Open AccessGenetic influences on neonatal cortical thickness and surface area
Author(s) -
Jha Shaili C.,
Xia Kai,
Schmitt James Eric,
Ahn Mihye,
Girault Jessica B.,
Murphy Veronica A.,
Li Gang,
Wang Li,
Shen Dinggang,
Zou Fei,
Zhu Hongtu,
Styner Martin,
Knickmeyer Rebecca C.,
Gilmore John H.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.24340
Subject(s) - heritability , genetic variation , genetic correlation , frontal cortex , biology , evolutionary biology , cortex (anatomy) , correlation , twin study , neuroscience , genetics , gene , geometry , mathematics
Genetic and environmental influences on cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) are thought to vary in a complex and dynamic way across the lifespan. It has been established that CT and SA are genetically distinct in older children, adolescents, and adults, and that heritability varies across cortical regions. Very little, however, is known about how genetic and environmental factors influence infant CT and SA. Using structural MRI, we performed the first assessment of genetic and environmental influences on normal variation of SA and CT in 360 twin neonates. We observed strong and significant additive genetic influences on total SA ( a 2 = 0.78) and small and nonsignificant genetic influences on average CT ( a 2 = 0.29). Moreover, we found significant genetic overlap (genetic correlation = 0.65) between these global cortical measures. Regionally, there were minimal genetic influences across the cortex for both CT and SA measures and no distinct patterns of genetic regionalization. Overall, outcomes from this study suggest a dynamic relationship between CT and SA during the neonatal period and provide novel insights into how genetic influences shape cortical structure during early development.