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Córdova-Palomera A, Fatjó-Vilas M, Falcón C, Bargalló N, Alemany S, Crespo-Facorro B, Nenadic I, Fañanás L. Birth Weight and Adult IQ, but Not Anxious-Depressive Psychopathology, Are Associated with Cortical Surface Area: A Study in Twins. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129616. [PMID: 26086820 PMCID: PMC4472844 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous research suggests that low birth weight (BW) induces reduced brain cortical surface area (SA) which would persist until at least early adulthood. Moreover, low BW has been linked to psychiatric disorders such as depression and psychological distress, and to altered neurocognitive profiles. Aims We present novel findings obtained by analysing high-resolution structural MRI scans of 48 twins; specifically, we aimed: i) to test the BW-SA association in a middle-aged adult sample; and ii) to assess whether either depression/anxiety disorders or intellectual quotient (IQ) influence the BW-SA link, using a monozygotic (MZ) twin design to separate environmental and genetic effects. Results Both lower BW and decreased IQ were associated with smaller total and regional cortical SA in adulthood. Within a twin pair, lower BW was related to smaller total cortical and regional SA. In contrast, MZ twin differences in SA were not related to differences in either IQ or depression/anxiety disorders. Conclusion The present study supports findings indicating that i) BW has a long-lasting effect on cortical SA, where some familial and environmental influences alter both foetal growth and brain morphology; ii) uniquely environmental factors affecting BW also alter SA; iii) higher IQ correlates with larger SA; and iv) these effects are not modified by internalizing psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo Córdova-Palomera
- Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mar Fatjó-Vilas
- Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carles Falcón
- Medical Image Core Facility, the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); C/Rosselló, 149–153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomedicina y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), C/ Poeta Mariano Esquillor, s/n., 50018, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Nuria Bargalló
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
- Medical Image Core Facility, the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); C/Rosselló, 149–153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Diagnóstico por Imagen, Hospital Clínico, C/Villarroel, 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Silvia Alemany
- Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
| | - Benedicto Crespo-Facorro
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
- University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Av. Valdecilla, s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
- IFIMAV, Instituto de Formación e Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla, Av. Valdecilla, s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
| | - Igor Nenadic
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Lourdes Fañanás
- Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Córdova-Palomera A, Alemany S, Fatjó-Vilas M, Goldberg X, Leza JC, González-Pinto A, Nenadic I, Fañanás L. Birth weight, working memory and epigenetic signatures in IGF2 and related genes: a MZ twin study. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103639. [PMID: 25171170 PMCID: PMC4149354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disruptions caused by obstetric complications play a role in the etiology of several phenotypes associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunctions. Importantly, it has been noticed that epigenetic processes occurring early in life may mediate these associations. Here, DNA methylation signatures at IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and IGF2BP1-3 (IGF2-binding proteins 1-3) were examined in a sample consisting of 34 adult monozygotic (MZ) twins informative for obstetric complications and cognitive performance. Multivariate linear regression analysis of twin data was implemented to test for associations between methylation levels and both birth weight (BW) and adult working memory (WM) performance. Familial and unique environmental factors underlying these potential relationships were evaluated. A link was detected between DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites in the IGF2BP1 gene and both BW and adult WM performance. The BW-IGF2BP1 methylation association seemed due to non-shared environmental factors influencing BW, whereas the WM-IGF2BP1 methylation relationship seemed mediated by both genes and environment. Our data is in agreement with previous evidence indicating that DNA methylation status may be related to prenatal stress and later neurocognitive phenotypes. While former reports independently detected associations between DNA methylation and either BW or WM, current results suggest that these relationships are not confounded by each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo Córdova-Palomera
- Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Silvia Alemany
- Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mar Fatjó-Vilas
- Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ximena Goldberg
- Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Leza
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain, and Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (I+12), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana González-Pinto
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Psychiatry Service, Santiago Apóstol Hospital, EMBREC, EHU/UPV University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain
| | - Igor Nenadic
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Lourdes Fañanás
- Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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