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Carrión-Castillo A, Paz-Alonso PM, Carreiras M. Brain structure, phenotypic and genetic correlates of reading performance. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1120-1134. [PMID: 37037991 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01583-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
Reading is an evolutionarily recent development that recruits and tunes brain circuitry connecting primary- and language-processing regions. We investigated whether metrics of the brain's physical structure correlate with reading performance and whether genetic variants affect this relationship. To this aim, we used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development dataset (n = 9,013) of 9-10-year-olds and focused on 150 measures of cortical surface area (CSA) and thickness. Our results reveal that reading performance is associated with nine measures of brain structure including relevant regions of the reading network. Furthermore, we show that this relationship is partially mediated by genetic factors for two of these measures: the CSA of the entire left hemisphere and, specifically, of the left superior temporal gyrus CSA. These effects emphasize the complex and subtle interplay between genes, brain and reading, which is a partly heritable polygenic skill that relies on a distributed network.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Manuel Carreiras
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain.
- University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain.
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2
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Genç E, Metzen D, Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Voelkle MC, Arning L, Streit F, Nguyen HP, Güntürkün O, Ocklenburg S, Kumsta R. Structural architecture and brain network efficiency link polygenic scores to intelligence. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:3359-3376. [PMID: 37013679 PMCID: PMC10171514 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Intelligence is highly heritable. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that thousands of alleles contribute to variation in intelligence with small effect sizes. Polygenic scores (PGS), which combine these effects into one genetic summary measure, are increasingly used to investigate polygenic effects in independent samples. Whereas PGS explain a considerable amount of variance in intelligence, it is largely unknown how brain structure and function mediate this relationship. Here, we show that individuals with higher PGS for educational attainment and intelligence had higher scores on cognitive tests, larger surface area, and more efficient fiber connectivity derived by graph theory. Fiber network efficiency as well as the surface of brain areas partly located in parieto-frontal regions were found to mediate the relationship between PGS and cognitive performance. These findings are a crucial step forward in decoding the neurogenetic underpinnings of intelligence, as they identify specific regional networks that link polygenic predisposition to intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Dorothea Metzen
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Caroline Schlüter
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Manuel C Voelkle
- Psychological Research Methods Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Larissa Arning
- Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Genetic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Laboratory for Stress and Gene-Environment Interplay, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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3
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Liu S, Smit DJA, Abdellaoui A, van Wingen GA, Verweij KJH. Brain Structure and Function Show Distinct Relations With Genetic Predispositions to Mental Health and Cognition. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:300-310. [PMID: 35961582 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mental health and cognitive achievement are partly heritable, highly polygenic, and associated with brain variations in structure and function. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS We investigated the association between genetic predispositions to various mental health and cognitive traits and a large set of structural and functional brain measures from the UK Biobank (N = 36,799). We also applied linkage disequilibrium score regression to estimate the genetic correlations between various traits and brain measures based on genome-wide data. To decompose the complex association patterns, we performed a multivariate partial least squares model of the genetic and imaging modalities. RESULTS The univariate analyses showed that certain traits were related to brain structure (significant genetic correlations with total cortical surface area from rg = -0.101 for smoking initiation to rg = 0.230 for cognitive ability), while other traits were related to brain function (significant genetic correlations with functional connectivity from rg = -0.161 for educational attainment to rg = 0.318 for schizophrenia). The multivariate analysis showed that genetic predispositions to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, smoking initiation, and cognitive traits had stronger associations with brain structure than with brain function, whereas genetic predispositions to most other psychiatric disorders had stronger associations with brain function than with brain structure. CONCLUSIONS These results reveal that genetic predispositions to mental health and cognitive traits have distinct brain profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Liu
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Dirk J A Smit
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Abdel Abdellaoui
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Guido A van Wingen
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Karin J H Verweij
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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4
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Williams CM, Labouret G, Wolfram T, Peyre H, Ramus F. A General Cognitive Ability Factor for the UK Biobank. Behav Genet 2023; 53:85-100. [PMID: 36378351 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-022-10127-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
UK Biobank participants do not have a high-quality measure of intelligence or polygenic scores (PGSs) of intelligence to simultaneously examine the genetic and neural underpinnings of intelligence. We created a standardized measure of general intelligence (g factor) relative to the UK population and estimated its quality. After running a GWAS of g on UK Biobank participants with a g factor of good quality and without neuroimaging data (N = 187,288), we derived a g PGS for UK Biobank participants with neuroimaging data. For individuals with at least one cognitive test, the g factor from eight cognitive tests (N = 501,650) explained 29% of the variance in cognitive test performance. The PGS for British individuals with neuroimaging data (N = 27,174) explained 7.6% of the variance in g. We provided high-quality g factor estimates for most UK Biobank participants and g factor PGSs for UK Biobank participants with neuroimaging data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Michèle Williams
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France. .,LSCP, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005, Paris, France.
| | - Ghislaine Labouret
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Tobias Wolfram
- Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Hugo Peyre
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France.,INSERM UMR 1141, Paris Diderot University, Paris, France.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, Paris, France
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
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5
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Paul SE, Colbert SM, Gorelik AJ, Hansen IS, Nagella I, Blaydon L, Hornstein A, Johnson EC, Hatoum AS, Baranger DA, Elsayed NM, Barch DM, Bogdan R, Karcher NR. Phenome-wide Investigation of Behavioral, Environmental, and Neural Associations with Cross-Disorder Genetic Liability in Youth of European Ancestry. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.02.10.23285783. [PMID: 36824847 PMCID: PMC9949197 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.10.23285783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Etiologic insights into psychopathology may be gained by using hypothesis-free methods to identify associations between genetic risk for broad psychopathology and phenotypes measured during adolescence, including both markers of child psychopathology and intermediate phenotypes such as neural structure that may link genetic risk with outcomes. We conducted a phenome-wide association study (phenotype n=1,269-1,694) of polygenic risk scores (PRS) for broad spectrum psychopathology (i.e., Compulsive, Psychotic, Neurodevelopmental, and Internalizing) in youth of PCA-selected European ancestry (n=5,556; ages 9-13) who completed the baseline and/or two-year follow-up of the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD) Study. We found that Neurodevelopmental and Internalizing PRS were significantly associated with a host of proximal as well as distal phenotypes (Neurodevelopmental: 187 and 211; Internalizing: 122 and 173 phenotypes at baseline and two-year follow-up, respectively), whereas Compulsive and Psychotic PRS showed zero and one significant associations, respectively, after Bonferroni correction. Neurodevelopmental PRS were further associated with brain structure metrics (e.g., total volume, mean right hemisphere cortical thickness), with only cortical volume indirectly linking Neurodevelopmental PRS to grades in school. Genetic variation influencing risk to psychopathology manifests broadly as behaviors, psychopathology symptoms, and related risk factors in middle childhood and early adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. Paul
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Sarah M.C. Colbert
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Aaron J. Gorelik
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Isabella S. Hansen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - I. Nagella
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - L. Blaydon
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - A. Hornstein
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Emma C. Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Alexander S. Hatoum
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - David A.A. Baranger
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Nourhan M. Elsayed
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
- Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
| | - Ryan Bogdan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
| | - Nicole R. Karcher
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
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6
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Williams CM, Peyre H, Ramus F. Brain volumes, thicknesses, and surface areas as mediators of genetic factors and childhood adversity on intelligence. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5885-5895. [PMID: 36533516 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Although genetic and environmental factors influence general intelligence (g-factor), few studies examined the neuroanatomical measures mediating environmental and genetic effects on intelligence. Here, we investigate the brain volumes, cortical mean thicknesses, and cortical surface areas mediating the effects of the g-factor polygenic score (gPGS) and childhood adversity on the g-factor in the UK Biobank. We first examined the global and regional brain measures that contribute to the g-factor. Most regions contributed to the g-factor through global brain size. Parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) regions were not more associated with the g-factor than non-PFIT regions. After adjusting for global brain size and regional associations, only a few regions predicted intelligence and were included in the mediation analyses. We conducted mediation analyses on global measures, regional volumes, mean thicknesses, and surface areas, separately. Total brain volume mediated 7.04% of the gPGS' effect on the g-factor and 2.50% of childhood adversity's effect on the g-factor. In comparison, the fraction of the gPGS and childhood adversity's effects mediated by individual regional volumes, surfaces, and mean thicknesses was 10-15 times smaller. Therefore, genetic and environmental effects on intelligence may be mediated to a larger extent by other brain properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille M Williams
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 29 rue d'ulm, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Hugo Peyre
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 29 rue d'ulm, 75005, Paris, France
- INSERM UMR 1141, Paris Diderot University, 48 Bd Sérurier, 75019, Paris, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robert Debré Hospital, APHP, 48 Bd Sérurier, 75019, Paris, France
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 29 rue d'ulm, 75005, Paris, France
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7
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8
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Razzaq FA, Bringas Vega ML, Ontiveiro-Ortega M, Riaz U, Valdes-Sosa PA. Causal effects of cingulate morphology on executive functions in healthy young adults. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4370-4382. [PMID: 35665983 PMCID: PMC9435009 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we want to explore evidence for the causal relationship between the anatomical descriptors of the cingulate cortex (surface area, mean curvature-corrected thickness, and volume) and the performance of cognitive tasks such as Card Sort, Flanker, List Sort used as instruments to measure the executive functions of flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. We have performed this analysis in a cross-sectional sample of 899 healthy young subjects of the Human Connectome Project. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using causal inference to explain the relationship between cingulate morphology and the performance of executive tasks in healthy subjects. We have tested the causal model under a counterfactual framework using stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting and marginal structural models. The results showed that the posterior cingulate surface area has a positive causal effect on inhibition (Flanker task) and cognitive flexibility (Card Sort). A unit increase (+1 mm2 ) in the posterior cingulate surface area will cause a 0.008% and 0.009% increase from the National Institute of Health (NIH) normative mean in Flankers (p-value <0.001), and Card Sort (p-value 0.005), respectively. Furthermore, a unit increase (+1 mm2 ) in the anterior cingulate surface area will cause a 0.004% (p-value <0.001) and 0.005% (p-value 0.001) increase from the NIH normative mean in Flankers and Card Sort. In contrast, the curvature-corrected-mean thickness only showed an association for anterior cingulate with List Sort (p = 0.034) but no causal effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuleah A Razzaq
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Maria L Bringas Vega
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | | | - Usama Riaz
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Pedro A Valdes-Sosa
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,Cuban Neuroscience Center, Havana, Cuba
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9
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Rabinowitz JA, Campos AI, Ong JS, García-Marín LM, Alcauter S, Mitchell BL, Grasby KL, Cuéllar-Partida G, Gillespie NA, Huhn AS, Martin NG, Thompson PM, Medland SE, Maher BS, Rentería ME. Shared Genetic Etiology between Cortical Brain Morphology and Tobacco, Alcohol, and Cannabis Use. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:796-807. [PMID: 34379727 PMCID: PMC8841600 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants associated with brain morphology and substance use behaviors (SUB). However, the genetic overlap between brain structure and SUB has not been well characterized. We leveraged GWAS summary data of 71 brain imaging measures and alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use to investigate their genetic overlap using linkage disequilibrium score regression. We used genomic structural equation modeling to model a "common SUB genetic factor" and investigated its genetic overlap with brain structure. Furthermore, we estimated SUB polygenic risk scores (PRS) and examined whether they predicted brain imaging traits using the Adolescent Behavior and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. We identified 8 significant negative genetic correlations, including between (1) alcoholic drinks per week and average cortical thickness, and (2) intracranial volume with age of smoking initiation. We observed 5 positive genetic correlations, including those between (1) insula surface area and lifetime cannabis use, and (2) the common SUB genetic factor and pericalcarine surface area. SUB PRS were associated with brain structure variation in ABCD. Our findings highlight a shared genetic etiology between cortical brain morphology and SUB and suggest that genetic variants associated with SUB may be causally related to brain structure differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill A Rabinowitz
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Adrian I Campos
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jue-Sheng Ong
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Luis M García-Marín
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Sarael Alcauter
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro 76230, México
| | - Brittany L Mitchell
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
- School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland 4059, Australia
| | - Katrina L Grasby
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Gabriel Cuéllar-Partida
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4102, Australia
| | - Nathan A Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
| | - Andrew S Huhn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark & Mary Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging & Informatics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Sarah E Medland
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Brion S Maher
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Miguel E Rentería
- Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland 4059, Australia
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10
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Deary IJ, Cox SR, Hill WD. Genetic variation, brain, and intelligence differences. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:335-353. [PMID: 33531661 PMCID: PMC8960418 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01027-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Individual differences in human intelligence, as assessed using cognitive test scores, have a well-replicated, hierarchical phenotypic covariance structure. They are substantially stable across the life course, and are predictive of educational, social, and health outcomes. From this solid phenotypic foundation and importance for life, comes an interest in the environmental, social, and genetic aetiologies of intelligence, and in the foundations of intelligence differences in brain structure and functioning. Here, we summarise and critique the last 10 years or so of molecular genetic (DNA-based) research on intelligence, including the discovery of genetic loci associated with intelligence, DNA-based heritability, and intelligence's genetic correlations with other traits. We summarise new brain imaging-intelligence findings, including whole-brain associations and grey and white matter associations. We summarise regional brain imaging associations with intelligence and interpret these with respect to theoretical accounts. We address research that combines genetics and brain imaging in studying intelligence differences. There are new, though modest, associations in all these areas, and mechanistic accounts are lacking. We attempt to identify growing points that might contribute toward a more integrated 'systems biology' account of some of the between-individual differences in intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J. Deary
- grid.4305.20000 0004 1936 7988Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - Simon R. Cox
- grid.4305.20000 0004 1936 7988Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - W. David Hill
- grid.4305.20000 0004 1936 7988Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
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11
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Rats bred for low intrinsic aerobic exercise capacity link obesity with brain inflammation and reduced structural plasticity of the hippocampus. Brain Behav Immun 2021; 97:250-259. [PMID: 34224822 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing evidence shows obesity and poor metabolic health are associated with cognitive deficits, but the mechanistic connections have yet to be resolved. We studied rats selectively bred for low and high intrinsic aerobic capacity in order to test the association between low physical fitness, a genetic predisposition for obesity, and brain health. We hypothesized that low-capacity runner (LCR) rats with concurrently greater levels of adiposity would have increased hippocampal inflammation and reduced plasticity compared to the more physically fit high-capacity runner (HCR) rats. METHODS We examined markers for inflammation and brain plasticity in the hippocampi of LCR rats and compared them to HCR rats. The effect of age was determined by studying the rats at a young age (8 weeks) and later in life (40 weeks). We used western blots and immunohistochemistry to quantify the expression of target proteins. RESULTS Our study showed that the number of adult-born new neurons in the hippocampus was significantly lower in LCR rats than it was in HCR rats already at a young age and that the difference became more pronounced with age. The expression of synaptic proteins was higher in young animals relative to older ones. Brain inflammation tended to be higher in LCR rats than it was in the HCR rats, and more prominent in older rats than in young ones. CONCLUSION Our study is the first to demonstrate that low intrinsic aerobic fitness that is associated with obesity and poor metabolic health is also linked with reduced hippocampal structural plasticity at a young age. Our results also suggest that inflammation of the brain could be one factor mediating the link between obesity and poor cognitive performance.
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12
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Palmer CE, Zhao W, Loughnan R, Zou J, Fan CC, Thompson WK, Dale AM, Jernigan TL. Distinct Regionalization Patterns of Cortical Morphology are Associated with Cognitive Performance Across Different Domains. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:3856-3871. [PMID: 33825852 PMCID: PMC8258441 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive performance in children is predictive of academic and social outcomes; therefore, understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognition during development may be important for improving quality of life. The belief that a single, psychological construct underlies many cognitive processes is pervasive throughout society. However, it is unclear if there is a consistent neural substrate underlying many cognitive processes. Here, we show that a distributed configuration of cortical surface area and apparent thickness, when controlling for global imaging measures, is differentially associated with cognitive performance on different types of tasks in a large sample (N = 10 145) of 9-11-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) study. The minimal overlap in these regionalization patterns of association has implications for competing theories about developing intellectual functions. Surprisingly, not controlling for sociodemographic factors increased the similarity between these regionalization patterns. This highlights the importance of understanding the shared variance between sociodemographic factors, cognition and brain structure, particularly with a population-based sample such as ABCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- C E Palmer
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
| | - W Zhao
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - R Loughnan
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - J Zou
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
| | - C C Fan
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
- Center for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - W K Thompson
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
| | - A M Dale
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - T L Jernigan
- Center for Human Development, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Wesarg C, Veer IM, Oei NYL, Daedelow LS, Lett TA, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Bokde AL, Quinlan EB, Desrivières S, Flor H, Grigis A, Garavan H, Brühl R, Martinot J, Artiges E, Nees F, Orfanos DP, Poustka L, Hohmann S, Fröhner JH, Smolka MN, Whelan R, Schumann G, Heinz A, Walter H. The interaction of child abuse and rs1360780 of the FKBP5 gene is associated with amygdala resting-state functional connectivity in young adults. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:3269-3281. [PMID: 33818852 PMCID: PMC8193540 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Extensive research has demonstrated that rs1360780, a common single nucleotide polymorphism within the FKBP5 gene, interacts with early-life stress in predicting psychopathology. Previous results suggest that carriers of the TT genotype of rs1360780 who were exposed to child abuse show differences in structure and functional activation of emotion-processing brain areas belonging to the salience network. Extending these findings on intermediate phenotypes of psychopathology, we examined if the interaction between rs1360780 and child abuse predicts resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the amygdala and other areas of the salience network. We analyzed data of young European adults from the general population (N = 774; mean age = 18.76 years) who took part in the IMAGEN study. In the absence of main effects of genotype and abuse, a significant interaction effect was observed for rsFC between the right centromedial amygdala and right posterior insula (p < .025, FWE-corrected), which was driven by stronger rsFC in TT allele carriers with a history of abuse. Our results suggest that the TT genotype of rs1360780 may render individuals with a history of abuse more vulnerable to functional changes in communication between brain areas processing emotions and bodily sensations, which could underlie or increase the risk for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiane Wesarg
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Addiction Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT)‐LabUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Research Priority Area (RPA) YieldUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Ilya M. Veer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
| | - Nicole Y. L. Oei
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Addiction Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT)‐LabUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Research Priority Area (RPA) YieldUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Laura S. Daedelow
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
| | - Tristram A. Lett
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
- Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität BerlinHumboldt‐Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty MannheimHeidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
| | - Gareth J. Barker
- Department of NeuroimagingInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Arun L.W. Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of NeuroscienceTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Erin Burke Quinlan
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS)Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS)Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Herta Flor
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty MannheimHeidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social SciencesUniversity of MannheimMannheimGermany
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEAUniversité Paris‐SaclayGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and PsychologyUniversity of VermontBurlingtonVermontUSA
| | - Rüdiger Brühl
- Physikalisch‐Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)Braunschweig and BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Jean‐Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche MédicaleINSERM U A10 “Trajectoires développementales en psychiatrie”; Université Paris‐Saclay, Ecole Normale supérieure Paris‐Saclay, CNRS, Centre BorelliGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche MédicaleINSERM U A10 “Trajectoires développementales en psychiatrie”; Université Paris‐Saclay, Ecole Normale supérieure Paris‐Saclay, CNRS, Centre BorelliGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
- Department of Psychiatry 91G16Orsay HospitalGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | - Frauke Nees
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty MannheimHeidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty MannheimHeidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig HolsteinKiel UniversityKielGermany
| | | | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and PsychotherapyUniversity Medical Centre GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Sarah Hohmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty MannheimHeidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
| | - Juliane H. Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging CenterTechnische Universität DresdenDresdenGermany
| | - Michael N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging CenterTechnische Universität DresdenDresdenGermany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health InstituteTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS)Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College LondonLondonUK
- Leibniz Institute for NeurobiologyMagdeburgGermany
- Institute for Science and Technology of Brain‐inspired Intelligence (ISTBI)Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlinand Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
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