DNA evidence for strong genetic stability and increasing heritability of intelligence from age 7 to 12.

Two genetic findings from twin research have far-reaching implications for understanding individual differences in the development of brain function as indexed by general cognitive ability (g, aka intelligence): (1) The same genes affect g throughout development, even though (2) heritability increases. It is now possible to test these hypotheses using DNA alone. From 1.7 million DNA markers and g scores at ages 7 and 12 on 2875 children, the DNA genetic correlation from age 7 to 12 was 0.73, highly similar to the genetic correlation of 0.75 estimated from 6702 pairs of twins from the same sample. DNA-estimated heritabilities increased from 0.26 at age 7 to 0.45 at age 12; twin-estimated heritabilities also increased from 0.35 to 0.48. These DNA results confirm the results of twin studies indicating strong genetic stability but increasing heritability for g, despite mean changes in brain structure and function from childhood to adolescence.

Cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms: a twin study of cross-sectional associations with anxiety sensitivity dimensions across development.

BACKGROUND: The classification of anxiety and depressive disorders has long been debated and has important clinical implications. The present study combined a genetically sensitive design and multiple time points to investigate cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms across anxiety sensitivity dimensions, a cognitive distortion implicated in both disorders. METHOD: Phenotypic and genetic correlations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were examined at five waves of data collection within childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in two representative twin studies (n pairs = 300 and 1372). RESULTS: The physical concerns dimension of anxiety sensitivity (fear of bodily symptoms) was significantly associated with anxiety but not depression at all waves. Genetic influences on physical concerns overlapped substantially more with anxiety than depression. Conversely, mental concerns (worry regarding cognitive control) were phenotypically more strongly associated with depression than anxiety. Social concerns (fear of publicly observable symptoms of anxiety) were associated with both anxiety and depression in adolescence. Genetic influences on mental and social concerns were shared to a similar extent with both anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Phenotypic patterns of cognitive specificity and broader genetic associations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were similar at all waves. Both disorder-specific and shared cognitive concerns were identified, suggesting it is appropriate to classify anxiety and depression as distinct but related disorders and confirming the clinical perspective that cognitive therapy is most likely to benefit by targeting cognitive concerns relating specifically to the individual's presenting symptoms across development.

Why do we differ in number sense? Evidence from a genetically sensitive investigation.

Basic intellectual abilities of quantity and numerosity estimation have been detected across animal species. Such abilities are referred to as 'number sense'. For human species, individual differences in number sense are detectable early in life, persist in later development, and relate to general intelligence. The origins of these individual differences are unknown. To address this question, we conducted the first large-scale genetically sensitive investigation of number sense, assessing numerosity discrimination abilities in 837 pairs of monozygotic and 1422 pairs of dizygotic 16-year-old twin pairs. Univariate genetic analysis of the twin data revealed that number sense is modestly heritable (32%), with individual differences being largely explained by non-shared environmental influences (68%) and no contribution from shared environmental factors. Sex-Limitation model fitting revealed no differences between males and females in the etiology of individual differences in number sense abilities. We also carried out Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis (GCTA) that estimates the population variance explained by additive effects of DNA differences among unrelated individuals. For 1118 unrelated individuals in our sample with genotyping information on 1.7 million DNA markers, GCTA estimated zero heritability for number sense, unlike other cognitive abilities in the same twin study where the GCTA heritability estimates were about 25%. The low heritability of number sense, observed in this study, is consistent with the directional selection explanation whereby additive genetic variance for evolutionary important traits is reduced.

Finding the missing heritability in pediatric obesity: the contribution of genome-wide complex trait analysis.

Known single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) explain <2% of the variation in body mass index (BMI) despite the evidence of >50% heritability from twin and family studies, a phenomenon termed 'missing heritability'. Using DNA alone for unrelated individuals, a novel method (in a software package called Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis, GCTA) estimates the total additive genetic influence due to common SNPs on whole-genome arrays. GCTA has made major inroads into explaining the 'missing heritability' of BMI in adults. This study provides the first GCTA estimate of genetic influence on adiposity in children. Participants were from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), a British twin birth cohort. BMI s.d. scores (BMI-SDS) were obtained from validated parent-reported anthropometric measures when children were about 10 years old (mean=9.9; s.d.=0.84). Selecting one child per family (n=2269), GCTA results from 1.7 million DNA markers were used to quantify the additive genetic influence of common SNPs. For direct comparison, a standard twin analysis in the same families estimated the additive genetic influence as 82% (95% CI: 0.74-0.88, P<0.001). GCTA explained 30% of the variance in BMI-SDS (95% CI: 0.02-0.59; P=0.02). These results indicate that 37% of the twin-estimated heritability (30/82%) can be explained by additive effects of multiple common SNPs, and provide compelling evidence for strong genetic influence on adiposity in childhood.

Genetic effects influencing risk for major depressive disorder in China and Europe.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, complex psychiatric disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite twin studies indicating its modest heritability (~30-40%), extensive heterogeneity and a complex genetic architecture have complicated efforts to detect associated genetic risk variants. We combined single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) summary statistics from the CONVERGE and PGC studies of MDD, representing 10 502 Chinese (5282 cases and 5220 controls) and 18 663 European (9447 cases and 9215 controls) subjects. We determined the fraction of SNPs displaying consistent directions of effect, assessed the significance of polygenic risk scores and estimated the genetic correlation of MDD across ancestries. Subsequent trans-ancestry meta-analyses combined SNP-level evidence of association. Sign tests and polygenic score profiling weakly support an overlap of SNP effects between East Asian and European populations. We estimated the trans-ancestry genetic correlation of lifetime MDD as 0.33; female-only and recurrent MDD yielded estimates of 0.40 and 0.41, respectively. Common variants downstream of GPHN achieved genome-wide significance by Bayesian trans-ancestry meta-analysis (rs9323497; log10 Bayes Factor=8.08) but failed to replicate in an independent European sample (P=0.911). Gene-set enrichment analyses indicate enrichment of genes involved in neuronal development and axonal trafficking. We successfully demonstrate a partially shared polygenic basis of MDD in East Asian and European populations. Taken together, these findings support a complex etiology for MDD and possible population differences in predisposing genetic factors, with important implications for future genetic studies.

From modeling to measurement: developmental trends in genetic influence on adiposity in childhood.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence of increasing heritability of BMI over childhood can seem paradoxical given longer exposure to environmental influences. Genomic data were used to provide direct evidence of developmental increases in genetic influence. METHODS: BMI standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) at ages 4 and 10 were calculated for 2,556 twin pairs in the Twins Early Development Study. Twin analyses estimated heritability of BMI-SDS at each age and the longitudinal genetic correlation. One randomly selected twin per pair was genotyped. Genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) determined DNA-based heritability at each age and the longitudinal genomic correlation. Associations with a polygenic obesity risk score (PRS) using 28 obesity-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were assessed at each age, with bootstrapping to test the significance of the increase in variance explained. RESULTS: Twin-estimated heritability increased from age 4 (0.43; 95% CI: 0.35-0.53) to 10 (0.82; 0.74-0.88). GCTA-estimated heritability went from non-significant at 4 (0.20; -0.21 to 0.61) to significant at 10 (0.29; 0.01-0.57). Longitudinal genetic correlations derived from twins (0.58) and GCTA (0.66) were similar. The same PRS explained more variance at 10 than 4 years (R(2) Δ:0.024; 0.002-0.078). CONCLUSIONS: GCTA and PRS findings confirm twin-based results suggesting increasing genetic influence on adiposity during childhood despite substantial genetic stability.

Phenotypic and genetic structure of anxiety sensitivity in adolescence and early adulthood.

Anxiety sensitivity is a risk factor for emotional disorders. The structure of anxiety sensitivity was examined using phenotypic and genetic analyses. Self-reported anxiety sensitivity was measured at three time points from adolescence into young adulthood by 2651 individuals from the G1219 twin study. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed comparable statistical support for anxiety sensitivity models consisting of three or four dimensions across all time points. The three-factor model depicting Physical, Social and Mental anxiety-related concerns was favoured due to greater interpretability and parsimony. Multivariate quantitative genetic analyses supported a hierarchical structure with general genetic (.09-.61) and non-shared environmental (.39-.72) influences acting via a higher-order factor as well as dimension-specific genetic (.09-.21) and non-shared environmental (.23-.68) influences. The findings provide further evidence for a hierarchical structure underlying different dimensions of anxiety sensitivity.