Genetic and environmental influences on structural brain development from childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal twin study on cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 68, pp. 101407

Abstract

The human brain undergoes structural development from childhood to adolescence, with specific regions in the sensorimotor, social, and affective networks continuing to grow into adulthood. While genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in these brain trajectories, the extent remains understudied. Our longitudinal study, utilizing up to three biennial MRI scans (n=485), aimed to assess the genetic and environmental effects on brain structure (age 7) and development (ages 7-14) in these regions. Heritability estimates varied across brain regions, with all regions showing genetic influence (ranging from 18 % to 59 %) with additional shared environmental factors affecting the primary motor cortex (30 %), somatosensory cortex (35 %), DLPFC (5 %), TPJ (17 %), STS (17 %), precuneus (10 %), hippocampus (22 %), amygdala (5 %), and nucleus accumbens (10 %). Surface area was more genetically driven (38 %) than cortical thickness (14 %). Longitudinal brain changes were primarily driven by genetics (ranging from 1 % to 29 %), though shared environment factors (additionally) influenced the somatosensory cortex (11 %), DLPFC (7 %), cerebellum (28 %), TPJ (16 %), STS (20 %), and hippocampus (17 %). These findings highlight the importance of further investigating brain-behavior associations and the influence of enriched and deprived environments from childhood to adolescence. Ultimately, our study can provide insights for interventions aimed at supporting children's development.

Authors 4

1. Lina van Drunen corresponding Aachen Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University · Erasmus University Rotterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands; Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Electronic address: l.van.drunen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

   Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands

2. Simone Dobbelaar Aachen Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University · Erasmus University Rotterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands; Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands

3. Eveline A. Crone Aachen Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University · Erasmus University Rotterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands; Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands

   Erasmus University Rotterdam, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Netherlands

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands

4. Lara Marise Wierenga Aachen Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Leiden Consortium of Individual Development (L-CID), the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherlands