Dean Hamer: Living with Our Genes英語の本で、私が読んで面白かったものを紹介します。
Dean Hamer: Living with Our GenesLiving with Our Genes -- Why They Matter More Than You Think --(1998) by Dean Hamer, et. al.
この本は面白いですね。著者は、アメリカ国立がん研究所（というのかな？）の研究員です。共著者がマスコミ関係者なので、表現もこなれていてなかなかです。ただ、あまりにもこなれすぎていて理解できない表現もありますが。(^^;; 残念ながら、日本語訳はまだ出ていないようです。
で、結局、遺伝子と心配性、遺伝子と好奇心については、関係があることが既に証明できているのですね。やっぱり、こういうのは新しい（英語の）本を読まないとダメですね。
元の論文は、『サイエンス』にも出ているらしいです。
この本によると、脳内物質と性格の関係については、アメリカではかなり研究が進んでいるようです。何らかの方法でドーパミンやセロトニンに影響を与え、それによって性格が変わってくるメカニズムが説明されています。となると、血液型物質がドーパミンやセロトニンに何らかの影響を与える可能性が示せれば、生化学的な証明ができることになるのかもしれません。
別な論文によると、ある種のＨＬＡとドーパミンやセロトニンの分子式が似ているので、受容体などとの反応（＝性格）に影響がある可能性が示されています。ですから、ＡＢＯ式血液型でも、ある種の脳内物質と血液型物質の分子式が似ていることが示せればいいわけです。これは決して不可能なことではなく、そのうちどこかの大学の医学部の図書館にでも行って調べてみたいと思っています。
まだ全部は読んではいないのですが、日本の血液型フィーバーについてからかっている（？）文章もあって笑えます。アメリカでも有名になってきたのかな？ あまりにも面白かったので、ここのところだけ引用しておきましょう（４１〜４３ページ）。
The Israeli scientists did a
simple experiment. They rounded up 124 subjects from the local university and health
centerstudents, health care workers, and friends just ordinary people, not patients with
mental diseases. The volunteers were given Cloninger's questionnaire, a
"true-false" quiz used to measure novelty seeking and other traits. The
researchers took a little blood, prepared DNA, and measured the length of the key region
of the D4DR gene.
The final step was to see if the length of a person's D4DR gene
was related to the score for novelty seeking. It did. People with one or two copies of a
long version of the gene, containig six or more repeats, scored on average 0.5 standard
deviations higher for novelty seeking than did people with only the shorter forms of the
gene, a statistically signficant result. The longer the gene, the more the person claimed
a desire for new and exciting experiences.
The length of the D4DR gene had no effect on the other
personality traits of harm avoidance, reward dependence, or persistence. Moreover, the
relationship between D4DR and novelty seeking was apparent in both men and women and
wasn't affected by the age, race, ethnic group, or education level of the subjects.
This was exciting news, the first hint of a connection between a
personality trait and a specific gene coding for a known protein. The evidence, however,
was less than completely convincing. For one thing, the Israeli scientists had looked at
only one group of rather modest size. Many previously claimed links between genes and
behavior could never be repeated by other scientists using different subjects. A more
serious concern was the possibility that the subjects just happened to have different
variations of the gene and different levels of novelty seeking.
This kind of error can happen easily. Suppose a team decided to
look for a "chopstick gene." They go to Tokyo and Indianapolis and ask people
whether they eat with chop sticks. The difference in chopstick usage between the Americans
and the Japanese is astounding, off the charts. Next they take DNA samples and find a
strong, very significant association between one particular genetic marker -- say a blood
group gene -- and the use of chopsticks. Again there is a statistically significant
difference between the Tokyo residents and the people from Indianapolis. Eureka! Since the
people with this gene are more likely to eat with chopsticks, that must mean the gene is
involved with the ability to use chopsticks, perhaps something to do with eye-to-hand
coordina tion. The scientists pop champagne and publish an article heralding the discovery
of a gene for the "successful use of selected hand instruments (SUSHI)." The
correlations could he very strong and other investigators likely could repeat the
experiment and get the same results. And yet the conclusion would be utterly wrong.
The flaw is this: the SUSHI gene actually codes for something
that just happens to have different frequencies in Asians and Caucasians, as is often the
case for blood proteins. And Japanese people use chopsticks more than Hoosiers for purely
cultural reasons. Therefore the apparent association is spurious.
Ann Louise Gittleman: Your Body Knows BestYour Body Knows Best -- The Revolutionary Eating Plan That Helps You Achieve Your Optimal Weight and Energy Level for Life -- (1996) by Ann Louise Gittleman, et. al.
この本も面白いです。ダダモさんのお父さんが書いた血液型ダイエットの本のこともちょっと書いてあります。時期的には、"Eat Right 4 Your Type" の前に出版されたので、それについての記述はありません。なお、この本の著書はＢ型です。
内容は、民族・人種や血液型などによって個人別のダイエットをしようというものです。能見さんの記述もありますが、非常に不正確ですね。血液型別の性格についてはほとんど触れていません。
能見さんが英語版を出したのはやはりよかったようで、この本にも言及してあります。やはり、世界には英語じゃないと通用しないようですね。
それと、だんだんわかってきたのは、「血液型ダイエット」は、アメリカで流行るべくして流行ったということですね。アメリカでは遺伝子ブームですから、遺伝子に関係あるということで血液型ダイエットが流行っているようです（確認したわけじゃありませんが）。
だから、今後はアメリカで「血液型と性格」についても流行する下地はあるわけです。
なるほど…。以下は、２２〜２４ページからの引用です。
How Blood Type Influences Our Health
In addition to knowing where our ancestors came from and our rate
of metabolism, there is another modifying factor that must be taken into account in
personalizing a diet. Our own heritage is intimately tied in with blood type, a
determination that evolved along with our other characteristics. The different blood types
(A, B, AB, and O) appeared at different times during human kind's evolution and are
related to the movement of generations of people over the continents. Although most of us
are familiar with the standard ABO system of blood typing, few of us may realize how those
different blood types connect us intimately to our distant past. Fewer still understand
that our own blood type may be the secret clue to what the best foods are for each of us.
Research also has indicated that blood type might affect our vulnerability to disease.
In Japan, the study of blood type and its impact on personal ity
is serious business. Toshitaka Nomi has published over 25 books on the subject (including
You Are Your Blood Type, Pocket Books, 1983) and is considered to be the world's foremost
expert. Companies in Japan such as Honda, Toyota, and Yamaha frequently consult blood type
information when determining consumer preference for marketing and manufacturing, or
compatibilities among employees. Nomi also has postulated that national personality traits
of Americans, Germans, and Japanese are based on the different balances between the blood
type groups in their populations.
Nomi suggests that in general, blood type O's are goal oriented
and enthusiastic, while blood type A's are more detail oriented and fastidious. Blood type
B's tend to be creative and unconventional, whereas type AB's have a great spiritual
sensitivity.
In North America, there have been two prominent naturopathic
physicians, James D'Adamo and his son Peter D'Adamo, who have extensively researched blood
groups in their relation to biochemistry, diet, and disease. You may want to refer to the
published papers of Peter D'Adamo for more scientific documen tation (see the References).
In the book The D'Adamo Diet (McGraw-Hill, 1989), which is oriented more for the lay
reader, James D'Adamo writes that because blood carries nutrients throughout the body,
perhaps different blood types act differently with foods and their nutrient components. He
found that people who had blood type A did well on a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet,
as did those with the very rare type AB, but individuals with type B need more animal
protein in their diet. Type O's found it virtually impossible to remain on a vegetarian
diet and feel healthy; as the oldest blood type, O's have been found to have a much
greater genetic need for animal protein and fat. Type O's also tend to be much more
physical, while A's are considerably less so, expending more of their energy in mental
processes.
Before we look more closely at which foods are appropriate for
the different blood types, let's examine the underpinnings of Dr. D'Adamo's findings. If
it's true that different blood types react differently to different foods, then our next
question might be, why do people have different blood types? The answer is one I've
referred to several times: evolution. As humans moved across the planet in search of food,
their bodies gradually adapted to what ever local conditions they found. (By gradually, of
course, we mean over the course of millions of years. Evolution is such a slow process, a
few generations are not sufficient to help the body adapt. That's one of the reasons why
so many of us have trouble with sugar; it's only been available to us in its refined state
and in abundance for the last 150 years!)
Peter J. D'Adamo: Eat Right for Your TypeEat Right for Your Type -- Staying Healthy, Living Longer, Achieving Your Ideal Weight -- (1996) by Peter J. D'Adamo,Catherine Whitney
有名なので、この本については解説は不要でしょう。日本語版については、ここをクリック！
ダダモさんはＡ型ですが、Ann Louise Gittlemanさん（Ｂ型）の日本についての記述と比較すると、血液型の特徴が現れていて面白いです。
４４〜４８ページまでが血液型と性格についてなので、抜粋しておきます。
The Personality Question
With all of these fundamental connections at work, it is not
surprising that people might speculate about less tangible characteristics that might be
attributed to blood type -- such as personality,
attitudes, and behavior.
I have experienced this personally on many occasions. People
often remark about the fact that I have followed in my father's footsteps to become a
naturopath. "You're a chip off the old block," some will say. Or, "I guess
you inherited your father's passion for healing." And sometimes, "It looks like
the D'Adamos have medical genes."
Even when the observation is made partially in jest, I
sense that most people truly believe that I have inherited something besides my
physiological characteristics from my father -- that it isn't just an accident that I am
drawn to the same work that he is drawn to.
The idea that certain inherited traits, mannerisms,
emotional qualities, and life preferences are buried in our genetic makeup is well
accepted, although we aren't sure how to gauge this inheritance scientifically. We don't
know (yet!) of any genes for personality.
Some might argue that the way we behave has more to do with
nurture than with nature. But perhaps it is both. Recently, Beverly, a longtime patient,
brought her adult daugh ter in to see me. Beverly had told me earlier that she was young
and unmarried when her daughter was born, and she gave her up for adoption. For thirty
years, Beverly never knew what had become of her daughter -- until the day a
familiar-looking young woman appeared on her doorstep, having found her birth mother
through a search organization. It turned out that Beverly's daughter was raised on the
West Coast, in a very different environment from Beverly's. Yet I was astounded to watch
the two of them together. They were mother and daughter in every way. They possessed
exactly the same mannerisms and accents (even though Beverly was a New Yorker and her
daughter was a Californian), and they seemed to share a similar sense of humor. Amazingly,
Beverly's daughter had chosen the same profession as her mother. Both were human resource
managers for their companics. If ever there was evidence of a genetic connection to
personality, it was sitting in my office.
Of course, I realize this evidence is anecdotal, not scientific.
Most of the research into this aspect of blood types is just that. till, the connection
intrigues us because it makes some sense that there might be a causal relationship between
what occurs at the cellular level of our beings and our mental, physical, and emotional
tendencies as expressed by our blood type.
Evolutionary changes altered the immune systems and digestive
tracts of humans, resulting in the development of the blood types. But the mental and
emotional response systems were also altered by evolutionary changes, and, with this
alteration, very different psychological patterns and behaviors emerged.
Each blood type waged a difficult, and very distinct, battle for
its existence some far time ago. The driven loner Type O would have failed miserably in
the orderly, cooperative environment of Type A -- a big reason for the blood type
adaptation in the first place. Would it be such a surprise to find many of these primitive
characteristics hidden in some deep remove of our psyches?
The belief that personality is determined by one's blood type is
held in high regard in Japan. Termed ketsu-eki-gata, Japanese blood type analysis
is serious business. Corporate managers use it to hire workers, market researchers use it
to predict buying habits, and most people use it to choose friends, romantic partners, and
lifetime mates. Vending machines that offer on-the-spot blood type analysis are widespread
in train stations, department stores, restaurants, and other public places. There is even
a highly respected organization, the ABO Society, dedicated to helping in dividuals and
organizations make the right decisions, consistent with blood type.
The leading proponent of the blood type-personality connection is
a man named Toshitaka Nomi, whose father first pioneered the theory. In 1980, Nomi and
Alexander Besher wrote a book called You Are Your Blood Type, which has sold more
than 6 million copies in Japan. It contains personality profiles and suggestions for the
various blood types -- right down to what you should do for a living, whom you should
marry, and the dire consequences that might befall you if you should ignore this advice.
It makes for fun reading -- not unlike astrology,
numerology, or other methods of finding your place in the uncertain scheme of things. I
think, however, that most of the advice in the book should be taken with a grain of salt.
For instance, I don't believe that a soul mate or a romantic partner should be chosen by
blood type. I am Type A and I am deeply in love with my wife, Martha, who is Type O. I
would hate to think that we might have been kept forever apart because of some psychic
incompatibility in our blood types. We do just fine, even though mealtimes can be a lit
tle chaotic.
Furthermore, as with all attempts to label people, this one
has ominous undertones. Once you say, "Type A is this," or "Type B is
that," the unavoidable next step is to say, "Type B is superior," or
"Only a Type O can be president." Caste systems develop. A variation of this
happens every day in Japan-for example, when a company advertises that it is looking for
Type Bs to fill middle management positions.
So what is the value of this speculation, and why am I includ ing
it here? It's very simple. Although I think the Japanese ketsu-eki-gata is
extreme, I can't deny that there is probably an essential truth to the theories about a
relationship between our cells and our personalities.
Modern scientists and doctors have clearly acknowledged the
existence of a biological mind-body connection, and we've already demonstrated the
relationship between your blood type and your response to stress earlier in this chapter.
The idea that your blood type may relate to your personality is not really so strange.
Indeed, if you look at each of the blood types, you can see a distinct personality
emerging -- the inheritance of our an cestral strengths. Perhaps this is just another way
for you to play to those strengths.
The characterizations and suggestions I will make about your
"blood type personality" are based on the pooled impressions made from empirical
observations of thousands of people over many years. Perhaps this data will provide a
fuller picture of the vital force of blood type. Just don't let it become a source of
limitation -- rather, let it be a source of fulfillment.
By playing to your blood type's strengths, you may be able to
achieve greater efficiency and accuracy in your work, and greater emotional happiness and
security in your life.
There is as yet not enough hard evidence to justify any sweeping
conclusions about the use of blood type to determine personality, but a world of
information is waiting to be annexed and explored. A full understanding of.the unique
cellular blueprint of our bodies still eludes our deepest probing.
Perhaps in the next century we will finally be able to examine
some master plan; a map that will show us how to get from here to there within ourselves.
But perhaps not. There is so much we don't understand, so much we may never understand.
But we can speculate, reflect, and consider the many possibilities. That is why we have,
as a species, developed such acute intelligence.
These elements -- diet, weight management, dietary supplemen
tation, stress control, and personal qualitiesform the essential elements of your
individual Blood Type Plan. Refer to them of ten as you begin to familiarize yourself with
the specific qualities of your blood type.
But before you go any further, I suggest you do one more thing:
Know your blood type!
R. Grant Steen: DNA & DestinyDNA & Destiny -- Nature & Nurture in Human Behavior -- (1996) by R. Grant Steen
実は、この本は日本語版しか読んでいません。(^^;;
While our current personality tests undoubtedly have problems, the fact that identical twins reared apart are so similar is strong evidence for the heritability of personality.
Exhaustive testing of occupational, vocational, and general interests has shown that these facets of personality are about 40% heritable overall.(*1) There were significant differences be tween identical twins reared together and identical twins reared apart, which confirms that the role of the environment is fairly large in determining interests. Finally, several different tests showed that even something as nebulous as social attitudes are about 40% heritable. In fact, the degree to which twins reported that religion was important in their life was 49% heritable, while the extent to which twins adhered to the same traditional values was 53% heritable. The biggest single difference that could be found between the twins was in "nonreligious social attitudes," which are apparently much influenced by education, but which were still 34% heritable.(*1) While one should bear in mind that identical twins reared apart provide an estimate of the maximum plausible heritability of a trait, these results are still astounding. Parenthetically, IQ was found to be 69% heritable, on the basis of these identical twins reared apart (as we discussed in Chater 8).
Different personality determinants could conceivably differ in their degree of heritability, with some determinants being more heritable than others. However, current data do not show strong differences between determinants. Several years ago, a compilation of four different studies, which together involved over 30,000 pairs of twins, suggested that extroversion and neuroticism are both about 50% heritable.(*2) More recently, data compiled from different studies (Table 1) show a fairly uniform heritability of the different personality traits; extroversion is most heritable at about 47%, and agreeableness is least heritable at about 39%(*3) These conclusions are based on several different studies that examined large numbers of twins, used modern methods pf psychological assessment, and employed the very latest computer models to calculate heritability. Men and women differ somewhat, in that the heritability of personality is margin ally lower in men than in women. But all studies converge in concluding that the heritability of personality traits averages between 41 and 51%, and that environment plays a substantial role in determining personality.Table 1 Inheritance of Personality Traitsa
Traits Heritability Environment Extroversion 47% 53% Openness 46% 54% Neuroticism 46% 54% Coscientiousness 40% 60% Agreeableness 39% 61% Overall personality 45% 55% (a) Data for each personality traits averaged from many separate studies. (*3)
*1 Bouchard, T. J., et al., Sources of human psychological differences: The Minesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, Science 250 (1990): 223-228.
*2 Plomin, R., The roles of inheritance in behavior, Science 248 (1990): 183-188.
*3 Bouchard, T. J., Genes, environment, and personality, Science 264 (1994): 1700-1701.
同じ記述の日本語版の解説を引用しておきます。
Ｒ・グラント・スティーンさん 『ＤＮＡはどこまで人間の運命を決めるか』 三田出版会 Ｈ１０．４ ２，６００円＋税
２２６〜２２７ページには、心理学で長い間論争になっていた「遺伝か環境か」にピリオドを打つかもしれない記述がありました。それによると、遺伝の影響が４０％強、環境の影響が６０％弱だそうです。
現在おこなわれている人格テストに問題があるのは明らかだが、別々に育てられた一卵性双生児の間の類似度が高いという事実は、 人格の遺伝性に関する強力な証拠となる。
職業適性、職能、および全般的な関心事に関する徹底的なテストの結果、人格のこれらの分野の遺伝率は全体として４０％ほどであった(*1)。 一緒に育てられた一卵性双生児と別々に育てられた一卵性双生児の間には重大な違いが見られ悪 どんなことに関しをもつようになるかについては、 環境の果たす役割がかなり大きいことが確認された。また、いくつかの異なったテストによれば、社会的態度といった漠然としたものでさえ、４０％の遺伝性があるとされている。現に、双生児による回答からは、人生において宗教は重要であるという奪え方の遺伝率は４０％、伝統的な価値観にこだわることに関しては５３％の遺伝率が出ている。双生児の２人の間のもっとも大きな違いをひとつだけ挙げるとすれば 「社会面での無宗教的な態度」で、これは受けた教育による影響がかなり強かったが、それでも遺伝率は３４％となっている。別々に育てられた一卵性双生児から特性に関して最大限の遺伝率が算出されるのはもっともであることを考えてもなお、 これらの結果には驚くべきものがある。ついでながら述べておくと、別々に育てられた一卵性双生児の研究では、ＩＱの遺伝率は６９％となっている （第８章参照）。
人格決定因は各々遺伝性の程度が異なり、遺伝性の強いものもあればほかよりも弱いものもあることは十分に考えられる。 しかし現在のデータでは、それぞれの決定因の間に大きな違いがあることは明らかにはなっていない。数年前、合計で双生児が三万組になる四つの異なった研究結果を総合したところ、外向性と神経症傾向のどちらも遺伝率は５０％という数値が出た(*2)。さらに最近になって、 異なった研究からデータを集めたところ（表１０・１）、異なった人格特性に見られる遺伝率がほぼ均一の数字となって現れた。もっとも遺伝率の高かったのが外向性で４７％、いちばん低かったのが人当たりに関する遺伝率で３９％であった(*3)。これらの結論は、多数の双生児を対象とし、近代的な心理テストをおこない、最新型のコンピュータ・モデルを採用して遺伝率を計算したいくつかの研究を基にしたものである。表１０・１ 人格特性の遺伝ａ
特性 遺伝性 環境 外向性 ４７％ ５３％ 開放性 ４６％ ５４％ 神経症傾向 ４６％ ５４％ 誠実性 ４０％ ６０％ 人当たり ３９％ ６１％ 全体的性格 ４５％ ５５％ (a) 各々の人格特性に関するデータは、多くの異なった研究の平均(*3)
*1 Bouchard, T. J., et al., Sources of human psychological differences: The Minesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, Science 250 (1990): 223-228.
*2 Plomin, R., The roles of inheritance in behavior, Science 248 (1990): 183-188.
*3 Bouchard, T. J., Genes, environment, and personality, Science 264 (1994): 1700-1701.
元の論文は『サイエンス』だそうですから、なかなか信頼できる数字だと考えていいと思います。遺伝のうち血液型はどのくらいなのかわかりませんが、私の感じだと概算で最高で数１０％といったところです。血液型って結構な影響があるものですね。
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