Biological Research (Cont)

I found the research that showed Genetic and Environmental links between Cognitive and Physical Functions in Old Age.

On this ongoing research, it insisted that the reasons for the observable phenotype correlation is a consequences process of genetic correlation and environmental influences. There is a mechanism system involve in the contribution of physical illness to deterioration in cognitive function. At aging process, the body experience changes of physical and cognitive stage. As the age increasing, physical and cognitive function start to deteriorated. There are there elements affect on the deterioration process that are genetics, shared environmental and non-shared environmental (life style choice through out life). Among these , genetics influences are important to measured levels of both cognitive and physical function while environmental influences predominance in explaining change or deterioration in function with increasing age. Cognitive function variables: digit span, recall and fluency and physical function such as ability to do physical activities (ie: movement through out space) are latent variables representing these two constructs. The latent variables is not account for all systematic variance in the individual measured but considered to represent the core, underlying constructs of cognitive function and physical fitness.


Statistic of experimentation done on elderly twin pair:



Model for one twin linking cognitive function and physical fitness. “A” refers to additive genetic influences, “C” to shared environmental influences, and “E” to nonshared environmental influences. The other twin was modeled similarly, and genetic influences on the two were linked 1.0 in monozygotic twins and .5 in dizygotic twins. Shared environmental influences were linked 1.0 in both.


Some key words I got from the research

substantial correlation
underlying construct


Example of phenotype

A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior. Phenotypes result from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors and the interaction between two



ie: Individuals in the mollusk species Donax Variabilis show diverse coloration and patterning in their phenotypes