By Lindsey Iorg
Five Orem brothers were the subjects of a national brain development research designed to prove why twins make different decisions than their identical counterparts.
The study, conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md., explores why twins, who start out life with the same programming, eventually make different decisions. It''s a question of nature versus nurture, said Nancy Mann, mother of the brothers.
Her two sets of twins, Anthony and Brandon, 18, Corey and Skylar, 16, and the oldest brother, Christopher, 22, provided the ideal research material for Dr. Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatry branch at the National institute of Mental Health.
'The reason they''re excited for us and did this study, is that we have five boys of different ages,' she said.
The eight-hour testing took place in one day and involved three magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, tests. Before the MRI tests, they were observed participating in simple mind games, designed to show differences in their ways of thinking.
'We were involved in cognitive testing,' 18-year-old Anthony said. 'It involved memory tests, reaction tests and defining words.'
In order to guarantee individual answers, the boys weren''t allowed to speak to each other during the cognitive tests.
This brain research compares growth and developments of each boy with the other twin and their other brother. Christopher, the oldest and only non-twin, provided the control group for the well-rounded study that compares brain development in a family.
The brothers were studied to see if the development of each twin''s brain is based on what''s innate and what''s learned Mann said. The focus is to determine if decisions are a product of hereditary influence or human nature. She cited her 18-year-old twin sons as an example.
'One wants to be an attorney and one wants to be a pilot,' she said. 'Is there a sign within the brain and in the MRI where they can pick up on this information or is it something that they just learned growing up that they wanted to do?'
Anthony said he thinks being a part of such a rare research is an exciting adventure.
'I thought it was really cool and informative to be a part of something that researches how the brain develops,' Anthony said.
Mann heard about the research opportunity from a neighbor whose family enjoyed their own experience with the same research study. She went online to the National Institute of Mental Health''s Web site and filled out an application for the study. Once her sons were accepted, the entire family was excited to be part of the research and also at the chance to travel east.
'We thought it would be a good opportunity to go back and enjoy Washington D.C.,' Mann said. 'We took in some sights for a couple days.'
In addition to five boys, the Mann''s also have three girls. With a large family, Mann said it''s difficult to take trips.
'Some of the kids had never flown before,' she said. 'Just getting on the plane and flying to Washington D.C., was fun.'
The brothers have the option of returning to the research center every two years to undergo more testing and to support new brain development research.
Corey, 16, said he thinks being studied in the research is a rare opportunity.
'It''s an on-going study,' Corey said. 'Not everyone is a twin and so not everyone can be studied like this,' he said.
Mann said her sons were excited about the study from the start.
'The boys were absolutely interested about this research right away,' she said. 'I think a lot of it was this was a new, exciting venture.'