Dr. Stéphanie van den Berg

Research

Main interest lies in the application of Item-Response Theory (IRT) measurement models in the field of behaviour genetics. Focus is on both human and animal populations. An important aim is to develop Bayesian methods for genetically informative data sets, with or without measured genotypes. The objectives of these methods are 1) to separate environmental effects from genetic effects and measurement error, and 2) to combine data sets with different measurement/assessment tools.

BUGS scripts for the analysis of twin data

Click here for a number of scripts for BUGS (WinBUGS) that can be used for modelling twin data. These are based on Van den Berg, Beem & Boomsma (2006), Van den Berg, Glas & Boomsma (2007), Van Leeuwen, Van den Berg & Boomsma (2008), and Van den Berg (2009).

BUGS script for the analysis of animal pedigree data

Click here for a BUGS script that can be used for modelling pedigree data. It is based on Van den Berg, Fikse, Arvelius, Glas & Strandberg (2010) and includes the possibility to model raw test item data using an IRT measurement model.

Publications

International peer-reviewed journal articles

Van den Berg SM, Hjelmborg J (in press). Genetic analysis of rare disorders: Bayesian estimation of twin concordance rates. Behavior Genetics.

Van Beek JHDA, Kendler KS, de Moor MHM, Geels LM, Bartels M, Vink JM, van den Berg SM, Willemsen G & Boomsma DI (2012). Stable genetic effects on symptoms of alcohol abuse and dependence from adolescence into early adulthood. Behavior Genetics, 42, 40-56.

Ten Hoopen, G., Van den Berg, S., Memelink, J., Bocanegra, B. & Boon, R. (2011). Multiple-look effects on temporal discrimination within sound sequences. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 73, 2249-2269. DOI 10.3758/s13414-011-0171-1.

Van den Berg, S.M., Heuven, H.C.M., van den Berg, L., Duffy, D.L. & Serpell, J.A. (2010). Evaluation of the C-BARQ as a measure of stranger-directed aggression in three common dog breeds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 124, 136-141.

Van den Berg, L., van den Berg, S.M., Martens, E., Hazewinkel, H., Dijkshoorn, N., Delemarre-Van de Waal, H., Heutink, P., Leegwater, P. & Heuven, H. (2010). Analysis of variation in the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (mc4r) in Golden Retriever dogs. Animal Genetics, 14, 557.

Wijga S, Russenberger J, van den Berg SM, Havlena B, Heuven HCM (2009). Genetic parameters for guiding ability in purpose bred dogs. Animal Genetics, 40(6), 1004-1005.

Van Soelen, I.L.C., van den Berg, S.M., Dekker, P.H., van Leeuwen, M., Peper, J.S., Hulshoff Pol, H.E., Boomsma D.I. (2009). Individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning abilities in young twin pairs and their older siblings. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(4), 440-444.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Hoekstra, R.A., Boomsma, D.I. (2009). The genetic and environmental structure of verbal and visuospatial memory in young adults and children. Neuropsychology, 23(6), 792-802.

Peper, J.S., Schnack, H.G., Brouwer, R.M., van Baal, G.C., Pjetri, E., Székely, E., van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Collins, D.L., Evans, A.C., Boomsma, D.I., Kahn, R.S., Hulshoff Pol, H.E. (2009). Heritability of regional and global brain volume at the onset of puberty: a Magnetic Resonance Imaging study in 9-year old twin-pairs. Human Brain Mapping, 30(7), 2184-2196.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Peper, J.S., Hulshoff Pol, H.E., Boomsma, D.I. (2009). Genetic covariance structure of reading, intelligence and memory in children. Behavior Genetics, 39, 245-254.

Peper JS, Brouwer RM, Schnack HG, van Baal GC, van Leeuwen M, van den Berg SM, Delemarre-Van de Waal HA, Boomsma DI, Kahn RS, Hulshoff Pol HE.(2009). Sex steroids and brain structure in pubertal boys and girls. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(3): 332-42.

Van Leeuwen, M., Peper, J.S., van den Berg, S.M., Brouwer, R.M., Hulshoff Pol, H.E., Kahn, R.S., Boomsma, D.I. (2009). A genetic analysis of brain volumes and IQ in children. Intelligence, 37, 181-191.

Van den Berg, S.M. (2009). Imposing nonlinear constraints when estimating genetic and cultural transmission under assortative mating: a simulation study using Mx and BUGS. Behavior Genetics 39(1):123-31.

Anderson, C.A., Zhu, G., Falchi, M., van den Berg, S.M., Treloar, S.A., Spector, T.D., Martin, N.G., Boomsma, D.I., Visscher, P.M., Montgomery, G.W. (2008). A genome-wide linkage scan for age-at-menarche in three populations of European descent. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 93, 3965-3970.

Peper, J.S., Brouwer, R.M., Schnack, H.G., Van Baal, G.C., Van Leeuwen, M., Van den Berg, S.M., Delemarre-Van de Waal, H.A., Janke, A.L., Collins, D.L., Evans, A.C., Boomsma, D.I., Kahn, R.S., Hulshoff Pol, H.E. (2008). Cerebral white matter in early puberty is associated with luteinizing hormone concentrations. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33, 909-915.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M. & Boomsma, D.I. (2008). A twin-family study of general IQ. Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 76-88.

Van Grootheest, D.S., van den Berg, S.M., Cath, D.C., Willemsen, G. & Boomsma, D.I. (2008). Marital resemblance for obsessive–compulsive, anxious and depressive symptoms in a population-based sample. Psychological Medicine 38(12):1731-40.

Van den Berg, S.M. & Boomsma, D.I. (2007). The familial clustering of age at menarche in extended twin families. Behavior Genetics, 37, 661-667.

Van den Berg, S.M., Glas, C.A.W., Boomsma, D.I. (2007). Variance decomposition using an IRT measurement model. Behavior Genetics, 37, 604-616.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Hoekstra, R., & Boomsma, D.I. (2007). Endophenotypes for intelligence in children. Intelligence, 35, 369-380.

Van den Berg, S.M., Beem, L., & Boomsma, D.I. (2006). Fitting genetic models using WinBUGS. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 9, 334-342.

Van den Berg, S.M., Willemsen, G., de Geus, E.J.C., & Boomsma, D.I.  (2006). Genetic etiology of stability of attention problems in young adulthood. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 141B, 55-60.

Van den Berg, S.M., Setiawan, A., Bartels, M., Polderman, T., van der Vaart, A., & Boomsma, D.I. (2006). Individual differences in puberty onset in girls: Bayesian estimation of heritabilities and genetic correlations. Behavior Genetics, 36, 261-270.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., van Beijsterveldt, C.E.M., & Boomsma, D.I. (2005). Effects of twin separation in primary school. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 8, 384-391.

Van den Berg, S.M., Posthuma, D., & Boomsma, D.I. (2004). A longitudinal genetic study of vocabulary knowledge in adults. Twin Research, 7, 284-291.

Van den Berg, S.M., Aarts, H., Midden, C. & Verplanken, B. (2004). The role of executive processes in prospective memory tasks. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 16, 511-533.

Other publications

van Beek, JHDA, Kendler, KS, de Moor, MHM, Willemsen, G, Vink, JM, van den Berg, SM, Geels, LM, Boomsma, DI (2010). Development of genetic influences on problem drinking liability in Dutch twins. Behavior Genetics, 40(6), 814-815.

Van den Berg, S.M., Fikse, F., Arvelius, P., Glas, C.A.W., & Strandberg E. (2010). Integrating phenotypic measurement models with animal models. Proceedings of the 9th World Congress on Genetics applied to Livestock Production, Leipzig, Germany, August 1-6, 2010.

Heuven, H.C.M., Bastiaansen, J.W.M., & van den Berg, S.M. (2009). Efficient detection of QTL with large effects in a simulated pig-type pedigree using selective genotyping. BMC Proceedings, 3 (suppl I): S8.

Van den Berg, S.M. (2009). Estimating genetic models involving nonlinear constraints and IRT measurement models. Proceedings of the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute, Durban, South Africa.

Dolan, C.V., van den Berg, S.M. (2008). Power analysis. In: Neale et al. (Eds.) Statistical Genetics: Gene Mapping Through Linkage and Association. London: Taylor & Francis.

Bijma, P. & van den Berg, S.M. (2007). Heritable variance hidden in social interactions. Behavior Genetics, 37, 793-740.

Kubarych, T.S., van den Berg, S.M., Reichborn-Kjennerud, T., Kendler K.S., Torgersen S., Aggen S.H., Neale, M.C. (2007). DSM-IV Narcissistic Personality Disorders symptoms: An item response theory analysis using WinBUGS. Behavior Genetics, 37, 769.

Van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Boomsma, D.I. (2007). The genetic and environmental structure of memory in children. Behavior Genetics, 37, 770-771.

Van den Berg, S.M., van Leeuwen, M., Boomsma, D.I. (2007). Bayesian analysis of multi-level parent-offspring data in the presence of assortative mating. Behavior Genetics, 37, 802.

Van Soelen, I.L.C., van den Berg, S.M., van Leeuwen, M., Boomsma, D.I. (2007). Genetic and environmental influences on verbal learning abilities in children. Behavior Genetics, 37, 804.

Van Grootheest, D.S., van den Berg S.M., Hottenga J.J., Cath D.C., & Boomsma D.I. (2006). Assortative mating for obsessive-compulsive behaviour in a population-based sample. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 141B, 739.

Van den Berg, S.M., Setiawan, A., van der Vaart, A., & Boomsma, D.I. (2005). Bayesian estimation of genetic correlations between polytomous variables using the classical twin design. Behavior Genetics, 35, 823.

ten Hoopen, G., van den Berg, S.M., Memelink, J., Bocanegra, B.R., & Boon, R. (2004). Multiple looks on temporal discrimination in sound sequences. Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Japan, 34, 693-700.

Van den Berg, S., Willemsen, G., de Geus, E., & Boomsma, D.I. (2004) Applying item response theory in studying latent distributions, sex differences and development in attention problems. Behavior Genetics, 34: 663-663.

Peper, J.S., Zwiers, M.P., van Leeuwen, M., van den Berg, S.M., Boomsma, D.I., Kahn, R.S. & Hulshoff Poll, H.E. (2004). Genetic modelling of brain maturation in puberty: A longitudinal study in healthy twins. Twin Research, 7, 372.

Van den Berg, S.M., Aarts, H., Midden, C. & Verplanken, B. (2002). Het vergeten van intenties: Het belang van specificatie, typiciteit en cognitieve belasting. Jaarboek Sociale Psychologie, 1, 257-269.

Van den Berg, S.M., Aarts, H.A.G., Midden, C.J.H., & Verplanken, B. (2002). Carrying out intended actions: Categorisation and executive load in prospective memory tasks. Proceedings of the XII ESCOP and XVIII BPS Cognitive Section Conference, Edinburgh, 5-8 September 2001. (pp. 45-45). Edinburgh, UK: Conference organization.

Van den Berg, S.M. (2002). Prospective Memory: From intention to action. Doctoral dissertation, Eindhoven University of Technology.

Verplanken B., Aarts H., & van den Berg, S. (2000). Habit: On the cognitive processes underlying the effects of past behavior on future behavior. International Journal of Psychology, 35, 125-125.

Ten Hoopen, G, van Buuringen, E., van den Berg, S., & Memelink, J. (1998). Conceptions and misconceptions of discriminating isochronous and anisochronous sound sequences. Proceedings of the Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop. NIAS, Wassenaar, the Netherlands, 25-28 July, 1998.

Van den Berg, S.M. (1997). Mission Impossible: Reporting errors in traffic and in the workplace. Report to the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI, now Swedish Radiation Safety Authority), Stockholm, Sweden.

Teaching

Teaching involves courses in test theory and assessment, and general research methodology. Courses: