1. Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex.
- Author
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Guadalupe T, Mathias SR, vanErp TGM, Whelan CD, Zwiers MP, Abe Y, Abramovic L, Agartz I, Andreassen OA, Arias-Vásquez A, Aribisala BS, Armstrong NJ, Arolt V, Artiges E, Ayesa-Arriola R, Baboyan VG, Banaschewski T, Barker G, Bastin ME, Baune BT, Blangero J, Bokde ALW, Boedhoe PSW, Bose A, Brem S, Brodaty H, Bromberg U, Brooks S, Büchel C, Buitelaar J, Calhoun VD, Cannon DM, Cattrell A, Cheng Y, Conrod PJ, Conzelmann A, Corvin A, Crespo-Facorro B, Crivello F, Dannlowski U, de Zubicaray GI, de Zwarte SMC, Deary IJ, Desrivières S, Doan NT, Donohoe G, Dørum ES, Ehrlich S, Espeseth T, Fernández G, Flor H, Fouche JP, Frouin V, Fukunaga M, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Gill M, Suarez AG, Gowland P, Grabe HJ, Grotegerd D, Gruber O, Hagenaars S, Hashimoto R, Hauser TU, Heinz A, Hibar DP, Hoekstra PJ, Hoogman M, Howells FM, Hu H, Hulshoff Pol HE, Huyser C, Ittermann B, Jahanshad N, Jönsson EG, Jurk S, Kahn RS, Kelly S, Kraemer B, Kugel H, Kwon JS, Lemaitre H, Lesch KP, Lochner C, Luciano M, Marquand AF, Martin NG, Martínez-Zalacaín I, Martinot JL, Mataix-Cols D, Mather K, McDonald C, McMahon KL, Medland SE, Menchón JM, Morris DW, Mothersill O, Maniega SM, Mwangi B, Nakamae T, Nakao T, Narayanaswaamy JC, Nees F, Nordvik JE, Onnink AMH, Opel N, Ophoff R, Paillère Martinot ML, Papadopoulos Orfanos D, Pauli P, Paus T, Poustka L, Reddy JY, Renteria ME, Roiz-Santiáñez R, Roos A, Royle NA, Sachdev P, Sánchez-Juan P, Schmaal L, Schumann G, Shumskaya E, Smolka MN, Soares JC, Soriano-Mas C, Stein DJ, Strike LT, Toro R, Turner JA, Tzourio-Mazoyer N, Uhlmann A, Hernández MV, van den Heuvel OA, van der Meer D, van Haren NEM, Veltman DJ, Venkatasubramanian G, Vetter NC, Vuletic D, Walitza S, Walter H, Walton E, Wang Z, Wardlaw J, Wen W, Westlye LT, Whelan R, Wittfeld K, Wolfers T, Wright MJ, Xu J, Xu X, Yun JY, Zhao J, Franke B, Thompson PM, Glahn DC, Mazoyer B, Fisher SE, and Francks C
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aging genetics, Brain anatomy & histology, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Middle Aged, Organ Size, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Young Adult, Aging pathology, Brain diagnostic imaging, Functional Laterality genetics, Sex Characteristics
- Abstract
The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods. Volumetric asymmetry of seven subcortical structures was assessed in 15,847 MRI scans from 52 datasets worldwide. There were sex differences in the asymmetry of the globus pallidus and putamen. Heritability estimates, derived from 1170 subjects belonging to 71 extended pedigrees, revealed that additive genetic factors influenced the asymmetry of these two structures and that of the hippocampus and thalamus. Handedness had no detectable effect on subcortical asymmetries, even in this unprecedented sample size, but the asymmetry of the putamen varied with age. Genetic drivers of asymmetry in the hippocampus, thalamus and basal ganglia may affect variability in human cognition, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.
- Published
- 2017
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