Genetic influences on brain developmental trajectories on neuroimaging studies: from infancy to young adulthood.
- Authors
- Douet, Vanessa; Chang, Linda; Cloak, Christine; Ernst, Thomas
- Year
- 2014
- Journal
- Brain imaging and behavior
- PMID
- 24077983
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11682-013-9260-1
- PMCID
- PMC3969783
Human brain development has been studied intensively with neuroimaging. However, little is known about how genes influence developmental brain trajectories, even though a significant number of genes (about 10,000, or approximately one-third) in the human genome are expressed primarily in the brain and during brain development. Interestingly, in addition to showing differential expression among tissues, many genes are differentially expressed across the ages (e.g., antagonistic pleiotropy). Age-specific gene expression plays an important role in several critical events in brain development, including neuronal cell migration, synaptogenesis and neurotransmitter receptor specificity, as well as in aging and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). In addition, the majority of psychiatric and mental disorders are polygenic, and many have onsets during childhood and adolescence. In this review, we summarize the major findings from neuroimaging studies that link genetics with brain development, from infancy to young adulthood. Specifically, we focus on the heritability of brain structures across the ages, age-related genetic influences on brain development and sex-specific developmental trajectories.
Key events of the human brain developmentHuman brain development can be schematized into present different periods.
Multiple imaging modalities illustrating sexual dimorphism in the brain across the lifespan(A) Across the ages 7–20 years, girls (red) have smaller volumes of white and frontal gray matter than boys (blue). Compared to girls, boys showed a greater age-related increase of white matter volume, and a steeper age-related decline in the frontal gray matter (adapted from Lenroot et al. 2007).(B) Heritability accounts for about 80% of the variation in fractional anisotropy in adult males (top row, red color voxels). (Adapted from Chiang et al. 2011).(C) Age-by-sex interaction on homotopic resting state functional connectivity (rsFC). Statistical maps are visualized as six hemispheric surfaces (showing cortical regions) and six axial slices (showing subcortical regions). The top scatter plot show opposite brain activation patterns in males (red) and females (blue) that are different in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (top scatter plot) compared to the amygdala (bottom scatter plot)(Adapted from Zuo et al. 2010)(D) Interactions between age and sex, or genetic influence on testosterone levels, on relative white matter (WM) volume. Top panels: Between the ages of 11–20 years, boys show steeper age-dependent increase in relative WM volume (corrected total brain volume) compared to girls. Bottom panels: Boys with the more efficient short AR gene and higher plasma levels of bioavailable testosterone had larger relative WM volumes. (Adapted from Perrin et al. 2008).
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|---|---|---|
| Genetic correlates of the development of theta event related oscillations in adolescents and young adults. | 2017 | 27847216 |
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