Surviving Twins In Twins

Conjoined twins are a rare phenomenon. In the even that a set should appear where one twin is dependant upon the other, I believe that they should be separated, at minimum, to save the life of one. At the same time, I believe that every set of conjoined twins is its own special case. In this study, I will present the background information on conjoined twinning, give a few case studies, and give the pros and cons of conjoined twin separation. I will end with my own views on the subject.

Table 3-1 examines the correlations between selected characteristics for the identical twins separated at birth and the twins raised together. When compared to each other, they both have very similar brain wave activity, blood pressure and heart rate in the physiological characteristics. The Raven intelligence test was very similar, but the WAIS IQ displayed a bit of difference when compared to the other comparisons made. Personality wise, they typically had similar personalities at the same rate as twins raised together. Psychological interests were off a little bit, but still very similar. The twins that were separated at birth had less similar psychological interests compared to the twins

There are many different types of cerebral palsy. “Types of cerebral palsy are classified by the type of movement problems caused by brain impairment, or by the parts of the body that are affected.” (Mecham, 1986)

The human body is made up of many organ systems that consist of organs and tissues of different anatomies and diverse nomenclature. These organs systems, organs and tissues are prone to thousands of diseases, and one of these diseases is cerebral palsy, which is a disease of the nervous system in simple terms. Research relating to cerebral palsy is carried out, whereby the disorder is described, along with its history, and how it affects the nervous system and the brain. The anatomy of the body systems involves with regard to this disorder, the effects of the disorder on these body systems and other body systems are also researched and discussed. Furthermore, the research focuses on the causes of cerebral palsy, its complications, signs, and symptoms, and the diagnosis of the disorder, along with its treatment and side effects of the treatment. A recap of the research focusing on prevention strategies, the anatomy and physiology of cerebral palsy and the nervous system is presented.

Parallel to this, the focus on genetics is Particularly convicted in twin studies, which establish a comparison between monozygotic twins that are identical and dizygotic twins, which are opposingly non-identical. This distinction can be identified in Torgersens study, which compared MZ and same sex DZ twins where one proband had an anxiety disorder, and it was discovered that such disorders were 5x more frequent in MZ twin pairs, who mutually shared identical genetics.

Twin studies are a mainstay of the nature verse nurture debate because they allow researchers to conduct “natural experiments” on human beings. When researchers try to determine the relative importance of genetics and environment with regard to a certain condition, they have a hard time because they cannot generally get people with the same genes. This is where twin studies come in. Twins studies are part of the method used in behaviour genetics, which includes all data that are genetically informative. E.g. siblings, adoptees, pedigree data etc. Researchers use this method to estimate the heritability of traits and to quantify the effect of a person 's shared environment (family) and unique environment (the individual events that shape a life) on a trait.

Down syndrome occurs in people who were born with three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome. This extra genetic material is what brings about the effects of Down’s syndrome. It is often characterized by an impairment of cognitive (process of thought) ability. Most people with Down syndrome have lower than average, mild to moderate, cognitive ability and this cannot be predicted at birth. A smaller number fall into the severe impairment range. Physically, people with Down’s syndrome are smaller in stature, have less muscle tone, and have noticeably different facial features. The number of these births occurs approximately in one out of every one thousand (ndss.org). As of 2007, the number of people in the United States with Down syndrome stood at about 350,000. These numbers will shrink because now (most) potential parents can know the condition of the fetus early. This information is included to let the reader relate to the struggles that some with Down syndrome goes through.

There are many stories of identical twins who were adopted at birth who meet up late in life and discover they share remarkably similar life stories. A study in 1990 found that genetics account for 50 percent of how religious a twin was likely to be. There is also a genetic influence on dental or gum health. Among identical twins, most reported feeling closer and more familiar with their twin than they did to their best friends, even after just meeting them after spending so many years apart.

Currently a study like it would not be allowed today because many people would disagree to use identical twins for a study because it might affect them. It is going to be hard for the researcher’s to explain to people right now about a study like it. Instead it will be better for the twins to be adopted by the same family or have them be placed in similar environments so they will not feel different from each

Methods: The researchers needed a way to study a person who developed in a certain environment and how similar or different that person would be having been raised in a different environment. They came up with an experiment using monozygotic (identical) twins. Half of the pairs of twins were reared together (MZT); the other half were reared apart (MZA) and separated early in life. Each twin was individually given numerous surveys and

The word “cerebral” means the brain and the word “palsy” means muscle weakness and poor control. Children or adults can be born with Cerebral Palsy or might be diagnosed later in life. The disorder may occur during the woman’s pregnancy, child’s birth, or after the child

In a study of 44 sets of twins, there was a high concordance rate of autism and other disorders on the ASD spectrum for monozygotic twins (92%)5. This suggests that the genetic similarity between MZ twins influences their risk of expressing Autism. Dizygotic twins however, had a much lower concordance5, supporting the hypothesis that there is a correlation between genetic similarity and Autism risk. According to the study, complications during pregnancy are not likely to be the cause of autism, but simply happen more often in twin pregnancies5. The association of severe brain damage in pregnancy and Autism has not been found in singletons5. In 29 cases of twins discordant for Autism, biological hazards associated with brain damage usually affected the autistic twin. This

Q) Explain why twin studies such as this are used to study the nature and nurture theories.

was a study, called the ‘Danish Twin Study”(1), that explained that only ten percent of

In this study, they are used several type of method, one of the technique is used two or more test instrument to ensure the adequate coverage, for example the participants were given a battery of personality and mental ability tests, interest and value inventories and psychomotor tests. In addition, separate of examiners administer the IQ test, life history interview, psychiatric interview and sexual life history interview. The twin also complete questionnaire independently under the constant supervision of the staff members. Twin studies are valuable to researchers because identical twins share 100% of their genes and fraternal twins share, on average, 50% of their genes. Both identical and fraternal twins share certain aspects of their environment (e.g. religious practices in the home). This allows researchers to estimate the heritability of certain traits. Participants are asked about academic ability, personality, and interests; family and social relationships; mental and physical health; physiological measurements. Of interest to researchers are prevalence of psychopathology, substance