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Article
Nature Neuroscience  4, 1253 - 1258 (2001)
Published online: 5 November 2001; | doi:10.1038/nn758

Genetic influences on brain structure

Paul M. Thompson1, Tyrone D. Cannon2, Katherine L. Narr1, Theo van Erp2, Veli-Pekka Poutanen3, Matti Huttunen4, Jouko Lönnqvist4, Carl-Gustaf Standertskjöld-Nordenstam3, Jaakko Kaprio5, Mohammad Khaledy1, Rajneesh Dail1, Chris I. Zoumalan1 & Arthur W. Toga1

1  Laboratory of Neuro Imaging and Brain Mapping Division (Rm. 4238, Reed Neurological Research Center), Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1769, USA

2  Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Human Genetics, UCLA School of Medicine, 1285 Franz Hall, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90095-1563

3  Department of Radiology, University of Helsinki Central Hospital, Meilahti Clinics, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland

4  Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute of Finland, Mannerheimintie 166, SF-00300 Helsinki, Finland

5  Department of Public Health, Universities of Helsinki and Oulu, P.O. Box 41, Mannerheimintie 172, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland

Correspondence should be addressed to Paul M. Thompson thompson@loni.ucla.edu
Here we report on detailed three-dimensional maps revealing how brain structure is influenced by individual genetic differences. A genetic continuum was detected in which brain structure was increasingly similar in subjects with increasing genetic affinity. Genetic factors significantly influenced cortical structure in Broca's and Wernicke's language areas, as well as frontal brain regions (r2MZ > 0.8, p < 0.05). Preliminary correlations were performed suggesting that frontal gray matter differences may be linked to Spearman's g, which measures successful test performance across multiple cognitive domains (p < 0.05). These genetic brain maps reveal how genes determine individual differences, and may shed light on the heritability of cognitive and linguistic skills, as well as genetic liability for diseases that affect the human cortex.

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Nature Neuroscience
ISSN: 1097-6256
EISSN: 1546-1726
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