher R. Beam, Alice J. Kim, and Tinca J.C. Polderman

14. Use of Twin Studies to Make Inference About Causation for Measured Exposures by Examining Familial Confounding
Vivienne F. C. Esser, Shuai Li, Minh Bui, and John L. Hopper

15. Twin Research in Clinical Trials
Athula Sumathipala and Kaushalya Jayaweera

Section 5. Behavior

16. Twin Studies in Social Sciences
EIena Cristina Mitrea and Levente Littvay

17. Childhood Development of Psychiatric Disorders and Related Traits
Isabell Brikell, Paul Lichtenstein, and Henrik Larsson

18. Happiness and Well-being: The Value and Findings from Genetic Studies
Margot P. can de Weijer, Lianne P. de Vries, and Meike Bartels

19. Twin Studies of Personality
Juko Ando

20. Twin Research in Psychopathology
Lisabeth Fisher DiLalla, Matthew R. Jamnik, Riley L. Marshall, Emily C. Pali, and David DiLalla

21. Cognitive Aging: The Role of Genes and Environments in Patterns of Change
Deborah Finkel, Nancy L. Pedersen, and Chandra A. Reynolds

22. Twin Studies of Smoking and Tobacco Use
Jaakko Kaprio

Section 6. Health

23. Anthropometric Twin Studies
Karri Silventoinen

24. Twin studies of cardiorespiratory disease, daily cardiovascular activity and imaging
Adam Domonkos Tarnoki, Gonneke Willemsen, Eco de Geus, and David Laszlo Tarnoki

25. Pediatric Twin Studies
Catarina Almqvist and Paul Lichtenstein

26. Twin-Singleton Differences
Kaare Christensen and Matt McGue

27. Twin Studies of Puberty and Behavior
Holly T. Pham, Adriene M. Beltz, Robin Corley, and Sheri A. Berenbaum

28. Muscoloskeletal Twin Studies
Paulo Ferreira and Munkh-Erdene Bayartai

29. Contributions of Twin Studies to Cancer Epidemiology
Wendy Cozen, Esther Lam, Maryam Salehi, Victoria K. Cortessis, Tuong L. Nguyen, James Dowty, John L. Hopper, Shuai Li and Thomas M. Mack

30. Epigenetic Studies of Neurodevelopment in Twins
Jeffrey Mark Craig, Namitha Mohandas, Yuk Jing Loke, Jennifer Eleanor Snowball, Yen Ting Wong and Garth Stephenson

31. Contributions of Twin Research to the study of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Matthew Sebastian Panizzan, Jeremy Elman and Eero Vuoksimaa

Section 7. Twin Research: Genetics, Epigenetics, Microbiome, and Environmental Adaptation

32. Twins and Omics: The Role of Twin Studies in Multi-Omics
Fiona Alysa Hagenbeek, Jenny van Dongen, Rene Pool, and Dorret I. Boomsma

33. Epigenetics
Aino Heikkinen, Sara Lundgren, and Miina Ollikainen

34. An Experiment in Co-Twin Control: Adaptation to Space Travel
Carole Tafforin and Nancy Segal

35. Environmental Risk Factors for Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Evidence from Twin Studies
Garth Stephenson and Jeffrey Mark Craig

36. Microbiome Studies and Twin Research
Joohon Sung, Hang A. Park, and Sooji Lee

37. Chromosomal Anomalies, Monogenetic Diseases, and Leukaemia in Twins
Iren Haltrich and Anna Lengyel

Section 8. Conclusion
Summary
Adam Domonkos Tarnoki, David Laszlo Tarnoki, Jennifer Harris and Nancy Segal
Appendix: Resources, Websites, Twin Organizations, and Further Reading
Adam Domonkos Tarnoki, David Laszlo Tarnoki, Jennifer Harris and Nancy Segal

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: August 17, 2022
  • Language: English

About the editors

AT

Adam D. Tarnoki

Dr. Adam D. Tarnoki is an assistant professor, radiologist and twin researcher at Semmelweis University Medical Imaging Center and Department Head, Department of Radiology at National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, Hungary. He is a founding member of the Hungarian Twin Registry. He has presented more than 200 international lectures and has authored over 150 publications. He is a board member of the Hungarian Society of Radiologists and teaches radiology in English, German and Hungarian at Semmelweis University. Dr. Tarnoki serves as vice-president of the Hungarian Medical Association of America Hungary Chapter. He has also served as a member of the local organizing committee and Faculty of the 3rd World Congress on Twin Pregnancy and the 15th Congress of the International Society for Twin Studies (ISTS) in Budapest, Hungary, 2014 and the local host of the 19th International Congress on Twin Studies hold online in November, 2021. He serves as a deputy editor-in-chief of the Hungarian Radiology journal and he is the president of the International Society of Twin Studies (ISTS) since 2022.
Affiliations and expertise
Radiologist and Researcher, Department of Medical Imaging, Semmelweis University, Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary

DT

David L. Tarnoki

Dr. David L. Tarnoki is an assistant professor, radiologist and twin researcher at the Semmelweis University Medical Imaging Center and Head of Oncologic Imaging Diagnostic Center, National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, Hungary. He is a founding member of the Hungarian Twin Registry and has presented more than 200 international lectures and authored over 150 publications. He is the board member of the Hungarian Society of Radiologists and teaches radiology in English, German and Hungarian at Semmelweis University. Dr. Tarnoki serves as secretary of the Hungarian Medical Association of America Hungary Chapter and is a member of the Academy of Young Researchers, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He has also served as a member of the local organizing committee and Faculty of the 3rd World Congress on Twin Pregnancy and the 15th Congress of the International Society for Twin Studies (ISTS) in Budapest, Hungary, 2014 and the local host of the 19th International Congress on Twin Studies hold online in November, 2021. He is the secretary of the International Society of Twin Studies (ISTS) since 2022.
Affiliations and expertise
Radiologist and Researcher, Department of Medical Imaging, Semmelweis University, Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary

JH

Jennifer R. Harris

Dr. Jennifer R. Harris is currently a Research Director at the Center of Fertility and Health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway. She has interdisciplinary training in life-span development and genetics. She has been conducting twin research throughout her academic career. She is the past president of the International Society for Twin Studies, a recipient of the James Shields Award for outstanding research in behavioral genetics, and is the scientific director of the Norwegian Twin Registry. Dr. Harris has broad commitment to the wider scientific community and serves on several expert panels, boards, steering groups, scientific advisory committees and editorial boards.
Affiliations and expertise
Director of Research, Center for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

NS

Nancy L. Segal

Dr. Nancy L. Segal is currently Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton and Director of the Twin Studies Center. She has authored over 250 scientific articles and book chapters, as well as seven books on twins, most recently, Deliberately Divided: Inside the Controversial Study of Twins and Triplets Adopted Apart. Her 2012 book, Born Together-Reared Apart: The Landmark Minnesota twin Study, won the 2013 William James Award from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Segal has received several international awards, including the James Shields Award for Lifetime Contributions to Twin Research (International Society for Twin Studies) and the International Making a Difference Award (Multiple Births Canada). She is also the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Wang Family Excellence Award from California State University. Dr. Segal has contributed to national and international media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. She has been a frequent guest on national and international television and radio programs, such as the Today Show, Good Morning America, the Martha Stewart Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Forum (BBC) and the Hidden Brain National Public Radio).
Affiliations and expertise
Psychology Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton and Director of the Twin Studies Center, CA, USA

View book on ScienceDirect

Read Twin Research for Everyone on ScienceDirect