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Alimohamadi H, Luo EWC, Gupta S, de Anda J, Yang R, Mandal T, Wong GCL. Comparing multifunctional viral and eukaryotic proteins for generating scission necks in membranes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.05.574447. [PMID: 38260291 PMCID: PMC10802413 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.05.574447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Deterministic formation of membrane scission necks by protein machinery with multiplexed functions is critical in biology. A microbial example is the M2 viroporin, a proton pump from the influenza A virus which is multiplexed with membrane remodeling activity to induce budding and scission in the host membrane during viral maturation. In comparison, the dynamin family constitutes a class of eukaryotic proteins implicated in mitochondrial fission, as well as various budding and endocytosis pathways. In the case of Dnm1, the mitochondrial fission protein in yeast, the membrane remodeling activity is multiplexed with mechanoenzyme activity to create fission necks. It is not clear why these functions are combined in these scission processes, which occur in drastically different compositions and solution conditions. In general, direct experimental access to changing neck sizes induced by individual proteins or peptide fragments is challenging due to the nanoscale dimensions and influence of thermal fluctuations. Here, we use a mechanical model to estimate the size of scission necks by leveraging Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) structural data of protein-lipid systems under different conditions. The influence of interfacial tension, lipid composition, and membrane budding morphology on the size of the induced scission necks is systematically investigated using our data and molecular dynamic simulations. We find that the M2 budding protein from the influenza A virus has robust pH-dependent membrane activity that induces nanoscopic necks within the range of spontaneous hemi-fission for a broad range of lipid compositions. In contrast, the sizes of scission necks generated by mitochondrial fission proteins strongly depend on lipid composition, which suggests a role for mechanical constriction.
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von Mücke-Heim IA, Urbina-Treviño L, Bordes J, Ries C, Schmidt MV, Deussing JM. Introducing a depression-like syndrome for translational neuropsychiatry: a plea for taxonomical validity and improved comparability between humans and mice. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:329-340. [PMID: 36104436 PMCID: PMC9812782 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01762-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Depressive disorders are the most burdensome psychiatric disorders worldwide. Although huge efforts have been made to advance treatment, outcomes remain unsatisfactory. Many factors contribute to this gridlock including suboptimal animal models. Especially limited study comparability and replicability due to imprecise terminology concerning depressive-like states are major problems. To overcome these issues, new approaches are needed. Here, we introduce a taxonomical concept for modelling depression in laboratory mice, which we call depression-like syndrome (DLS). It hinges on growing evidence suggesting that mice possess advanced socioemotional abilities and can display non-random symptom patterns indicative of an evolutionary conserved disorder-like phenotype. The DLS approach uses a combined heuristic method based on clinical depression criteria and the Research Domain Criteria to provide a biobehavioural reference syndrome for preclinical rodent models of depression. The DLS criteria are based on available, species-specific evidence and are as follows: (I) minimum duration of phenotype, (II) significant sociofunctional impairment, (III) core biological features, (IV) necessary depressive-like symptoms. To assess DLS presence and severity, we have designed an algorithm to ensure statistical and biological relevance of findings. The algorithm uses a minimum combined threshold for statistical significance and effect size (p value ≤ 0.05 plus moderate effect size) for each DLS criterion. Taken together, the DLS is a novel, biologically founded, and species-specific minimum threshold approach. Its long-term objective is to gradually develop into an inter-model validation standard and microframework to improve phenotyping methodology in translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iven-Alex von Mücke-Heim
- grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Molecular Neurogenetics, Munich, Germany ,grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Department of Translational Research, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany ,grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Lidia Urbina-Treviño
- grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Molecular Neurogenetics, Munich, Germany
| | - Joeri Bordes
- grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany ,grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Munich, Germany
| | - Clemens Ries
- grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Molecular Neurogenetics, Munich, Germany ,grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Mathias V. Schmidt
- grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan M. Deussing
- grid.419548.50000 0000 9497 5095Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Molecular Neurogenetics, Munich, Germany
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Eising E, Mirza-Schreiber N, de Zeeuw EL, Wang CA, Truong DT, Allegrini AG, Shapland CY, Zhu G, Wigg KG, Gerritse ML, Molz B, Alagöz G, Gialluisi A, Abbondanza F, Rimfeld K, van Donkelaar M, Liao Z, Jansen PR, Andlauer TFM, Bates TC, Bernard M, Blokland K, Bonte M, Børglum AD, Bourgeron T, Brandeis D, Ceroni F, Csépe V, Dale PS, de Jong PF, DeFries JC, Démonet JF, Demontis D, Feng Y, Gordon SD, Guger SL, Hayiou-Thomas ME, Hernández-Cabrera JA, Hottenga JJ, Hulme C, Kere J, Kerr EN, Koomar T, Landerl K, Leonard GT, Lovett MW, Lyytinen H, Martin NG, Martinelli A, Maurer U, Michaelson JJ, Moll K, Monaco AP, Morgan AT, Nöthen MM, Pausova Z, Pennell CE, Pennington BF, Price KM, Rajagopal VM, Ramus F, Richer L, Simpson NH, Smith SD, Snowling MJ, Stein J, Strug LJ, Talcott JB, Tiemeier H, van der Schroeff MP, Verhoef E, Watkins KE, Wilkinson M, Wright MJ, Barr CL, Boomsma DI, Carreiras M, Franken MCJ, Gruen JR, Luciano M, Müller-Myhsok B, Newbury DF, Olson RK, Paracchini S, Paus T, Plomin R, Reilly S, Schulte-Körne G, Tomblin JB, van Bergen E, Whitehouse AJO, Willcutt EG, St Pourcain B, Francks C, Fisher SE. Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202764119. [PMID: 35998220 PMCID: PMC9436320 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202764119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on the trait. The genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, but investigations of contributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were thus far underpowered. We present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures (word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition) in samples of 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5 to 26 y. We identified genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, P = 1.098 × 10-8) at a locus that has not been associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits showed robust SNP heritability, accounting for 13 to 26% of trait variability. Genomic structural equation modeling revealed a shared genetic factor explaining most of the variation in word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, which only partially overlapped with genetic variation contributing to nonword repetition, intelligence, and educational attainment. A multivariate GWAS of word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness maximized power for follow-up investigation. Genetic correlation analysis with neuroimaging traits identified an association with the surface area of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus, a brain region linked to the processing of spoken and written language. Heritability was enriched for genomic elements regulating gene expression in the fetal brain and in chromosomal regions that are depleted of Neanderthal variants. Together, these results provide avenues for deciphering the biological underpinnings of uniquely human traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Else Eising
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Eveline L. de Zeeuw
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Carol A. Wang
- School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
- Mothers and Babies Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW 2305, Australia
| | - Dongnhu T. Truong
- Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Andrea G. Allegrini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Chin Yang Shapland
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom
- Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2PS, United Kingdom
| | - Gu Zhu
- Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Karen G. Wigg
- Division of Experimental and Translational Neuroscience, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Margot L. Gerritse
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Barbara Molz
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Gökberk Alagöz
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Alessandro Gialluisi
- Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
| | - Filippo Abbondanza
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, KY16 9TF, St. Andrews, Scotland
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EY, United Kingdom
| | - Marjolein van Donkelaar
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Zhijie Liao
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3,Canada
| | - Philip R. Jansen
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1081 HV the Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam University Medical Center, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Till F. M. Andlauer
- Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Timothy C. Bates
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
| | - Manon Bernard
- Department of Physiology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
| | - Kirsten Blokland
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8 ON, Canada
| | - Milene Bonte
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Anders D. Børglum
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, 8210 Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine (CGPM), 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thomas Bourgeron
- Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR3571 Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris Cité, Paris, 75015, France
| | - Daniel Brandeis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Fabiola Ceroni
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, United Kingdom
| | - Valéria Csépe
- Brain Imaging Centre, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, 1117 Hungary
- Multilingualism Doctoral School, Faculty of Modern Philology and Social Sciences, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, 8200 Hungary
| | - Philip S. Dale
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | - Peter F. de Jong
- Department of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, 1012 WX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - John C. DeFries
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0447
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0447
| | - Jean-François Démonet
- Leenaards Memory Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), University of Lausanne, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ditte Demontis
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, 8210 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Yu Feng
- Division of Experimental and Translational Neuroscience, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Scott D. Gordon
- Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Sharon L. Guger
- Department of Psychology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | | | - Juan A. Hernández-Cabrera
- Departamento de Psicología, Clínica Psicobiología y Metodología, 38200, La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Jouke-Jan Hottenga
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Charles Hulme
- Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6PY, United Kingdom
| | - Juha Kere
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
- Stem Cells and Metabolism Research Program, University of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Elizabeth N. Kerr
- Department of Psychology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Tanner Koomar
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
| | - Karin Landerl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Gabriel T. Leonard
- Cognitive Neuroscience Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Maureen W. Lovett
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8 ON, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Heikki Lyytinen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Nicholas G. Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
| | - Angela Martinelli
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, KY16 9TF, St. Andrews, Scotland
| | - Urs Maurer
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Kristina Moll
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Munich, 80336 Germany
| | | | - Angela T. Morgan
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Speech Pathology Department, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Markus M. Nöthen
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Zdenka Pausova
- Department of Physiology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Craig E. Pennell
- School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
- Mothers and Babies Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW 2305, Australia
- Maternity and Gynaecology, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, NSW 2305, Australia
| | | | - Kaitlyn M. Price
- Division of Experimental and Translational Neuroscience, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5T 0S8, Canada
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8 ON, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Veera M. Rajagopal
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, 8210 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences & Lettres University, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, 75005 France
| | - Louis Richer
- Department of Health Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1, Canada
| | - Nuala H. Simpson
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
| | - Shelley D. Smith
- Department of Neurological Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198
| | - Margaret J. Snowling
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
- St. John’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3JP, United Kingdom
| | - John Stein
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PT, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa J. Strug
- Department of Statistical Sciences and Computer Science and Division of Biostatistics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology and the Centre for Applied Genomics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Joel B. Talcott
- Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, United Kingdom
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Marc P. van der Schroeff
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ellen Verhoef
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Kate E. Watkins
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
| | - Margaret Wilkinson
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8 ON, Canada
| | - Margaret J. Wright
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Cathy L. Barr
- Division of Experimental and Translational Neuroscience, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5T 0S8, Canada
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8 ON, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Dorret I. Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Netherlands Twin Register, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Center, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Manuel Carreiras
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, 20009 Gipuzkoa, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain
- Lengua Vasca y Comunicación, University of the Basque Country, 48940 Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain
| | - Marie-Christine J. Franken
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jeffrey R. Gruen
- Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Michelle Luciano
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom
| | - Bertram Müller-Myhsok
- Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Health Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZX, United Kingdom
| | - Dianne F. Newbury
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, United Kingdom
| | - Richard K. Olson
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0447
| | - Silvia Paracchini
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, KY16 9TF, St. Andrews, Scotland
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Sheena Reilly
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Munich, 80336 Germany
| | - J. Bruce Tomblin
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Netherlands Twin Register, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Erik G. Willcutt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0447
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Clyde Francks
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Simon E. Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Gray Matter Variation in the Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus Is Associated with Polymorphisms in the KIAA0319 Gene in Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes). eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0169-21.2021. [PMID: 34815295 PMCID: PMC8672446 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0169-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Determining the impact that the KIAA0319 gene has on primate brain morphology can provide insight into the evolution of human cognition and language systems. Here, we tested whether polymorphisms in KIAA0319 in chimpanzees account for gray matter volumetric variation in brain regions implicated in language and communication (particularly within the posterior superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus). First, we identified the nature and frequencies of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in KIAA0319 in a sample of unrelated chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes spp.). Next, we genotyped a subset of SNVs (those important for gene regulation or likely to alter protein structure/function) in a sample of chimpanzees for which in vivo T1-structural magnetic resonance imaging scans had been obtained. We then used source-based morphometry (SBM) to test for whole-brain gray matter covariation differences between chimpanzees with different KIAA0319 alleles. Finally, using histologic sections of 15 postmortem chimpanzee brains, we analyzed microstructural variation related to KIAA0319 polymorphisms in the posterior superior temporal cortex. We found that the SNVs were associated with variation in gray matter within several brain regions, including the posterior superior temporal gyrus (a region associated with language comprehension and production in humans). The microstructure analysis further revealed hemispheric differences in neuropil fraction, indicating that KIAA0319 expression may be involved in regulation of processes related to the formation and maintenance of synapses, dendrites, or axons within regions associated with communication.
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Abstract
Membrane bending is a ubiquitous cellular process that is required for membrane traffic, cell motility, organelle biogenesis, and cell division. Proteins that bind to membranes using specific structural features, such as wedge-like amphipathic helices and crescent-shaped scaffolds, are thought to be the primary drivers of membrane bending. However, many membrane-binding proteins have substantial regions of intrinsic disorder which lack a stable three-dimensional structure. Interestingly, many of these disordered domains have recently been found to form networks stabilized by weak, multivalent contacts, leading to assembly of protein liquid phases on membrane surfaces. Here we ask how membrane-associated protein liquids impact membrane curvature. We find that protein phase separation on the surfaces of synthetic and cell-derived membrane vesicles creates a substantial compressive stress in the plane of the membrane. This stress drives the membrane to bend inward, creating protein-lined membrane tubules. A simple mechanical model of this process accurately predicts the experimentally measured relationship between the rigidity of the membrane and the diameter of the membrane tubules. Discovery of this mechanism, which may be relevant to a broad range of cellular protrusions, illustrates that membrane remodeling is not exclusive to structured scaffolds but can also be driven by the rapidly emerging class of liquid-like protein networks that assemble at membranes.
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von Merten S, Pfeifle C, Künzel S, Hoier S, Tautz D. A humanized version of Foxp2 affects ultrasonic vocalization in adult female and male mice. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 20:e12764. [PMID: 34342113 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The transcription factor FoxP2 is involved in setting up the neuronal circuitry for vocal learning in mammals and birds and is thought to have played a special role in the evolution of human speech and language. It has been shown that an allele with a humanized version of the murine Foxp2 gene changes the ultrasonic vocalization of mouse pups compared to pups of the wild-type inbred strain. Here we tested if this humanized allele would also affect the ultrasonic vocalization of adult female and male mice. In a previous study, in which only male vocalization was considered and the mice were recorded under a restricted spatial and temporal regime, no difference in adult vocalization between genotypes was found. Here, we use a different test paradigm in which both female and male vocalizations are recorded in extended social contact. We found differences in temporal, spectral and syntactical parameters between the genotypes in both sexes, and between sexes. Mice carrying the humanized Foxp2 allele were using higher frequencies and more complex syllable types than mice of the corresponding wildtype inbred strain. Our results support the notion that the humanized Foxp2 allele has a differential effect on mouse ultrasonic vocalization. As mice carrying the humanized version of the Foxp2 gene show effects opposite to those of mice carrying disrupted or mutated alleles of this gene, we conclude that this mouse line represents an important model for the study of human speech and language evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie von Merten
- CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Christine Pfeifle
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Sven Künzel
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Svenja Hoier
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Diethard Tautz
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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7
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Wright TF, Derryberry EP. Defining the multidimensional phenotype: New opportunities to integrate the behavioral ecology and behavioral neuroscience of vocal learning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:328-338. [PMID: 33621636 PMCID: PMC8628558 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Vocal learning has evolved independently in several lineages. This complex cognitive trait is commonly treated as binary: species either possess or lack it. This view has been a useful starting place to examine the origins of vocal learning, but is also incomplete and potentially misleading, as specific components of the vocal learning program - such as the timing, extent and nature of what is learned - vary widely among species. In our review we revive an idea first proposed by Beecher and Brenowitz (2005) by describing six dimensions of vocal learning: (1) which vocalizations are learned, (2) how much is learned, (3) when it is learned, (4) who it is learned from, (5) what is the extent of the internal template, and (6) how is the template integrated with social learning and innovation. We then highlight key examples of functional and mechanistic work on each dimension, largely from avian taxa, and discuss how a multi-dimensional framework can accelerate our understanding of why vocal learning has evolved, and how brains became capable of this important behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy F Wright
- Dept of Biology, New Mexico State Univ, Las Cruces, NM, 88005, USA.
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8
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Ahtam B, Braeutigam S, Bailey A. Semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders Is Associated With the Timing of Language Acquisition: A Magnetoencephalographic Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:267. [PMID: 32754020 PMCID: PMC7366733 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism show difficulties in using sentence context to identify the correct meaning of ambiguous words, such as homonyms. In this study, the brain basis of sentence context effects on word understanding during reading was examined in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typical development (TD) using magnetoencephalography. The correlates of a history of developmental language delay in ASD were also investigated. Event related field responses at early (150 ms after the onset of a final word) and N400 latencies are reported for three different types of sentence final words: dominant homonyms, subordinate homonyms, and unambiguous words. Clear evidence for semantic access was found at both early and conventional N400 latencies in both TD participants and individuals with ASD with no history of language delay. By contrast, modulation of evoked activity related to semantic access was weak and not significant at early latencies in individuals with ASD with a history of language delay. The reduced sensitivity to semantic context in individuals with ASD and language delay was accompanied by strong right hemisphere lateralization at early and N400 latencies; such strong activity was not observed in TD individuals and individuals with ASD without a history of language delay at either latency. These results provide new evidence and support for differential neural mechanisms underlying semantic processing in ASD, and indicate that delayed language acquisition in ASD is associated with different lateralization and processing of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Banu Ahtam
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Sven Braeutigam
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony Bailey
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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9
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Bender A. What Early Sapiens Cognition Can Teach Us: Untangling Cultural Influences on Human Cognition Across Time. Front Psychol 2020; 11:99. [PMID: 32116913 PMCID: PMC7025490 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence of cultural influences on cognition is accumulating, but untangling these cultural influences from one another or from non-cultural influences has remained a challenging task. As between-group differences are neither a sufficient nor a necessary indicator of cultural impact, cross-cultural comparisons in isolation are unable to furnish any cogent conclusions. This shortfall can be compensated by taking a diachronic perspective that focuses on the role of culture for the emergence and evolution of our cognitive abilities. Three strategies for reconstructing early human cognition are presented: the chaîne opératoire approach and its extension to brain-imaging studies, large-scale extrapolations, and phylogenetic comparative methods. While these strategies are reliant on our understanding of present-day cognition, they conversely also have the potential to advance this understanding in fundamental ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bender
- SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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10
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Bender A. The Role of Culture and Evolution for Human Cognition. Top Cogn Sci 2019; 12:1403-1420. [DOI: 10.1111/tops.12449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bender
- Department of Psychosocial Science & SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen
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11
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Maussion G, Rocha C, Bernard G, Beitel LK, Durcan TM. Patient-Derived Stem Cells, Another in vitro Model, or the Missing Link Toward Novel Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorders? Front Pediatr 2019; 7:225. [PMID: 31245336 PMCID: PMC6562499 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2019.00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is a multigenic and multifactorial neurodevelopmental group of disorders diagnosed in early childhood, leading to deficits in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. To date, genetic, descriptive and mechanistic aspects of the ASDs have been investigated using mouse models and post-mortem brain tissue. More recently, the technology to generate stem cells from patients' samples has brought a new avenue for modeling ASD through 2D and 3D neuronal models that are derived from a patient's own cells, with the goal of building new therapeutic strategies for treating ASDs. This review analyses how studies performed on mouse models and human samples can complement each other, advancing our current knowledge into the pathophysiology of the ASDs. Regardless of the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneities of ASDs, convergent information regarding the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in these disorders can be extracted from these models. Thus, considering the complexities of these disorders, patient-derived models have immense potential to elucidate molecular deregulations that contributed to the different autistic phenotypes. Through these direct investigations with the human in vitro models, they offer the potential for opening new therapeutic avenues that can be translated into the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Maussion
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Cecilia Rocha
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Geneviève Bernard
- Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Pediatrics and Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Internal Medicine, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Child Health and Human Development Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
- MyeliNeuroGene Laboratory, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Lenore K. Beitel
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Thomas M. Durcan
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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12
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A set of regulatory genes co-expressed in embryonic human brain is implicated in disrupted speech development. Mol Psychiatry 2019; 24:1065-1078. [PMID: 29463886 PMCID: PMC6756287 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0020-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 12/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Genetic investigations of people with impaired development of spoken language provide windows into key aspects of human biology. Over 15 years after FOXP2 was identified, most speech and language impairments remain unexplained at the molecular level. We sequenced whole genomes of nineteen unrelated individuals diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech, a rare disorder enriched for causative mutations of large effect. Where DNA was available from unaffected parents, we discovered de novo mutations, implicating genes, including CHD3, SETD1A and WDR5. In other probands, we identified novel loss-of-function variants affecting KAT6A, SETBP1, ZFHX4, TNRC6B and MKL2, regulatory genes with links to neurodevelopment. Several of the new candidates interact with each other or with known speech-related genes. Moreover, they show significant clustering within a single co-expression module of genes highly expressed during early human brain development. This study highlights gene regulatory pathways in the developing brain that may contribute to acquisition of proficient speech.
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13
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Abstract
The post-genomic era is an exciting time for researchers interested in the biology of speech and language. Substantive advances in molecular methodologies have opened up entire vistas of investigation that were not previously possible, or in some cases even imagined. Speculations concerning the origins of human cognitive traits are being transformed into empirically addressable questions, generating specific hypotheses that can be explicitly tested using data collected from both the natural world and experimental settings. In this article, I discuss a number of promising lines of research in this area. For example, the field has begun to identify genes implicated in speech and language skills, including not just disorders but also the normal range of abilities. Such genes provide powerful entry points for gaining insights into neural bases and evolutionary origins, using sophisticated experimental tools from molecular neuroscience and developmental neurobiology. At the same time, sequencing of ancient hominin genomes is giving us an unprecedented view of the molecular genetic changes that have occurred during the evolution of our species. Synthesis of data from these complementary sources offers an opportunity to robustly evaluate alternative accounts of language evolution. Of course, this endeavour remains challenging on many fronts, as I also highlight in the article. Nonetheless, such an integrated approach holds great potential for untangling the complexities of the capacities that make us human.
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14
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Deriziotis P, Fisher SE. Speech and Language: Translating the Genome. Trends Genet 2017; 33:642-656. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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15
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Yin JX, Ruan YN, Liu JL, Zhang SY, Racey P. FoxP2 expression in an echolocating bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum): Functional implications. Mamm Biol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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16
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Primate Audition: Reception, Perception, and Ecology. SPRINGER HANDBOOK OF AUDITORY RESEARCH 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-59478-1_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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17
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Chabout J, Sarkar A, Patel SR, Radden T, Dunson DB, Fisher SE, Jarvis ED. A Foxp2 Mutation Implicated in Human Speech Deficits Alters Sequencing of Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Adult Male Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:197. [PMID: 27812326 PMCID: PMC5071336 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Development of proficient spoken language skills is disrupted by mutations of the FOXP2 transcription factor. A heterozygous missense mutation in the KE family causes speech apraxia, involving difficulty producing words with complex learned sequences of syllables. Manipulations in songbirds have helped to elucidate the role of this gene in vocal learning, but findings in non-human mammals have been limited or inconclusive. Here, we performed a systematic study of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of adult male mice carrying the KE family mutation. Using novel statistical tools, we found that Foxp2 heterozygous mice did not have detectable changes in USV syllable acoustic structure, but produced shorter sequences and did not shift to more complex syntax in social contexts where wildtype animals did. Heterozygous mice also displayed a shift in the position of their rudimentary laryngeal motor cortex (LMC) layer-5 neurons. Our findings indicate that although mouse USVs are mostly innate, the underlying contributions of FoxP2 to sequencing of vocalizations are conserved with humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Chabout
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurham, NC, USA; Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Abhra Sarkar
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sheel R Patel
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC, USA
| | - Taylor Radden
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC, USA
| | - David B Dunson
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University Durham, NC, USA
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsNijmegen, Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud UniversityNijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurham, NC, USA; Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy Chase, MD, USA; The Rockefeller UniversityNew York, NY, USA
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18
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Chakraborty M, Jarvis ED. Brain evolution by brain pathway duplication. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:rstb.2015.0056. [PMID: 26554045 PMCID: PMC4650129 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms of evolution of brain pathways for complex behaviours is still in its infancy. Making further advances requires a deeper understanding of brain homologies, novelties and analogies. It also requires an understanding of how adaptive genetic modifications lead to restructuring of the brain. Recent advances in genomic and molecular biology techniques applied to brain research have provided exciting insights into how complex behaviours are shaped by selection of novel brain pathways and functions of the nervous system. Here, we review and further develop some insights to a new hypothesis on one mechanism that may contribute to nervous system evolution, in particular by brain pathway duplication. Like gene duplication, we propose that whole brain pathways can duplicate and the duplicated pathway diverge to take on new functions. We suggest that one mechanism of brain pathway duplication could be through gene duplication, although other mechanisms are possible. We focus on brain pathways for vocal learning and spoken language in song-learning birds and humans as example systems. This view presents a new framework for future research in our understanding of brain evolution and novel behavioural traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukta Chakraborty
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27713, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27713, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
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19
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Comparisons of MRI images, and auditory-related and vocal-related protein expressions in the brain of echolocation bats and rodents. Neuroreport 2016; 27:923-8. [PMID: 27337384 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000000633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Although echolocating bats and other mammals share the basic design of laryngeal apparatus for sound production and auditory system for sound reception, they have a specialized laryngeal mechanism for ultrasonic sound emissions as well as a highly developed auditory system for processing species-specific sounds. Because the sounds used by bats for echolocation and rodents for communication are quite different, there must be differences in the central nervous system devoted to producing and processing species-specific sounds between them. The present study examines the difference in the relative size of several brain structures and expression of auditory-related and vocal-related proteins in the central nervous system of echolocation bats and rodents. Here, we report that bats using constant frequency-frequency-modulated sounds (CF-FM bats) and FM bats for echolocation have a larger volume of midbrain nuclei (inferior and superior colliculi) and cerebellum relative to the size of the brain than rodents (mice and rats). However, the former have a smaller volume of the cerebrum and olfactory bulb, but greater expression of otoferlin and forkhead box protein P2 than the latter. Although the size of both midbrain colliculi is comparable in both CF-FM and FM bats, CF-FM bats have a larger cerebrum and greater expression of otoferlin and forkhead box protein P2 than FM bats. These differences in brain structure and protein expression are discussed in relation to their biologically relevant sounds and foraging behavior.
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20
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Suetsugu S. Higher-order assemblies of BAR domain proteins for shaping membranes. Microscopy (Oxf) 2016; 65:201-10. [DOI: 10.1093/jmicro/dfw002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 01/09/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
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21
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Kang C. Genetic studies on speech and language disorders. J Biomed Res 2015. [DOI: 10.12729/jbr.2015.16.3.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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22
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All-or-(N)One - an epistemological characterization of the human tumorigenic neuronal paralogous FAM72 gene loci. Genomics 2015. [PMID: 26206078 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2015.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
FAM72 is a novel neuronal progenitor cell (NPC) self-renewal supporting protein expressed under physiological conditions at low levels in other tissues. Accumulating data indicate the potential pivotal tumourigenic effects of FAM72. Our in silico human genome-wide analysis (GWA) revealed that the FAM72 gene family consists of four human-specific paralogous members, all of which are located on chromosome (chr) 1. Unique asymmetric FAM72 segmental gene duplications are most likely to have occurred in conjunction with the paired genomic neighbour SRGAP2 (SLIT-ROBO Rho GTPase activating protein), as both genes have four paralogues in humans but only one vertebra-emerging orthologue in all other species. No species with two or three FAM72/SRGAP2 gene pairs could be identified, and the four exclusively human-defining ohnologues, with different mutation patterns in Homo neanderthalensis and Denisova hominin, may remain under epigenetic control through long non-coding (lnc) RNAs.
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23
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Benítez-Burraco A, Boeckx C. Possible functional links among brain- and skull-related genes selected in modern humans. Front Psychol 2015; 6:794. [PMID: 26136701 PMCID: PMC4468360 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The sequencing of the genomes from extinct hominins has revealed that changes in some brain-related genes have been selected after the split between anatomically-modern humans and Neanderthals/Denisovans. To date, no coherent view of these changes has been provided. Following a line of research we initiated in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014a), we hypothesize functional links among most of these genes and their products, based on the existing literature for each of the gene discussed. The genes we focus on are found mutated in different cognitive disorders affecting modern populations and their products are involved in skull and brain morphology, and neural connectivity. If our hypothesis turns out to be on the right track, it means that the changes affecting most of these proteins resulted in a more globular brain and ultimately brought about modern cognition, with its characteristic generativity and capacity to form and exploit cross-modular concepts, properties most clearly manifested in language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies , Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona , Barcelona, Spain
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24
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A Proposed Neurological Interpretation of Language Evolution. Behav Neurol 2015; 2015:872487. [PMID: 26124540 PMCID: PMC4466361 DOI: 10.1155/2015/872487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Revised: 03/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/17/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the very beginning of the aphasia history it has been well established that there are two major aphasic syndromes (Wernicke's-type and Broca's-type aphasia); each one of them is related to the disturbance at a specific linguistic level (lexical/semantic and grammatical) and associated with a particular brain damage localization (temporal and frontal-subcortical). It is proposed that three stages in language evolution could be distinguished: (a) primitive communication systems similar to those observed in other animals, including nonhuman primates; (b) initial communication systems using sound combinations (lexicon) but without relationships among the elements (grammar); and (c) advanced communication systems including word-combinations (grammar). It is proposed that grammar probably originated from the internal representation of actions, resulting in the creation of verbs; this is an ability that depends on the so-called Broca's area and related brain networks. It is suggested that grammar is the basic ability for the development of so-called metacognitive executive functions. It is concluded that while the lexical/semantic language system (vocabulary) probably appeared during human evolution long before the contemporary man (Homo sapiens sapiens), the grammatical language historically represents a recent acquisition and is correlated with the development of complex cognition (metacognitive executive functions).
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25
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Insights into the genetic foundations of human communication. Neuropsychol Rev 2015; 25:3-26. [PMID: 25597031 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-014-9277-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The human capacity to acquire sophisticated language is unmatched in the animal kingdom. Despite the discontinuity in communicative abilities between humans and other primates, language is built on ancient genetic foundations, which are being illuminated by comparative genomics. The genetic architecture of the language faculty is also being uncovered by research into neurodevelopmental disorders that disrupt the normally effortless process of language acquisition. In this article, we discuss the strategies that researchers are using to reveal genetic factors contributing to communicative abilities, and review progress in identifying the relevant genes and genetic variants. The first gene directly implicated in a speech and language disorder was FOXP2. Using this gene as a case study, we illustrate how evidence from genetics, molecular cell biology, animal models and human neuroimaging has converged to build a picture of the role of FOXP2 in neurodevelopment, providing a framework for future endeavors to bridge the gaps between genes, brains and behavior.
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26
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Boeckx C, Benítez-Burraco A. Globularity and language-readiness: generating new predictions by expanding the set of genes of interest. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1324. [PMID: 25505436 PMCID: PMC4243498 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This study builds on the hypothesis put forth in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014), according to which the developmental changes expressed at the levels of brain morphology and neural connectivity that resulted in a more globular braincase in our species were crucial to understand the origins of our language-ready brain. Specifically, this paper explores the links between two well-known 'language-related' genes like FOXP2 and ROBO1 implicated in vocal learning and the initial set of genes of interest put forth in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014), with RUNX2 as focal point. Relying on the existing literature, we uncover potential molecular links that could be of interest to future experimental inquiries into the biological foundations of language and the testing of our initial hypothesis. Our discussion could also be relevant for clinical linguistics and for the interpretation of results from paleogenomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA)Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Linguistics, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
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27
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Bohland JW, Myers EM, Kim E. An informatics approach to integrating genetic and neurological data in speech and language neuroscience. Neuroinformatics 2014; 12:39-62. [PMID: 23949335 DOI: 10.1007/s12021-013-9201-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A number of heritable disorders impair the normal development of speech and language processes and occur in large numbers within the general population. While candidate genes and loci have been identified, the gap between genotype and phenotype is vast, limiting current understanding of the biology of normal and disordered processes. This gap exists not only in our scientific knowledge, but also in our research communities, where genetics researchers and speech, language, and cognitive scientists tend to operate independently. Here we describe a web-based, domain-specific, curated database that represents information about genotype-phenotype relations specific to speech and language disorders, as well as neuroimaging results demonstrating focal brain differences in relevant patients versus controls. Bringing these two distinct data types into a common database ( http://neurospeech.org/sldb ) is a first step toward bringing molecular level information into cognitive and computational theories of speech and language function. One bridge between these data types is provided by densely sampled profiles of gene expression in the brain, such as those provided by the Allen Brain Atlases. Here we present results from exploratory analyses of human brain gene expression profiles for genes implicated in speech and language disorders, which are annotated in our database. We then discuss how such datasets can be useful in the development of computational models that bridge levels of analysis, necessary to provide a mechanistic understanding of heritable language disorders. We further describe our general approach to information integration, discuss important caveats and considerations, and offer a specific but speculative example based on genes implicated in stuttering and basal ganglia function in speech motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason W Bohland
- Departments of Health Sciences and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Ave, Room 403, Boston, MA, 02215, USA,
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Hopkins WD, Russell JL, Schaeffer J. Chimpanzee intelligence is heritable. Curr Biol 2014; 24:1649-1652. [PMID: 25017206 PMCID: PMC4108509 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2013] [Revised: 03/18/2014] [Accepted: 05/30/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The role that genes play in human intelligence or IQ has remained a point of significant scientific debate dating back to the time of Galton [1]. It has now become increasingly clear that IQ is heritable in humans, but these effects can be modified by nongenetic mechanisms [2-4]. In contrast to human IQ, until recently, views of learning and cognition in animals have largely been dominated by the behaviorist school of thought, originally championed by Watson [5] and Skinner [6]. A large body of accumulated research now demonstrates a variety of cognitive abilities in nonhuman animals and challenges traditional behaviorist interpretations of performance [7, 8]. This, in turn, has led to a renewed interest in the role that social and biological factors might play in explaining individual and phylogenetic differences in cognition [9]. Specifically, aside from early attempts to selectively breed for learning skills in rodents [10-12], studies examining the role that genetic factors might play in individual variation in cognitive abilities in nonhuman animals, particularly nonhuman primates, are scarce. Here, we utilized a modified Primate Cognitive Test Battery [13] in conjunction with quantitative genetic analyses to examine whether cognitive performance is heritable in chimpanzees. We found that some but not all cognitive traits were significantly heritable in chimpanzees. We further found significant genetic correlations between different dimensions of cognitive functioning, suggesting that the genes that explain the variability of one cognitive trait might also explain that of other cognitive traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, USA; Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
| | - Jamie L Russell
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, USA; Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Jennifer Schaeffer
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, USA
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French CA, Fisher SE. What can mice tell us about Foxp2 function? Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 28:72-9. [PMID: 25048596 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2014] [Revised: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Disruptions of the FOXP2 gene cause a rare speech and language disorder, a discovery that has opened up novel avenues for investigating the relevant neural pathways. FOXP2 shows remarkably high conservation of sequence and neural expression in diverse vertebrates, suggesting that studies in other species are useful in elucidating its functions. Here we describe how investigations of mice that carry disruptions of Foxp2 provide insights at multiple levels: molecules, cells, circuits and behaviour. Work thus far has implicated the gene in key processes including neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity, sensorimotor integration and motor-skill learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine A French
- Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
This paper lays out the components of a language acquisition model, the interconnections among the components, and the differing stances of nativism and empiricism about syntax. After demonstrating that parsimony cannot decide between the two stances, the paper analyzes nine examples of evidence that have been used to argue for or against nativism, concluding that most pieces of evidence are either irrelevant or suggest that language is special but need not invoke innate ideas. Two pieces of evidence - the development of home sign languages and the acquisition of Determiners - do show not just that language is special but that the child has innate syntactic content. The existential claim that nativism makes - there is at least one innate syntactic idea - is an easier claim to verify than the universal claim that empiricism makes - there are no innate syntactic ideas.
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Abstract
The incompleteness thesis in cultural anthropology holds that the human mind is incomplete apart from culture, based on the rationale that the human brain and culture developed in interaction with each other, or “coevolved.” In evolutionary biology this process is known as the Baldwin effect, a form of natural selection in which individuals' innovative behavior creates novel selection pressures leading to genetic support or assimilation of that behavior. While the nature of these selection pressures is still controversial, as reflected in recent evolutionary accounts of language and tools, the Baldwin effect does not imply that evolution left the mind “unfinished” or rule out the possibility of psychic unity. Two basic approaches to the coevolution of mind and culture can be distinguished, according to how the human-made niche is defined. Informational coevolution is based on the idea that cultural artifacts and practices consist of information, such that the coevolutionary process produces cognitive mechanisms for acquiring and manipulating such information. Semiotic coevolution is based on the idea that culture consists of the meaning-making activity of the individuals who partake in it, such that the coevolutionary process produces the capacity to generate and experience such meaning. Although Evolutionary Psychology reflects the informational approach, the semiotic approach fits better with basic evolutionary principles.
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Gong T, Shuai L, Zhang M. Modelling language evolution: Examples and predictions. Phys Life Rev 2014; 11:280-302. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2013.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2013] [Accepted: 11/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Chouinard-Decorte F, McKay DR, Reid A, Khundrakpam B, Zhao L, Karama S, Rioux P, Sprooten E, Knowles E, Kent JW, Curran JE, Göring HHH, Dyer TD, Olvera RL, Kochunov P, Duggirala R, Fox PT, Almasy L, Blangero J, Bellec P, Evans AC, Glahn DC. Heritable changes in regional cortical thickness with age. Brain Imaging Behav 2014; 8:208-16. [PMID: 24752552 PMCID: PMC4205107 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-014-9296-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2013] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
It is now well established that regional indices of brain structure such as cortical thickness, surface area or grey matter volume exhibit spatially variable patterns of heritability. However, a recent study found these patterns to change with age during development, a result supported by gene expression studies. Changes in heritability have not been investigated in adulthood so far and could have important implications in the study of heritability and genetic correlations in the brain as well as in the discovery of specific genes explaining them. Herein, we tested for genotype by age (G ×A) interactions, an extension of genotype by environment interactions, through adulthood and healthy aging in 902 subjects from the Genetics of Brain Structure (GOBS) study. A "jackknife" based method for the analysis of stable cortical thickness clusters (JASC) and scale selection is also introduced. Although additive genetic variance remained constant throughout adulthood, we found evidence for incomplete pleiotropy across age in the cortical thickness of paralimbic and parieto-temporal areas. This suggests that different genetic factors account for cortical thickness heritability at different ages in these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francois Chouinard-Decorte
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - D. Reese McKay
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06571, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
| | - Andrew Reid
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Budhachandra Khundrakpam
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Lu Zhao
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Sherif Karama
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4H 1R2, Canada
| | - Pierre Rioux
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Emma Sprooten
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06571, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
| | - Emma Knowles
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06571, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
| | - Jack W. Kent
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Joanne E. Curran
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Harald H. H. Göring
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Thomas D. Dyer
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Rene L. Olvera
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06571, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4H 1R2, Canada
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 2120, USA
- Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
- Geriatric Institute Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX H3W 1W5, USA
| | - Peter Kochunov
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 2120, USA
| | - Ravi Duggirala
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Peter T. Fox
- Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Laura Almasy
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - John Blangero
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
| | - Pierre Bellec
- Geriatric Institute Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada
| | - Alan C. Evans
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - David C. Glahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06571, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
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Krubitzer L, Stolzenberg DS. The evolutionary masquerade: genetic and epigenetic contributions to the neocortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 24:157-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2013.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Revised: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Song X, Wang Y, Tang Y. Rapid diversification of FoxP2 in teleosts through gene duplication in the teleost-specific whole genome duplication event. PLoS One 2013; 8:e83858. [PMID: 24349554 PMCID: PMC3857310 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2013] [Accepted: 11/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
As one of the most conserved genes in vertebrates, FoxP2 is widely involved in a number of important physiological and developmental processes. We systematically studied the evolutionary history and functional adaptations of FoxP2 in teleosts. The duplicated FoxP2 genes (FoxP2a and FoxP2b), which were identified in teleosts using synteny and paralogon analysis on genome databases of eight organisms, were probably generated in the teleost-specific whole genome duplication event. A credible classification with FoxP2, FoxP2a and FoxP2b in phylogenetic reconstructions confirmed the teleost-specific FoxP2 duplication. The unavailability of FoxP2b in Danio rerio suggests that the gene was deleted through nonfunctionalization of the redundant copy after the Otocephala-Euteleostei split. Heterogeneity in evolutionary rates among clusters consisting of FoxP2 in Sarcopterygii (Cluster 1), FoxP2a in Teleostei (Cluster 2) and FoxP2b in Teleostei (Cluster 3), particularly between Clusters 2 and 3, reveals asymmetric functional divergence after the gene duplication. Hierarchical cluster analyses of hydrophobicity profiles demonstrated significant structural divergence among the three clusters with verification of subsequent stepwise discriminant analysis, in which FoxP2 of Leucoraja erinacea and Lepisosteus oculatus were classified into Cluster 1, whereas FoxP2b of Salmo salar was grouped into Cluster 2 rather than Cluster 3. The simulated thermodynamic stability variations of the forkhead box domain (monomer and homodimer) showed remarkable divergence in FoxP2, FoxP2a and FoxP2b clusters. Relaxed purifying selection and positive Darwinian selection probably were complementary driving forces for the accelerated evolution of FoxP2 in ray-finned fishes, especially for the adaptive evolution of FoxP2a and FoxP2b in teleosts subsequent to the teleost-specific gene duplication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaowei Song
- Department of Herpetology, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Wang
- College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- * (YW); (YT)
| | - Yezhong Tang
- Department of Herpetology, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- * (YW); (YT)
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Brandler WM, Paracchini S. The genetic relationship between handedness and neurodevelopmental disorders. Trends Mol Med 2013; 20:83-90. [PMID: 24275328 PMCID: PMC3969300 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2013.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2013] [Revised: 10/29/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Handedness and brain asymmetry have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia and schizophrenia. The genetic nature of this correlation is not understood. Recent discoveries have shown handedness is determined in part by the biological pathways that establish left/right (LR) body asymmetry during development. Cilia play a key role in this process, and candidate genes for dyslexia have also been recently shown to be involved in cilia formation. Defective cilia result not only in LR body asymmetry phenotypes but also brain midline phenotypes such as an absent corpus callosum. These findings suggest that the mechanisms for establishing LR asymmetry in the body are reused for brain midline development, which in turn influences traits such as handedness and reading ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- William M Brandler
- MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PT, UK; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Silvia Paracchini
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TF, UK.
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Worthey EA, Raca G, Laffin JJ, Wilk BM, Harris JM, Jakielski KJ, Dimmock DP, Strand EA, Shriberg LD. Whole-exome sequencing supports genetic heterogeneity in childhood apraxia of speech. J Neurodev Disord 2013; 5:29. [PMID: 24083349 PMCID: PMC3851280 DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-5-29] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2013] [Accepted: 09/16/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a rare, severe, persistent pediatric motor speech disorder with associated deficits in sensorimotor, cognitive, language, learning and affective processes. Among other neurogenetic origins, CAS is the disorder segregating with a mutation in FOXP2 in a widely studied, multigenerational London family. We report the first whole-exome sequencing (WES) findings from a cohort of 10 unrelated participants, ages 3 to 19 years, with well-characterized CAS. Methods As part of a larger study of children and youth with motor speech sound disorders, 32 participants were classified as positive for CAS on the basis of a behavioral classification marker using auditory-perceptual and acoustic methods that quantify the competence, precision and stability of a speaker’s speech, prosody and voice. WES of 10 randomly selected participants was completed using the Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx Sequencing System. Image analysis, base calling, demultiplexing, read mapping, and variant calling were performed using Illumina software. Software developed in-house was used for variant annotation, prioritization and interpretation to identify those variants likely to be deleterious to neurodevelopmental substrates of speech-language development. Results Among potentially deleterious variants, clinically reportable findings of interest occurred on a total of five chromosomes (Chr3, Chr6, Chr7, Chr9 and Chr17), which included six genes either strongly associated with CAS (FOXP1 and CNTNAP2) or associated with disorders with phenotypes overlapping CAS (ATP13A4, CNTNAP1, KIAA0319 and SETX). A total of 8 (80%) of the 10 participants had clinically reportable variants in one or two of the six genes, with variants in ATP13A4, KIAA0319 and CNTNAP2 being the most prevalent. Conclusions Similar to the results reported in emerging WES studies of other complex neurodevelopmental disorders, our findings from this first WES study of CAS are interpreted as support for heterogeneous genetic origins of this pediatric motor speech disorder with multiple genes, pathways and complex interactions. We also submit that our findings illustrate the potential use of WES for both gene identification and case-by-case clinical diagnostics in pediatric motor speech disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Worthey
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.
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Jones G, Teeling EC, Rossiter SJ. From the ultrasonic to the infrared: molecular evolution and the sensory biology of bats. Front Physiol 2013; 4:117. [PMID: 23755015 PMCID: PMC3667242 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Great advances have been made recently in understanding the genetic basis of the sensory biology of bats. Research has focused on the molecular evolution of candidate sensory genes, genes with known functions [e.g., olfactory receptor (OR) genes] and genes identified from mutations associated with sensory deficits (e.g., blindness and deafness). For example, the FoxP2 gene, underpinning vocal behavior and sensorimotor coordination, has undergone diversification in bats, while several genes associated with audition show parallel amino acid substitutions in unrelated lineages of echolocating bats and, in some cases, in echolocating dolphins, representing a classic case of convergent molecular evolution. Vision genes encoding the photopigments rhodopsin and the long-wave sensitive opsin are functional in bats, while that encoding the short-wave sensitive opsin has lost functionality in rhinolophoid bats using high-duty cycle laryngeal echolocation, suggesting a sensory trade-off between investment in vision and echolocation. In terms of olfaction, bats appear to have a distinctive OR repertoire compared with other mammals, and a gene involved in signal transduction in the vomeronasal system has become non-functional in most bat species. Bitter taste receptors appear to have undergone a "birth-and death" evolution involving extensive gene duplication and loss, unlike genes coding for sweet and umami tastes that show conservation across most lineages but loss in vampire bats. Common vampire bats have also undergone adaptations for thermoperception, via alternative splicing resulting in the evolution of a novel heat-sensitive channel. The future for understanding the molecular basis of sensory biology is promising, with great potential for comparative genomic analyses, studies on gene regulation and expression, exploration of the role of alternative splicing in the generation of proteomic diversity, and linking genetic mechanisms to behavioral consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth Jones
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol Bristol, UK
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Abstract
Next-generation sequencing is set to transform the discovery of genes underlying neurodevelopmental disorders, and so offer important insights into the biological bases of spoken language. Success will depend on functional assessments in neuronal cell lines, animal models and humans themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pelagia Deriziotis
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Graham SA, Fisher SE. Decoding the genetics of speech and language. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2013; 23:43-51. [PMID: 23228431 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2012.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2012] [Revised: 11/13/2012] [Accepted: 11/14/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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CNTNAP2 and language processing in healthy individuals as measured with ERPs. PLoS One 2012; 7:e46995. [PMID: 23115634 PMCID: PMC3480372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 09/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic FOXP2-CNTNAP2 pathway has been shown to be involved in the language capacity. We investigated whether a common variant of CNTNAP2 (rs7794745) is relevant for syntactic and semantic processing in the general population by using a visual sentence processing paradigm while recording ERPs in 49 healthy adults. While both AA homozygotes and T-carriers showed a standard N400 effect to semantic anomalies, the response to subject-verb agreement violations differed across genotype groups. T-carriers displayed an anterior negativity preceding the P600 effect, whereas for the AA group only a P600 effect was observed. These results provide another piece of evidence that the neuronal architecture of the human faculty of language is shaped differently by effects that are genetically determined.
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Snow PC, Powell MB, Sanger DD. Oral Language Competence, Young Speakers, and the Law. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2012; 43:496-506. [DOI: 10.1044/0161-1461(2012/11-0065)] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose
This paper highlights the forensic implications of language impairment in 2 key (and overlapping) groups of young people: identified victims of maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) and young offenders.
Method
Two lines of research pertaining to oral language competence and young people’s interface with the law are considered: 1 regarding investigative interviewing with children as victims or witnesses in the context of serious allegations of sexual abuse, and the other pertaining to adolescent offenders as suspects, witnesses, or victims. The linguistic demands that forensic interviewing places on these young people are also considered. Literature concerning the impact of early maltreatment on early language acquisition is briefly reviewed, as is the role of theory of mind in relation to the requirements of investigative interviewing of children and adolescents.
Implications
High-risk young people (i.e., those who are subject to child protection orders because of suspected or confirmed maltreatment, and those who are engaged with the youth justice system) face an elevated risk for suboptimal language development but may need to draw on their language skills in high-stakes forensic interviews. Implications for early intervention policy and practice are identified, and the need for greater speech-language pathology advocacy and engagement in forensic interviewing research is emphasized.
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Tsitseroshin MN, Galperina EI. Correlative formation of functions as one of mechanisms of functional evolution (by example of development in child’s ontogenesis of central maintenance of stereognosis and speech function). J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2012. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093012030140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Van der Aa N, Vandeweyer G, Reyniers E, Kenis S, Dom L, Mortier G, Rooms L, Kooy RF. Haploinsufficiency of CMIP in a girl with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay due to a de novo deletion on chromosome 16q23.2. Autism Res 2012; 5:277-81. [PMID: 22689534 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2011] [Accepted: 05/15/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In a developmentally delayed girl with an autism spectrum disorder, Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis showed a de novo 280 kb deletion on chromosome 16q23.2 involving two genes, GAN and CMIP. Inactivating mutations in GAN cause the autosomal recessive disorder giant axonal neuropathy, not present in our patient. CMIP was recently implicated in the etiology of specific language impairment by genome-wide association analysis. It modulates phonological short-term memory and hence plays an important role in language acquisition. Overlaps of specific language impairment and autism have been debated in the literature regarding the phenotypical language profile as well as etiology. Our patient illustrates that haploinsufficiency of CMIP may contribute to autism spectrum disorders. Our finding further supports the existence of a genetic overlap in the etiology of specific language impairment and autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Van der Aa
- Department of Medical Genetics, University and University Hospital of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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Shriberg LD, Lohmeier HL, Strand EA, Jakielski KJ. Encoding, memory, and transcoding deficits in Childhood Apraxia of Speech. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2012; 26:445-82. [PMID: 22489736 PMCID: PMC3580385 DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2012.655841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
A central question in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is whether the core phenotype is limited to transcoding (planning/programming) deficits or if speakers with CAS also have deficits in auditory-perceptual encoding (representational) and/or memory (storage and retrieval of representations) processes. We addressed this and other questions using responses to the Syllable Repetition Task (SRT) [Shriberg, L. D., Lohmeier, H. L., Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Green, J. R., & Moore, C. A. (2009). A nonword repetition task for speakers with misarticulations: The syllable repetition task (SRT). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52, 1189-1212]. The SRT was administered to 369 individuals in four groups: (a) typical speech-language (119), (b) speech delay-typical language (140), (c) speech delay-language impairment (70), and (d) idiopathic or neurogenetic CAS (40). CAS participants had significantly lower SRT competence, encoding, memory, and transcoding scores than controls. They were 8.3 times more likely than controls to have SRT transcoding scores below 80%. We conclude that speakers with CAS have speech processing deficits in encoding, memory, and transcoding. The SRT currently has moderate diagnostic accuracy to identify transcoding deficits, the signature feature of CAS.
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Perreault C, Mathew S. Dating the origin of language using phonemic diversity. PLoS One 2012; 7:e35289. [PMID: 22558135 PMCID: PMC3338724 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2011] [Accepted: 03/14/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Language is a key adaptation of our species, yet we do not know when it evolved. Here, we use data on language phonemic diversity to estimate a minimum date for the origin of language. We take advantage of the fact that phonemic diversity evolves slowly and use it as a clock to calculate how long the oldest African languages would have to have been around in order to accumulate the number of phonemes they possess today. We use a natural experiment, the colonization of Southeast Asia and Andaman Islands, to estimate the rate at which phonemic diversity increases through time. Using this rate, we estimate that present-day languages date back to the Middle Stone Age in Africa. Our analysis is consistent with the archaeological evidence suggesting that complex human behavior evolved during the Middle Stone Age in Africa, and does not support the view that language is a recent adaptation that has sparked the dispersal of humans out of Africa. While some of our assumptions require testing and our results rely at present on a single case-study, our analysis constitutes the first estimate of when language evolved that is directly based on linguistic data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarah Mathew
- Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Hara E, Rivas MV, Ward JM, Okanoya K, Jarvis ED. Convergent differential regulation of parvalbumin in the brains of vocal learners. PLoS One 2012; 7:e29457. [PMID: 22238614 PMCID: PMC3253077 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Spoken language and learned song are complex communication behaviors found in only a few species, including humans and three groups of distantly related birds – songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds. Despite their large phylogenetic distances, these vocal learners show convergent behaviors and associated brain pathways for vocal communication. However, it is not clear whether this behavioral and anatomical convergence is associated with molecular convergence. Here we used oligo microarrays to screen for genes differentially regulated in brain nuclei necessary for producing learned vocalizations relative to adjacent brain areas that control other behaviors in avian vocal learners versus vocal non-learners. A top candidate gene in our screen was a calcium-binding protein, parvalbumin (PV). In situ hybridization verification revealed that PV was expressed significantly higher throughout the song motor pathway, including brainstem vocal motor neurons relative to the surrounding brain regions of all distantly related avian vocal learners. This differential expression was specific to PV and vocal learners, as it was not found in avian vocal non-learners nor for control genes in learners and non-learners. Similar to the vocal learning birds, higher PV up-regulation was found in the brainstem tongue motor neurons used for speech production in humans relative to a non-human primate, macaques. These results suggest repeated convergent evolution of differential PV up-regulation in the brains of vocal learners separated by more than 65–300 million years from a common ancestor and that the specialized behaviors of learned song and speech may require extra calcium buffering and signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erina Hara
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Graduate School of Advanced Integration Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- * E-mail: (EH); (EDJ)
| | - Miriam V. Rivas
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - James M. Ward
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Graduate School of Advanced Integration Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN BSI, Saitama, Japan
| | - Erich D. Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail: (EH); (EDJ)
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de Sousa A, Cunha E. Hominins and the emergence of the modern human brain. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2012; 195:293-322. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-53860-4.00014-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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