Genetic influences on brain activation and large-scale functional connectivity during nociceptive processing: a twin study

Nociceptive processing in the human brain is a signal that enables harm avoidance, with large interindividual variance. The relative contributions of genes and environment to the neural structures that support nociception have not been studied in twins previously. Here, we employed a classic twin-design to determine brain structures influenced by additive genetics. We found genetic influences on nociceptive processing in the midcingulate cortex, bilateral posterior insulae and thalamus. In addition to brain activations, we found genetic contributions to large-scale functional connectivity during nociceptive processing. We conclude that additive genetics influence specific aspects of nociceptive processing, which improves our understanding of human nociceptive processing.

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Two Cohort and Three Independent Anonymous Twin Projects at the Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC)

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1017/thg.2012.131 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 202-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Juko Ando ◽

Keiko K. Fujisawa ◽

Chizuru Shikishima ◽

Kai Hiraishi ◽

Mari Nozaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Twin Study ◽

Large Scale ◽

Twin Studies ◽

Research Center ◽

Data Sets ◽

Environment Interaction ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Twin Research ◽

Genes And Environment

The Keio Twin Research Center has conducted two longitudinal twin cohort projects and has collected three independent and anonymous twin data sets for studies of phenotypes related to psychological, socio-economic, and mental health factors. The Keio Twin Study has examined adolescent and adult cohorts, with a total of over 2,400 pairs of twins and their parents. DNA samples are available for approximately 600 of these twin pairs. The Tokyo Twin Cohort Project has followed a total of 1,600 twin pairs from infancy to early childhood. The large-scale cross-sectional twin study (CROSS) has collected data from over 4,000 twin pairs, from 3 to 26 years of age, and from two high school twin cohorts containing a total of 1,000 pairs of twins. These data sets of anonymous twin studies have mainly targeted academic performance, attitude, and social environment. The present article introduces the research designs and major findings of our center, such as genetic structures of cognitive abilities, personality traits, and academic performances, developmental effects of genes and environment on attitude, socio-cognitive ability and parenting, genes x environment interaction on attitude and conduct problem, and statistical methodological challenges and so on. We discuss the challenges in conducting twin research in Japan.

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Genetic and Environmental Architecture of Five Factor Model and Super-Factors: An Italian Twin Study

The Spanish Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1017/sjp.2021.48 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

Author(s):

Antonella Gigantesco ◽

Corrado Fagnani ◽

Guido Alessandri ◽

Enrica Carluccio ◽

Maria Antonietta Stazi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Big Five ◽

Twin Study ◽

Factor Model ◽

Five Factor Model ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Higher Order ◽

General Factor ◽

Twin Design ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Genes And Environment

Abstract No previous research explored the genetic and environmental structure of Big Five dimensions of personality and higher-order factors in a single twin study, except, in part, for just one study. We used the twin design to estimate the effects of genes and environment on both Five Factor model and related second- and third-order factors (i.e., Alpha [stability], Beta [plasticity], and GFP [general factor of personality]). We analyzed data from 314 adult twins (157 pairs: 83 monozygotic, 74 dizygotic; mean age: 52 years) enrolled in the Italian Twin Register. Participants underwent clinical and instrumental evaluations, and completed a 25-adjective list drawn from the Short Adjectives Checklist to Measure Big Five (SACBIF). We applied quantitative genetic models to unravel the sources of variation and covariation for the Big Five and higher-order factors. We found a similar etiological architecture across the different levels of analysis, with moderate to substantial non-additive genetic and unique environmental influences on all the personality traits, and no shared environmental contribution for any of them. We also detected significant genetic correlations for the Big Five dimensions and the Alpha and Beta super-factors. With some limitations, our results suggest that the etiological architecture of personality may be invariant to the factor level of analysis.

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Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS): A multi-method infant twin study of genetic and environmental factors influencing infant brain and behavioral development

10.1101/2021.04.19.439492 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Terje Falck-Ytter ◽

Linnea Hamrefors ◽

Monica Siqueiros Sanchez ◽

Ana Maria Portugal ◽

Mark Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Twin Study ◽

Dna Analysis ◽

Twin Studies ◽

Phenotypic Trait ◽

Twin Design ◽

Developmental Neuroscience ◽

Genes And Environment ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Longitudinal Twin Study

ABSTRACTTwin studies can help us understand the relative contributions of genes and environment to phenotypic trait variation including attentional and brain activation measures. In terms of applying methodologies like electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking, which are key methods in developmental neuroscience, infant twin studies are almost non-existent. Here we describe the Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS), a multi-method longitudinal twin study of 177 MZ and 134 DZ twin pairs (i.e. 622 individual infants) covering the 5 - 36 month time period. The study includes EEG, eye tracking and genetics, together with more traditional measures based on in-person testing, direct observation and questionnaires. The results show that interest in participation in research among twin parents is high, despite the comprehensive protocol. DNA analysis from saliva samples was possible in virtually all participants, allowing for both zygosity confirmation and polygenic score analyses. Combining a longitudinal twin design with advanced technologies in developmental cognitive neuroscience and genomics, BATSS represents a new approach in infancy research, which we hope to have impact across multiple disciplines in the coming years.

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The Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS): A Multi-Method Infant Twin Study of Genetic and Environmental Factors Influencing Infant Brain and Behavioral Development

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1017/thg.2021.34 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 217-227

Author(s):

Terje Falck-Ytter ◽

Linnea Hamrefors ◽

Monica Siqueiros Sanches ◽

Ana Maria Portugal ◽

Mark Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Twin Study ◽

Dna Analysis ◽

Twin Studies ◽

Phenotypic Trait ◽

Twin Design ◽

Developmental Neuroscience ◽

Genes And Environment ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Longitudinal Twin Study

AbstractTwin studies can help us understand the relative contributions of genes and environment to phenotypic trait variation, including attentional and brain activation measures. In terms of applying methodologies such as electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking, which are key methods in developmental neuroscience, infant twin studies are almost nonexistent. Here, we describe the Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS), a multi-method longitudinal twin study of 177 MZ and 134 DZ twin pairs (i.e., 622 individual infants) covering the 5−36 month time period. The study includes EEG, eye tracking and genetics, together with more traditional measures based on in-person testing, direct observation and questionnaires. The results show that interest in participation in research among twin parents is high, despite the comprehensive protocol. DNA analysis from saliva samples was possible in virtually all participants, allowing for both zygosity confirmation and polygenic score analyses. Combining a longitudinal twin design with advanced technologies in developmental cognitive neuroscience and genomics, BATSS represents a new approach in infancy research, which we hope to have impact across multiple disciplines in the coming years.

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Changes in inter-network functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks in patients with chronic migraine

Vestnik nevrologii, psihiatrii i nejrohirurgii (Bulletin of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery) ◽

10.33920/med-01-2001-05 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 46-56

Author(s):

A. Trufanov ◽

D. Frunza ◽

K. Markin ◽

I. Litvinenko ◽

M. Odinak

Keyword(s):

Neural Networks ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Control Group ◽

Attention Network ◽

Default Mode ◽

Dorsal Attention Network ◽

Common Nature

Migraine is a neurovascular disease characterized by headache and accompanied by mood disorders and impaired attention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at rest allows to identify changes in the functional connectivity (FC) of various neural networks of the brain associated with the pathogenesis of pain in migraine. Previous studies of patients with migraine describe a change in FC only in certain brain structures or within some of its neural networks. However violation of the interconnected functioning of neural networks is of predominant importance within the framework of a developing theory of the common nature of the neuro- and psychopathological process. The aim of the study is to consider pathogenetic mechanism of migraine and concomitant psychopathology in the aspect of changes in the inter-network functional connectivity. Methods and patients. FMRI scanning of 25 healthy people as a control group and of 25 patients at rest between migraine attacks was performed. Post-processing and secondary analysis were performed using the CONN functional connectivity toolbox version 18b software based on an unpaired t-test and regression analysis, taking into account the Benjamini-Hochberg correction. A set of questionnaires and tests was used to clarify the qualitative characteristics of pain and the accompanying psychopathology in the patients. Results. An increase in FC in patients was observed in comparison with the control group between the salience and sensorimotor networks, the salience and default mode networks, and also within default mode networks; a decrease in FC was observed between the salience network and the dorsal attention network and within dorsal attention network. Conclusion. The obtained results indicate a common nature of pain and affective disorders in patients with migraine and identify a possible mechanism of developing chronicity. The data of the study can be used to objectify the patient’s condition in the process of clinical diagnosis.

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Characterizing functional pathways of the human olfactory system

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.47177 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Guangyu Zhou ◽

Gregory Lane ◽

Shiloh L Cooper ◽

Thorsten Kahnt ◽

Christina Zelano

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Olfactory System ◽

Large Scale ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Olfactory Cortex ◽

Data Set ◽

Whole Brain ◽

Central Processing ◽

Primary Olfactory Cortex ◽

Processing Pathways

The central processing pathways of the human olfactory system are not fully understood. The olfactory bulb projects directly to a number of cortical brain structures, but the distinct networks formed by projections from each of these structures to the rest of the brain have not been well-defined. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and k-means clustering to parcellate human primary olfactory cortex into clusters based on whole-brain functional connectivity patterns. Resulting clusters accurately corresponded to anterior olfactory nucleus, olfactory tubercle, and frontal and temporal piriform cortices, suggesting dissociable whole-brain networks formed by the subregions of primary olfactory cortex. This result was replicated in an independent data set. We then characterized the unique functional connectivity profiles of each subregion, producing a map of the large-scale processing pathways of the human olfactory system. These results provide insight into the functional and anatomical organization of the human olfactory system.

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Genetic Contributions to the Midsagittal Area of the Corpus Callosum

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1017/thg.2012.10 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 315-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Kimberley A. Phillips ◽

Jeffrey Rogers ◽

Elizabeth A. Barrett ◽

David C. Glahn ◽

Peter Kochunov

Keyword(s):

Corpus Callosum ◽

Likelihood Estimation ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Genes And Environment ◽

Brain Structure And Function ◽

Mri Scans ◽

High Heritability ◽

The Individual ◽

And Function ◽

Genetic Contributions

The degree to which genes and environment determine variations in brain structure and function is fundamentally important to understanding normal and disease-related patterns of neural organization and activity. We studied genetic contributions to the midsagittal area of the corpus callosum (CC) in pedigreed baboons (68 males, 112 females) to replicate findings of high genetic contribution to that area of the CC reported in humans, and to determine if the heritability of the CC midsagittal area in adults was modulated by fetal development rate. Measurements of callosal area were obtained from high-resolution MRI scans. Heritability was estimated from pedigree-based maximum likelihood estimation of genetic and non-genetic variance components as implemented in Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines (SOLAR). Our analyses revealed significant heritability for the total area of the CC and all of its subdivisions, with h2 = .46 for the total CC, and h2 = .54, .37, .62, .56, and .29 for genu, anterior midbody, medial midbody, posterior midbody and splenium, respectively. Genetic correlation analysis demonstrated that the individual subdivisions shared between 41% and 98% of genetic variability. Combined with previous research reporting high heritability of other brain structures in baboons, these results reveal a consistent pattern of high heritability for brain morphometric measures in baboons.

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The Brain Resting-State Functional Connectivity Underlying Violence Proneness: Is It a Reliable Marker for Neurocriminology? A Systematic Review

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs9010011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ángel Romero-Martínez ◽

Macarena González ◽

Marisol Lila ◽

Enrique Gracia ◽

Luis Martí-Bonmatí ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Effective Treatment ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Angular Gyrus ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Treatment And Prevention ◽

Reliable Marker ◽

The Brain

Introduction: There is growing scientific interest in understanding the biological mechanisms affecting and/or underlying violent behaviors in order to develop effective treatment and prevention programs. In recent years, neuroscientific research has tried to demonstrate whether the intrinsic activity within the brain at rest in the absence of any external stimulation (resting-state functional connectivity; RSFC) could be employed as a reliable marker for several cognitive abilities and personality traits that are important in behavior regulation, particularly, proneness to violence. Aims: This review aims to highlight the association between the RSFC among specific brain structures and the predisposition to experiencing anger and/or responding to stressful and distressing situations with anger in several populations. Methods: The scientific literature was reviewed following the PRISMA quality criteria for reviews, using the following digital databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Psicodoc, and Dialnet. Results: The identification of 181 abstracts and retrieval of 34 full texts led to the inclusion of 17 papers. The results described in our study offer a better understanding of the brain networks that might explain the tendency to experience anger. The majority of the studies highlighted that diminished RSFC between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala might make people prone to reactive violence, but that it is also necessary to contemplate additional cortical (i.e. insula, gyrus [angular, supramarginal, temporal, fusiform, superior, and middle frontal], anterior and posterior cingulated cortex) and subcortical brain structures (i.e. hippocampus, cerebellum, ventral striatum, and nucleus centralis superior) in order to explain a phenomenon as complex as violence. Moreover, we also described the neural pathways that might underlie proactive violence and feelings of revenge, highlighting the RSFC between the OFC, ventral striatal, angular gyrus, mid-occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Conclusions. The results from this synthesis and critical analysis of RSFC findings in several populations offer guidelines for future research and for developing a more accurate model of proneness to violence, in order to create effective treatment and prevention programs.

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Event-Driven Simulation Scheme for Spiking Neural Networks Using Lookup Tables to Characterize Neuronal Dynamics

Neural Computation ◽

10.1162/neco.2006.18.12.2959 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 2959-2993 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Eduardo Ros ◽

Richard Carrillo ◽

Eva M. Ortigosa ◽

Boris Barbour ◽

Rodrigo Agís

Keyword(s):

Synaptic Plasticity ◽

High Speed ◽

Large Scale ◽

Computational Cost ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Spike Timing ◽

Neuronal Dynamics ◽

Event Driven ◽

Synaptic Dynamics

Nearly all neuronal information processing and interneuronal communication in the brain involves action potentials, or spikes, which drive the short-term synaptic dynamics of neurons, but also their long-term dynamics, via synaptic plasticity. In many brain structures, action potential activity is considered to be sparse. This sparseness of activity has been exploited to reduce the computational cost of large-scale network simulations, through the development of event-driven simulation schemes. However, existing event-driven simulations schemes use extremely simplified neuronal models. Here, we implement and evaluate critically an event-driven algorithm (ED-LUT) that uses precalculated look-up tables to characterize synaptic and neuronal dynamics. This approach enables the use of more complex (and realistic) neuronal models or data in representing the neurons, while retaining the advantage of high-speed simulation. We demonstrate the method's application for neurons containing exponential synaptic conductances, thereby implementing shunting inhibition, a phenomenon that is critical to cellular computation. We also introduce an improved two-stage event-queue algorithm, which allows the simulations to scale efficiently to highly connected networks with arbitrary propagation delays. Finally, the scheme readily accommodates implementation of synaptic plasticity mechanisms that depend on spike timing, enabling future simulations to explore issues of long-term learning and adaptation in large-scale networks.

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