HUMAN GENOME

&
PERSONALITY

V K Sharma / June 2007

 HUMAN GENOME & PERSONALITY
• Genome is a BOOK

• It has 23 chapters called CHROMOSOMES

• Each chapter contains several thousand stories,

called GENES

• Each story is made up of paras EXONS

• Each para is made up of words CODONS
• Each word is written in letters, called
BASES
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-2

• One billion words in the book

• If u read @ one word / sec, take 32 years
• This gigantic document fits inside the
microscopic nucleus of a tiny cell, that fits
easily upon the head of a pin.
• Idea of Genome as a book is not a metaphor,
but literally true. Only difference, some parts
of genome read L to R & some R TO L,
though never both at same time.
• Genomes are written entirely in three letter
words, using four letters.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-3

• A ADANINE

• C CYTOSINE

• G GUANINE

• T THYMINE
• Instead of being written on flat pages, these
are written on long chains of sugar &
phosphate molecules, called DNA molecules.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-4

• To each Chain are attached 3 bln pairs of

bases, as side rungs.
• Each Chromosome is one pair of very
long DNA molecules, the famous double-
helio of original strand & its
complementary pair intertwined.

• Genome is a very clever book, it can

both photocopy itself [REPLICATION]
and read itself [TRANSLATION].
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-5

• To make a copy of the complementary

strand , brings back the original text.
Sequence of ACG becomes GCA in the
copy, which transcribes back to ACG in
the copy of the copy. This enables DNA
to replicate indefinitely, retaining same
information.
• THUS THE Genetic information coded
by an organism’s DNA, spread over 23
chapters, chromosomes, is called its
GENOME [ THE Book]
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-6

• A great beauty of embryo development, is

the bit that human beings find so hard to
grasp.
• It is a totally decentralized process.
• Every cell in the human body carries a
complete copy of the Genome. No cell need
to wait for instructions from higher authority.
• We do not organize society / organizations
that way. We are obsessed with dragging as
many decisions as possible to central
authority.
• Should we learn something from Nature?
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-7

• A NEURON is a major class of cells in the

nervous system. Their main role is to
process & transmit information via
synapses. There are about 100 trillion
synapses in the human brain.
• Neurons use CHEMICALS like
DOPAMINE & SEROTONIN as Neuro
Transmitters.
• There are around 50 such chemicals. By using
50 different chemical signals, brain can carry on
many different conversations at the same
time. Each neuro-transmitter stimulates diffrent cells or
alters their sensitivity to dfrnt chemical mesngrs.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-8

On Chromosome 11, there is a gene D4DR.

It is a recipe for a protein, that serves as a Dopamine
receptor.
 Its job is to stick out of the membrane of a neuron at
the junction of another neuron [junction called
Synapse] , ready to latch on to chemical Dopamine.
 Dopamine is released from the tips of other neurons
by an electric signal.
 When dopamine-receptor encounters dopamine, it
causes its own neuron to discharge an electric
signal.
That is the way brain works : Electric signals that
cause chemical signals that cause electric signals.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-9

• It is misleading to think of brain as a

computer for many reasons, but one -
the most obvious- is that an electric
switch in a computer is just an electric
switch.
• A SYNAPSE in a brain is an electric
switch embedded in a chemical
reactor of great sensitivity.
• Presence of D4DR gene in a neuron,
identifies that neuron as a member
one of brain’s DOPAMINE MEDIATED
PATHWAYS.
• Dopamine pathways do many things, including controlling flow of
blood in the brain as well as impacting our personality.
• Research has shown that extent of presence of these chemicals in the
brain have an impact on the human personality. Let us scan 2 examples :
• When there is SHORTAGE of DOPAMINE, it makes the person
INDECISIVE, LACKING IN INITIATIVE, FROZEN
PERSONALITY.
• When in MODERATION, TAKES INITIATIVE
• When Dopamine is in EXCESS, person GETS BORED
EASILY, seeks adventure to get the same dopamine BUZZ.

• When Dopamine is present in MODERATION, person TAKES

INITITATIVE
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-11

• To simplify grossly, DOPAMINE is

PERHAPS the MOTIVATION
CHEMICAL for the organism.

• Too little, the person lacks initiative.

• Too much and the person easily gets bored &

frequently seeks new adventures.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-12

• Let us now see the impact of another

chemical in the brain, SEROTONIN
• When in SHORTAGE, makes a person
IMPULSIVE ( Changeable, erratic,
whimsical)
• When in MODERATION, RELIEVES
ANXIETY / DEPRESSION
• When in EXCESS, makes a person
COMPULSIVE, obsessed with some
thing like tidiness / caution…, to the point
of being NEUROTIC.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-13
• Another point of view……
• The mind of the child lives between the cells..the
Synapses..By the time child reaches early teens,
her brain has carved out unique network of
connections. She has some beautiful, frictionless,
traffic free 4-lane highways (pathways) where
connections are smooth & strong.
• And she has barren wastelands, where no signal
at all makes it across.
• If she has 4-lane highway for CONFRONTATION , she
will be that lucky person whose brain hands her one
word after another in the heat of debate. If she has a
wasteland for confrontation, her brain shuts her mouth
at most critical moments.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-14

• NATURE vs NURTURE debate

• “ to believe in innate human nature is to fall in the
trap of DETERMINISM & to condemn people to a
heartless fate written in their genes, before they
were born.”
• “ We simply do not have enough genes for this
biological determinism to be right…” Craig Venter
• Genome has changed every thing, not by closing
the argument, or winning the battle for one side or
the other, but by enriching.., till they meet in the
middle.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-15
• Before coming to meeting in the middle, let
us examine history of various kinds of
Determinism.
• Fall of parental (Freudian) determinism.
• Fall of Margaret Mead’s Cultural determinism.
• Fall of stimulus-response determinism of
Watson & Skinner.
• Fall of Linguistic determinism.
• Venter’s Observation
• Sir J Sulston, one of Genome project leaders, “ ..just 33
genes, each coming in 2 varieties, ‘on’ & ‘off’,would be
enough to make every human being in the world unique…”
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-16

• MEETING in the MIDDLE argument

• It is genes that allow human mind to learn, to
remember, to initiate, to absorb culture.
• Genes are not puppet masters, nor are they just
carriers of heredity, they are active during life.
• You eat cookies on winter evenings to cheer
yourself up by raising your brain serotonin levels.
The take home message is that u can change your
serotonin levels by altering your eating habits.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-17

• A trio of therapists learning about new

developments from genetics, , switched
from trying to treat their clients’ shyness
to trying to make them content with
innate pre-disposition.
• Clients felt relieved that their personality
was real & not a bad habit they had got
into.
• To their surprise, found that telling that
they are naturally shy, helped them
overcome shyness.
• 1909, in Danube, two 6 yr old boys were given
2 newly hatched ducklings, they followed
children every where, mistaking them for
parents.
• Later research showed that bet 15 hrs & 3 days
of birth, ducklings fixate on 1st moving thing as
mother.
• 1989, David Barker, medical scientist, analyzed
5000 men born bet 1911 & 1930 in South
England & found that those who weighed below
a level upto 1 yr, had highest death rate from
heart disease. Confirmed same finding from a sample
of 4600 men, Helsinki Uni Hospital, born bet 1934 & 1944.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-19

• No longer is it Nature VS Nurture. Genes are

designed to take their cue from nurture. The
more we lift the lid on the genome, the more
vulnerable to experience genes appear to be.
• Your brain chemistry is determined by the
social signals to which u get exposed. Higher
your self-esteem & social rank relative to
those around u, higher your serotonin level
is.
• There are genes that vary the rate of
serotonin manufacture, vary the
responsiveness of serotonin receptors…….
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-20

• HITLER’S LOVE CAMPS

• T Bouchard of uni Minnesota, 1979, collected
separated twins from all over world,tested for IQ
• Combined with results of other studies….
• Same person tested twice 0.87 cor
• Identical twins reared together 0.86
• “ “ “ apart 0.76
• Biological siblings 0.47
• Parents & children living together 0.40
• “ “ “ “ apart 0.31
• Adopted children living together/apart 0 / 0
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-21

• Heritability estimates apply between

individuals & not between groups.
• Evidence from cross racial adoption suggests
that avg IQ of blacks reared by & among
whites is no different from that of whites.
• High heritability of short sightedness is
accounted for not by just the heritabiity of eye
shape, but also by the heritability of literate
habits. The heritability of intelligence may be
about the genetics of nurture.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-22

• IN SUMMATION
• The subject is still under exploration. Much
more light needs to be shed. We need to
discover more and learn more.
• There exists genuine fear among many that
genetic reasons will again be used to make
lives of the under privileged even more
disadvantaged.
• That fear, as we saw, is not so well grounded
& should’nt blind us to some knowledge
already available, suggesting greater pay
off by working together.
• SPECIFICALLY IN HRD CONTEXT…
• Approaches of Training /Feedback / Coaching /
/ Mentoring / Job Rotation…will bring about
some improvement among some people.
• However, it would not be adequate, most
probably, to make him / her a world class
performer in that role, if gap is largish.
• He / She may become world class in another
role, thus indicating need for thrust on
redeployment.
• We may need to add, may be some unusual
items, to out repertoire of HRD
interventions….could be food habits.
 Human Genome & personality…contd p-24

• Tremendous pay-off likely by discovering, by honing still

better tools of selection, so as to spot more successfully
those with high personality and role match,for all
strategic positions.
• THANK YOU
• Bibliography :
• “ Genome: The autobiography of a species”..Matt Ridley, 1999
• “ Nature via Nurture” … do , 2003
• “ Are genes us?” …C F Cranor, 1994
• Wikipedia
• “Very different animals have very similar sets of genes. By following the trail of evolution, devices
are being found within DNA – Genetic Switches – that do not encode any proteins but that regulate
when and where genes are used….When we compare mammalian genomes such as those of the
mouse, rat, dog, human & chimpanzees, we see that their respective gene catalogues are remarkably
similar. Approx no of genes in each animal’s genome is about 20,000. The expression of a gene
entails the transcription of the DNA sequence into a messenger RNA [mRNA] VERSION &the
translation of that mRNA into a protein sequence…Certain non-coding DNA sequences play a
critical role in directing when & where that happens. They are components of ,”Genetic Switches”
that turn genes ‘on’ or ‘off’ at the right time & place in the body. ” Scientific American…May
2008.
• “ About 5% children, under 18, have a group of
symptoms that are called ‘ Attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder ADHD]. About 60% carry the
symptoms into adulthood. Many studies have shown
that ADHD is genetic and not, as was once presumed,
the result of poor parenting. Neuro-transmitter
chemical involved is DOPAMINE , which controls
feelings of REWARD or PLEASURE. [contradicts Matt
Ridley, who associates this with Serotonin]
• The suggestion is that people with ADHD are
receiving +ve feedback for inappropriate behaviour.
The main symptom of ADHD is impulsiveness [when
dopamine shortage]. Sufferers have trouble in
concentrating on any task unless they receive
constant +ve feedback/reward..
• They are prone to addictive & compulsive behaviour when
dopamine in excess].
• One hypothesis is that behaviour associated with ADHD helps
people such as hunter gatherers, pastoral nomads…, but tend to
perform poorly in modern society.” Economist – June
14, 2008
• “ Such drugs are called cognition enhancers. They work on the
neural processes that underlie such mental activities as attention,
perception , learning, memory, language, planning, decision
making, usually by altering the balance of chemical neuro
transmitters.
• Ritalin [mehtylphenidate] & Provogil [modafinil], even though
notlicensed for wider use are being used by some people to pep
themselves up…Provogil , for example, adds the ability to remember
extra digit[ most ppeople can hold seven random digits in their
memory, but have difficulty with 8. It also improves people’s
performance in tests of their ability to plan.
• ONE SUCH NEURO TRANSMITTER IS
GLUTOMATE. This throws switches to the ON
position in the memory circuit. Members of a newly
discovered class of compounds, ampakines, boost the
activity of glutomate and thus make it easier to form
memories.” Economist – May 24, 2008
• “ As soon as the mothers identified their own babies,
the areas of brain associated with the ‘reward’ went on
alert & the brain chemical Dopamine, important for
learning, motivating, sleeping & controlling movement.
Strength of reaction varies with the babies expression,
a smiling face triggering the biggest reaction.”
Hindustan Times – P 20 – July 08, 2008