We have presented results from the first international consortium for investigating the molecular genetic basis of brain functional activity as measured by resting EEG. The results revealed two genome‐wide significant associations for Cz alpha power: on chromosome 4, a SNP intronic to PRKG2 (rs984924), and on chromosome 7, a SNP intronic to LINC00996 (rs10231372). FDR correction yielded 68 significant SNPs in the same PRKG2 and LINC00996 regions, plus intronic variants within PCNX2 and METTL21C. Gene‐based analyses identified multiple genes significantly associated with Cz and occipital alpha power, including PRKG2, METTL21C, and several genes in a region on chromosome 3. PRKG2 influences anthropometric and blood pressure‐related traits (Sung et al., 2015; Wood et al., 2014) and also affects multiple phenotypes in mice, including skeletal and adipose tissues. Humans with 4q21 microdeletion syndrome—which includes PRKG2 and flanking genes—show similar skeletal symptoms, including facial bone and growth retardations, but also neuropsychological symptoms, including speech and mental retardation (Bonnet et al., 2010; Dukes‐Rimsky et al., 2011).
