title: Birth Weight and Adult IQ, but Not Anxious-Depressive Psychopathology, Are Associated with Cortical Surface Area: A Study in Twins.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous research suggests that low birth weight (BW) induces reduced brain cortical surface area (SA) which would persist until at least early adulthood. Moreover, low BW has been linked to psychiatric disorders such as depression and psychological distress, and to altered neurocognitive profiles.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We present novel findings obtained by analysing high-resolution structural MRI scans of 48 twins; specifically, we aimed: i) to test the BW-SA association in a middle-aged adult sample; and ii) to assess whether either depression/anxiety disorders or intellectual quotient (IQ) influence the BW-SA link, using a monozygotic (MZ) twin design to separate environmental and genetic effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both lower BW and decreased IQ were associated with smaller total and regional cortical SA in adulthood. Within a twin pair, lower BW was related to smaller total cortical and regional SA. In contrast, MZ twin differences in SA were not related to differences in either IQ or depression/anxiety disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study supports findings indicating that i) BW has a long-lasting effect on cortical SA, where some familial and environmental influences alter both foetal growth and brain morphology; ii) uniquely environmental factors affecting BW also alter SA; iii) higher IQ correlates with larger SA; and iv) these effects are not modified by internalizing psychopathology.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Córdova-Palomera
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fatjó-Vilas
authors.affiliation: Medical Image Core Facility, the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); C/Rosselló, 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomedicina y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), C/ Poeta Mariano Esquillor, s/n., 50018, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falcón
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain; Medical Image Core Facility, the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); C/Rosselló, 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Diagnóstico por Imagen, Hospital Clínico, C/Villarroel, 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bargalló
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alemany
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain; University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Av. Valdecilla, s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain; IFIMAV, Instituto de Formación e Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla, Av. Valdecilla, s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
authors.forename: Benedicto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crespo-Facorro
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nenadic
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanás
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001724:Birth Weight; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007360:Intelligence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011599:Psychopathology; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic; D055815:Young Adult