But these static heritability estimates fail to capture the dynamic nature of genetic effects. While demonstrating that genetic influences play a role in virtually all domains of human behavior has been an important advance, it is critical to understand the mechanisms by which genetic influences exert their effects. The dynamic shifts that occur across adolescence make this an important period during which to study genetic effects; in fact, the study of adolescent behavior illustrates many of the important principles of how genetic influences operate, which we focus on here.
