title: A genome-wide search for quantitative trait loci affecting the cortical surface area and thickness of Heschl's gyrus.
abstract: Heschl's gyrus (HG) is a core region of the auditory cortex whose morphology is highly variable across individuals. This variability has been linked to sound perception ability in both speech and music domains. Previous studies show that variations in morphological features of HG, such as cortical surface area and thickness, are heritable. To identify genetic variants that affect HG morphology, we conducted a genome-wide association scan (GWAS) meta-analysis in 3054 healthy individuals using HG surface area and thickness as quantitative traits. None of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed association P values that would survive correction for multiple testing over the genome. The most significant association was found between right HG area and SNP rs72932726 close to gene DCBLD2 (3q12.1; P=2.77 × 10(-7) ). This SNP was also associated with other regions involved in speech processing. The SNP rs333332 within gene KALRN (3q21.2; P=2.27 × 10(-6) ) and rs143000161 near gene COBLL1 (2q24.3; P=2.40 × 10(-6) ) were associated with the area and thickness of left HG, respectively. Both genes are involved in the development of the nervous system. The SNP rs7062395 close to the X-linked deafness gene POU3F4 was associated with right HG thickness (Xq21.1; P=2.38 × 10(-6) ). This is the first molecular genetic analysis of variability in HG morphology.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: D-C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fonteijn
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guadalupe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zwiers
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wittfeld
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teumer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoogman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arias-Vásquez
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buitelaar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Bokhoven
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hegenscheid
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Homuth
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Grabe
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Francks
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hagoort
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D015894:Genome, Human; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D050809:POU Domain Factors / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C436326:DCBLD2 protein, human; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D050809:POU Domain Factors; C091774:POU3F4 protein, human; C471638:CBLL1 protein, human; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; C503866:KALRN protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Auditory network; Heschl's gyrus; genetics; genome-wide association scan; language network; magnetic resonance imaging; speech processing; surface-based