Heritability of cortical thickness in pediatric subjects from the CPB study varied by region (Lenroot et al. 2009). A striking overlap with previous findings in adults was seen, with areas in the dorsolateral frontal and superior temporal regions demonstrating the strongest genetic contribution, as did regions associated with language in the left parieto-temporal junction. Non-genetic factors were the chief contributors to variance over substantial areas of the cortex, including those regions associated with primary motor and sensory functions. Shared environmental factors were nonsignificant. Interestingly, although the areas of high heritability were similar to what had previously been reported in adults (Thompson et al. 2001) the heritability values were lower, raising the question of whether the lower values were related to the difference in age between the populations.
