ACTION takes action! ACTION & EAGLE consortia at the 47th BGA

ACTION joined forces with EAGLE (EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology) to organize a symposium during the 47^th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association to be held in summer 2017 in Oslo, Norway (28th June - July 1st). The consortia results will be presented during two sessions:

• Session A, chaired by Tellervo Korhonen (University of Helsinki, Finland), focuses on phenotypes and (genetic) epidemiology analyses
• Session B, chaired by Meike Bartels (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands), will focus on GWA (Genome-wide Association) and EWA (Epigenome-wide Association) studies.

Speakers from different partners (G. Lubke, University of Notre Dame (USA); A. Whipp & E. Vuoksimaa, University of Helsinki (Finland); P. Lichtenstein, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden); and M. Nivard, H. Ip & J. van Dongen, Vrije Universiteit (Netherlands) will present their new results.

Session A will inform about challenges and achievements in phenotype harmonization for aggression as within the large international consortia different instruments are used to assess aggression. Aggressive behavior shows large comorbidities with other behavioral problems and school performance and we present teacher-rated behavioral and emotional problem data, results of between- and within-family analyses on the relationship between aggression and academic performance, as well as childhood aggression and adverse outcomes in young adulthood.

Session B includes talks presenting state-of-the-art molecular genetics studies of aggression and attention problems in the ACTION and EAGLE consortia. The third speaker will present results on the epigenetic analyses of aggression. Dorret Boomsma from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will serve as discussant of this symposium.