Print Email Facebook Twitter Heritability of the shape of subcortical brain structures in the general population Title Heritability of the shape of subcortical brain structures in the general population Author Roshchupkin, Gennady V. (Erasmus MC) Gutman, Boris A. (University of Southern California) Vernooij, Meike W. (Erasmus MC) Jahanshad, Neda (University of Southern California) Martin, Nicholas G. (Queensland Institute of Medical Research) Hofman, Albert (Erasmus MC; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) McMahon, Katie L. (University of Queensland) van der Lee, S.J. (Erasmus MC) van Duijn, Cornelia M. (Erasmus MC; Universiteit Leiden) De Zubicaray, Greig I. (Queensland University of Technology) Uitterlinden, André G. (Erasmus MC) Wright, Margaret J. (University of Queensland) Niessen, W.J. (TU Delft ImPhys/Quantitative Imaging; Erasmus MC) Thompson, Paul M. (University of Southern California) Ikram, M. Arfan (Erasmus MC) Adams, Hieab H. (Erasmus MC) Date 2016-12-15 Abstract The volumes of subcortical brain structures are highly heritable, but genetic underpinnings of their shape remain relatively obscure. Here we determine the relative contribution of genetic factors to individual variation in the shape of seven bilateral subcortical structures: the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen and thalamus. In 3,686 unrelated individuals aged between 45 and 98 years, brain magnetic resonance imaging and genotyping was performed. The maximal heritability of shape varies from 32.7 to 53.3% across the subcortical structures. Genetic contributions to shape extend beyond influences on intracranial volume and the gross volume of the respective structure. The regional variance in heritability was related to the reliability of the measurements, but could not be accounted for by technical factors only. These findings could be replicated in an independent sample of 1,040 twins. Differences in genetic contributions within a single region reveal the value of refined brain maps to appreciate the genetic complexity of brain structures. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:39f15b35-0186-40c5-8ed7-5bfeab344480 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13738 ISSN 2041-1723 Source Nature Communications, 7 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2016 Gennady V. Roshchupkin, Boris A. Gutman, Meike W. Vernooij, Neda Jahanshad, Nicholas G. Martin, Albert Hofman, Katie L. McMahon, S.J. van der Lee, Cornelia M. van Duijn, Greig I. De Zubicaray, André G. Uitterlinden, Margaret J. Wright, W.J. Niessen, Paul M. Thompson, M. Arfan Ikram, Hieab H. Adams Files PDF ncomms13738.pdf 1.95 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:39f15b35-0186-40c5-8ed7-5bfeab344480/datastream/OBJ/view