Browsing by Subject "Estonia"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies common variants in CTNNA2 associated with excitement-seeking.
    (Translational psychiatry, 2011-10-18) Terracciano, A; Esko, T; Sutin, AR; de Moor, MHM; Meirelles, O; Zhu, G; Tanaka, T; Giegling, I; Nutile, T; Realo, A; Allik, J; Hansell, NK; Wright, MJ; Montgomery, GW; Willemsen, G; Hottenga, J-J; Friedl, M; Ruggiero, D; Sorice, R; Sanna, S; Cannas, A; Räikkönen, K; Widen, E; Palotie, A; Eriksson, JG; Cucca, F; Krueger, RF; Lahti, J; Luciano, M; Smoller, JW; van Duijn, CM; Abecasis, GR; Boomsma, DI; Ciullo, M; Costa, PT; Ferrucci, L; Martin, NG; Metspalu, A; Rujescu, D; Schlessinger, D; Uda, M
    The tendency to seek stimulating activities and intense sensations define excitement-seeking, a personality trait akin to some aspects of sensation-seeking. This trait is a central feature of extraversion and is a component of the multifaceted impulsivity construct. Those who score high on measures of excitement-seeking are more likely to smoke, use other drugs, gamble, drive recklessly, have unsafe/unprotected sex and engage in other risky behaviors of clinical and social relevance. To identify common genetic variants associated with the Excitement-Seeking scale of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, we performed genome-wide association studies in six samples of European ancestry (N=7860), and combined the results in a meta-analysis. We identified a genome-wide significant association between the Excitement-Seeking scale and rs7600563 (P=2 × 10(-8)). This single-nucleotide polymorphism maps within the catenin cadherin-associated protein, alpha 2 (CTNNA2) gene, which encodes for a brain-expressed α-catenin critical for synaptic contact. The effect of rs7600563 was in the same direction in all six samples, but did not replicate in additional samples (N=5105). The results provide insight into the genetics of excitement-seeking and risk-taking, and are relevant to hyperactivity, substance use, antisocial and bipolar disorders.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Spirit Of Survival: Projections of International Solidarity and Security in Contemporary Estonia
    (2019-04) Loweth, Katharyn
    This thesis explores the relationship between national cultural spaces and identity in a former Soviet-Bloc state. Through the lens of Estonian history museums and national performances, this paper studies how representations of national identity in the post-Soviet context are a reaction to dominant transnational forces that increasingly challenge the post-Soviet state’s perceptions of respect and power. Applying critical discourse analysis (CDA) theory, I connect museum and song texts to their social and political environment and to overarching global factors. In particular, I analyze Estonian song themes and historical narratives in relation to the Estonian nation, how they fit within the state’s political goals of ‘returning to Europe’, abide by the cultural models of what it means to be ‘European’, and project idealized conditions of a nation-state, such as ethnic homogeneity. Based on my evidence, I argue that the national performance and museum narratives are representing diverging ideals of the nation and state, respectively, in the contemporary era. Although the two representations are not completely incompatible, they position the state on an unstable foundation, which could lead to state sanctioned unrest in the future.