Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex

Tulio Guadalupe; Samuel R Mathias; Theo G M vanErp; Christopher D Whelan; Marcel P Zwiers; Yoshinari Abe; Lucija Abramovic; Ingrid Agartz; Ole A Andreassen; Alejandro Arias-Vásquez; Benjamin S Aribisala; Nicola J Armstrong; Volker Arolt; Eric Artiges; Rosa Ayesa-Arriola; Vatche G Baboyan; Tobias Banaschewski; Mark E Bastin; Bernhard T Baune; John Blangero; Arun L W Bokde; Premika S W Boedhoe; Anushree Bose; Silvia Brem; Henry Brodaty; Uli Bromberg; Samantha Brooks; Christian Büchel; Jan Buitelaar; Vince D Calhoun; Dara M Cannon; Anna Cattrell; Yuqi Cheng; Patricia J Conrod; Annette Conzelmann; Aiden Corvin; Benedicto Crespo-Facorro; Fabrice Crivello; Udo Dannlowski; Greig I de Zubicaray; Sonja M C de Zwarte; Ian J Deary; Sylvane Desrivières; Nhat Trung Doan; Gary Donohoe; Erlend S Dørum; Stefan Ehrlich; Thomas Espeseth; Guillén Fernández; Herta Flor; Jean-Paul Fouche; Vincent Frouin; Masaki Fukunaga; Jürgen Gallinat; Hugh Garavan; Andrea Gonzalez Suarez; Penny Gowland; Hans J Grabe; Dominik Grotegerd; Oliver Gruber; Saskia Hagenaars; Ryota Hashimoto; Tobias U Hauser; Andreas Heinz; Derrek P Hibar; Pieter J Hoekstra; Martine Hoogman; Fleur M Howells; Hao Hu; Hilleke E Hulshoff Pol; Chaim Huyser; Bernd Ittermann; Neda Jahanshad; Erik G Jönsson; Sarah Jurk; Rene S Kahn; Sinead Kelly; Bernd Kraemer; Harald Kugel; Jun Soo Kwon; Herve Lemaitre; Klaus-Peter Lesch; Christine Lochner; Michelle Luciano; Andre F Marquand; Nicholas G Martin; Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín; Jean-Luc Martinot; David Mataix-Cols; Karen Mather; Colm McDonald; Katie L McMahon; José M Menchón; Derek W Morris; Omar Mothersill; Susana Munoz Maniega; Benson Mwangi; Takashi Nakamae; Tomohiro Nakao; Janardhanan C Narayanaswaamy; Frauke Nees; Jan E Nordvik; A Marten H Onnink; Nils Opel; Roel Ophoff; Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot; Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos; Paul Pauli; Tomáš Paus; Luise Poustka; Janardhan Yc Reddy; Miguel E Renteria; Roberto Roiz-Santiáñez; Annerine Roos; Natalie A Royle; Perminder Sachdev; Pascual Sánchez-Juan; Lianne Schmaal; Gunter Schumann; Elena Shumskaya; Michael N Smolka; Jair C Soares; Carles Soriano-Mas; Dan J Stein; Lachlan T Strike; Roberto Toro; Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer; Anne Uhlmann; Maria Valdés Hernández; Odile A van den Heuvel; Dennis van der Meer; Neeltje E M van Haren; Dick J Veltman; Ganesan Venkatasubramanian; Nora C Vetter; Daniella Vuletic; Susanne Walitza; Henrik Walter; Esther Walton; Zhen Wang; Joanna Wardlaw; Wei Wen; Lars T Westlye; Robert Whelan; Katharina Wittfeld; Thomas Wolfers; Margaret J Wright; Xiufeng Xu; Je-Yeon Yun; JingJing Zhao; Barbara Franke; David C Glahn; Bernard Mazoyer; Simon E Fisher; Clyde Francks

doi:10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z

Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex

Tulio Guadalupe, Samuel R Mathias, Theo G M vanErp, Christopher D Whelan, Marcel P Zwiers, Yoshinari Abe, Lucija Abramovic, Ingrid Agartz, Ole A Andreassen, Alejandro Arias-Vásquez, Benjamin S Aribisala, Nicola J Armstrong, Volker Arolt, Eric Artiges, Rosa Ayesa-Arriola, Vatche G Baboyan, Tobias Banaschewski, Mark E Bastin, Bernhard T Baune, John BlangeroArun L W Bokde, Premika S W Boedhoe, Anushree Bose, Silvia Brem, Henry Brodaty, Uli Bromberg, Samantha Brooks, Christian Büchel, Jan Buitelaar, Vince D Calhoun, Dara M Cannon, Anna Cattrell, Yuqi Cheng, Patricia J Conrod, Annette Conzelmann, Aiden Corvin, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Fabrice Crivello, Udo Dannlowski, Greig I de Zubicaray, Sonja M C de Zwarte, Ian J Deary, Sylvane Desrivières, Nhat Trung Doan, Gary Donohoe, Erlend S Dørum, Stefan Ehrlich, Thomas Espeseth, Guillén Fernández, Herta Flor, Jean-Paul Fouche, Vincent Frouin, Masaki Fukunaga, Jürgen Gallinat, Hugh Garavan, Andrea Gonzalez Suarez, Penny Gowland, Hans J Grabe, Dominik Grotegerd, Oliver Gruber, Saskia Hagenaars, Ryota Hashimoto, Tobias U Hauser, Andreas Heinz, Derrek P Hibar, Pieter J Hoekstra, Martine Hoogman, Fleur M Howells, Hao Hu, Hilleke E Hulshoff Pol, Chaim Huyser, Bernd Ittermann, Neda Jahanshad, Erik G Jönsson, Sarah Jurk, Rene S Kahn, Sinead Kelly, Bernd Kraemer, Harald Kugel, Jun Soo Kwon, Herve Lemaitre, Klaus-Peter Lesch, Christine Lochner, Michelle Luciano, Andre F Marquand, Nicholas G Martin, Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín, Jean-Luc Martinot, David Mataix-Cols, Karen Mather, Colm McDonald, Katie L McMahon, José M Menchón, Derek W Morris, Omar Mothersill, Susana Munoz Maniega, Benson Mwangi, Takashi Nakamae, Tomohiro Nakao, Janardhanan C Narayanaswaamy, Frauke Nees, Jan E Nordvik, A Marten H Onnink, Nils Opel, Roel Ophoff, Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot, Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos, Paul Pauli, Tomáš Paus, Luise Poustka, Janardhan Yc Reddy, Miguel E Renteria, Roberto Roiz-Santiáñez, Annerine Roos, Natalie A Royle, Perminder Sachdev, Pascual Sánchez-Juan, Lianne Schmaal, Gunter Schumann, Elena Shumskaya, Michael N Smolka, Jair C Soares, Carles Soriano-Mas, Dan J Stein, Lachlan T Strike, Roberto Toro, Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer, Anne Uhlmann, Maria Valdés Hernández, Odile A van den Heuvel, Dennis van der Meer, Neeltje E M van Haren, Dick J Veltman, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian, Nora C Vetter, Daniella Vuletic, Susanne Walitza, Henrik Walter, Esther Walton, Zhen Wang, Joanna Wardlaw, Wei Wen, Lars T Westlye, Robert Whelan, Katharina Wittfeld, Thomas Wolfers, Margaret J Wright, Xiufeng Xu, Je-Yeon Yun, JingJing Zhao, Barbara Franke, David C Glahn, Bernard Mazoyer, Simon E Fisher, Clyde Francks

Department of Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

92 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods. Volumetric asymmetry of seven subcortical structures was assessed in 15,847 MRI scans from 52 datasets worldwide. There were sex differences in the asymmetry of the globus pallidus and putamen. Heritability estimates, derived from 1170 subjects belonging to 71 extended pedigrees, revealed that additive genetic factors influenced the asymmetry of these two structures and that of the hippocampus and thalamus. Handedness had no detectable effect on subcortical asymmetries, even in this unprecedented sample size, but the asymmetry of the putamen varied with age. Genetic drivers of asymmetry in the hippocampus, thalamus and basal ganglia may affect variability in human cognition, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1497-1514
Number of pages	18
Journal	Brain Imaging and Behavior
Early online date	13 Oct 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z
Publication status	Published - 31 Oct 2017

Keywords

Subcortical brain asymmetry
Age
Handedness
Sex
Enigma
Heritability
Meta-analysis

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10.1007/s11682-016-9629-zLicence: CC BY

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Guadalupe, T., Mathias, S. R., vanErp, T. G. M., Whelan, C. D., Zwiers, M. P., Abe, Y., Abramovic, L., Agartz, I., Andreassen, O. A., Arias-Vásquez, A., Aribisala, B. S., Armstrong, N. J., Arolt, V., Artiges, E., Ayesa-Arriola, R., Baboyan, V. G., Banaschewski, T., Bastin, M. E., Baune, B. T., ... Francks, C. (2017). Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 1497-1514. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z

Guadalupe, T, Mathias, SR, vanErp, TGM, Whelan, CD, Zwiers, MP, Abe, Y, Abramovic, L, Agartz, I, Andreassen, OA, Arias-Vásquez, A, Aribisala, BS, Armstrong, NJ, Arolt, V, Artiges, E, Ayesa-Arriola, R, Baboyan, VG, Banaschewski, T, Bastin, ME, Baune, BT, Blangero, J, Bokde, ALW, Boedhoe, PSW, Bose, A, Brem, S, Brodaty, H, Bromberg, U, Brooks, S, Büchel, C, Buitelaar, J, Calhoun, VD, Cannon, DM, Cattrell, A, Cheng, Y, Conrod, PJ, Conzelmann, A, Corvin, A, Crespo-Facorro, B, Crivello, F, Dannlowski, U, de Zubicaray, GI, de Zwarte, SMC, Deary, IJ, Desrivières, S, Doan, NT, Donohoe, G, Dørum, ES, Ehrlich, S, Espeseth, T, Fernández, G, Flor, H, Fouche, J-P, Frouin, V, Fukunaga, M, Gallinat, J, Garavan, H, Suarez, AG, Gowland, P, Grabe, HJ, Grotegerd, D, Gruber, O, Hagenaars, S, Hashimoto, R, Hauser, TU, Heinz, A, Hibar, DP, Hoekstra, PJ, Hoogman, M, Howells, FM, Hu, H, Hulshoff Pol, HE, Huyser, C, Ittermann, B, Jahanshad, N, Jönsson, EG, Jurk, S, Kahn, RS, Kelly, S, Kraemer, B, Kugel, H, Kwon, JS, Lemaitre, H, Lesch, K-P, Lochner, C, Luciano, M, Marquand, AF, Martin, NG, Martínez-Zalacaín, I, Martinot, J-L, Mataix-Cols, D, Mather, K, McDonald, C, McMahon, KL, Menchón, JM, Morris, DW, Mothersill, O, Maniega, SM, Mwangi, B, Nakamae, T, Nakao, T, Narayanaswaamy, JC, Nees, F, Nordvik, JE, Onnink, AMH, Opel, N, Ophoff, R, Paillère Martinot, M-L, Papadopoulos Orfanos, D, Pauli, P, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Reddy, JY, Renteria, ME, Roiz-Santiáñez, R, Roos, A, Royle, NA, Sachdev, P, Sánchez-Juan, P, Schmaal, L, Schumann, G, Shumskaya, E, Smolka, MN, Soares, JC, Soriano-Mas, C, Stein, DJ, Strike, LT, Toro, R, Tzourio-Mazoyer, N, Uhlmann, A, Hernández, MV, van den Heuvel, OA, van der Meer, D, van Haren, NEM, Veltman, DJ, Venkatasubramanian, G, Vetter, NC, Vuletic, D, Walitza, S, Walter, H, Walton, E, Wang, Z, Wardlaw, J, Wen, W, Westlye, LT, Whelan, R, Wittfeld, K, Wolfers, T, Wright, MJ, Xu, X, Yun, J-Y, Zhao, J, Franke, B, Glahn, DC, Mazoyer, B, Fisher, SE & Francks, C 2017, 'Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex', Brain Imaging and Behavior, pp. 1497-1514. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z

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title = "Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex",

abstract = "The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods. Volumetric asymmetry of seven subcortical structures was assessed in 15,847 MRI scans from 52 datasets worldwide. There were sex differences in the asymmetry of the globus pallidus and putamen. Heritability estimates, derived from 1170 subjects belonging to 71 extended pedigrees, revealed that additive genetic factors influenced the asymmetry of these two structures and that of the hippocampus and thalamus. Handedness had no detectable effect on subcortical asymmetries, even in this unprecedented sample size, but the asymmetry of the putamen varied with age. Genetic drivers of asymmetry in the hippocampus, thalamus and basal ganglia may affect variability in human cognition, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.",

keywords = "Subcortical brain asymmetry, Age, Handedness, Sex, Enigma, Heritability, Meta-analysis",

author = "Tulio Guadalupe and Mathias, {Samuel R} and vanErp, {Theo G M} and Whelan, {Christopher D} and Zwiers, {Marcel P} and Yoshinari Abe and Lucija Abramovic and Ingrid Agartz and Andreassen, {Ole A} and Alejandro Arias-V{\'a}squez and Aribisala, {Benjamin S} and Armstrong, {Nicola J} and Volker Arolt and Eric Artiges and Rosa Ayesa-Arriola and Baboyan, {Vatche G} and Tobias Banaschewski and Bastin, {Mark E} and Baune, {Bernhard T} and John Blangero and Bokde, {Arun L W} and Boedhoe, {Premika S W} and Anushree Bose and Silvia Brem and Henry Brodaty and Uli Bromberg and Samantha Brooks and Christian B{\"u}chel and Jan Buitelaar and Calhoun, {Vince D} and Cannon, {Dara M} and Anna Cattrell and Yuqi Cheng and Conrod, {Patricia J} and Annette Conzelmann and Aiden Corvin and Benedicto Crespo-Facorro and Fabrice Crivello and Udo Dannlowski and {de Zubicaray}, {Greig I} and {de Zwarte}, {Sonja M C} and Deary, {Ian J} and Sylvane Desrivi{\`e}res and Doan, {Nhat Trung} and Gary Donohoe and D{\o}rum, {Erlend S} and Stefan Ehrlich and Thomas Espeseth and Guill{\'e}n Fern{\'a}ndez and Herta Flor and Jean-Paul Fouche and Vincent Frouin and Masaki Fukunaga and J{\"u}rgen Gallinat and Hugh Garavan and Suarez, {Andrea Gonzalez} and Penny Gowland and Grabe, {Hans J} and Dominik Grotegerd and Oliver Gruber and Saskia Hagenaars and Ryota Hashimoto and Hauser, {Tobias U} and Andreas Heinz and Hibar, {Derrek P} and Hoekstra, {Pieter J} and Martine Hoogman and Howells, {Fleur M} and Hao Hu and {Hulshoff Pol}, {Hilleke E} and Chaim Huyser and Bernd Ittermann and Neda Jahanshad and J{\"o}nsson, {Erik G} and Sarah Jurk and Kahn, {Rene S} and Sinead Kelly and Bernd Kraemer and Harald Kugel and Kwon, {Jun Soo} and Herve Lemaitre and Klaus-Peter Lesch and Christine Lochner and Michelle Luciano and Marquand, {Andre F} and Martin, {Nicholas G} and Ignacio Mart{\'i}nez-Zalaca{\'i}n and Jean-Luc Martinot and David Mataix-Cols and Karen Mather and Colm McDonald and McMahon, {Katie L} and Mench{\'o}n, {Jos{\'e} M} and Morris, {Derek W} and Omar Mothersill and Maniega, {Susana Munoz} and Benson Mwangi and Takashi Nakamae and Tomohiro Nakao and Narayanaswaamy, {Janardhanan C} and Frauke Nees and Nordvik, {Jan E} and Onnink, {A Marten H} and Nils Opel and Roel Ophoff and {Paill{\`e}re Martinot}, Marie-Laure and {Papadopoulos Orfanos}, Dimitri and Paul Pauli and Tom{\'a}{\v s} Paus and Luise Poustka and Reddy, {Janardhan Yc} and Renteria, {Miguel E} and Roberto Roiz-Santi{\'a}{\~n}ez and Annerine Roos and Royle, {Natalie A} and Perminder Sachdev and Pascual S{\'a}nchez-Juan and Lianne Schmaal and Gunter Schumann and Elena Shumskaya and Smolka, {Michael N} and Soares, {Jair C} and Carles Soriano-Mas and Stein, {Dan J} and Strike, {Lachlan T} and Roberto Toro and Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer and Anne Uhlmann and Hern{\'a}ndez, {Maria Vald{\'e}s} and {van den Heuvel}, {Odile A} and {van der Meer}, Dennis and {van Haren}, {Neeltje E M} and Veltman, {Dick J} and Ganesan Venkatasubramanian and Vetter, {Nora C} and Daniella Vuletic and Susanne Walitza and Henrik Walter and Esther Walton and Zhen Wang and Joanna Wardlaw and Wei Wen and Westlye, {Lars T} and Robert Whelan and Katharina Wittfeld and Thomas Wolfers and Wright, {Margaret J} and Xiufeng Xu and Je-Yeon Yun and JingJing Zhao and Barbara Franke and Glahn, {David C} and Bernard Mazoyer and Fisher, {Simon E} and Clyde Francks",

year = "2017",

month = oct,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z",

language = "English",

pages = "1497--1514",

journal = "Brain Imaging and Behavior",

issn = "1931-7557",

publisher = "Springer",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex

AU - Guadalupe, Tulio

AU - Mathias, Samuel R

AU - vanErp, Theo G M

AU - Whelan, Christopher D

AU - Zwiers, Marcel P

AU - Abe, Yoshinari

AU - Abramovic, Lucija

AU - Agartz, Ingrid

AU - Andreassen, Ole A

AU - Arias-Vásquez, Alejandro

AU - Aribisala, Benjamin S

AU - Armstrong, Nicola J

AU - Arolt, Volker

AU - Artiges, Eric

AU - Ayesa-Arriola, Rosa

AU - Baboyan, Vatche G

AU - Banaschewski, Tobias

AU - Bastin, Mark E

AU - Baune, Bernhard T

AU - Blangero, John

AU - Bokde, Arun L W

AU - Boedhoe, Premika S W

AU - Bose, Anushree

AU - Brem, Silvia

AU - Brodaty, Henry

AU - Bromberg, Uli

AU - Brooks, Samantha

AU - Büchel, Christian

AU - Buitelaar, Jan

AU - Calhoun, Vince D

AU - Cannon, Dara M

AU - Cattrell, Anna

AU - Cheng, Yuqi

AU - Conrod, Patricia J

AU - Conzelmann, Annette

AU - Corvin, Aiden

AU - Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto

AU - Crivello, Fabrice

AU - Dannlowski, Udo

AU - de Zubicaray, Greig I

AU - de Zwarte, Sonja M C

AU - Deary, Ian J

AU - Desrivières, Sylvane

AU - Doan, Nhat Trung

AU - Donohoe, Gary

AU - Dørum, Erlend S

AU - Ehrlich, Stefan

AU - Espeseth, Thomas

AU - Fernández, Guillén

AU - Flor, Herta

AU - Fouche, Jean-Paul

AU - Frouin, Vincent

AU - Fukunaga, Masaki

AU - Gallinat, Jürgen

AU - Garavan, Hugh

AU - Suarez, Andrea Gonzalez

AU - Gowland, Penny

AU - Grabe, Hans J

AU - Grotegerd, Dominik

AU - Gruber, Oliver

AU - Hagenaars, Saskia

AU - Hashimoto, Ryota

AU - Hauser, Tobias U

AU - Heinz, Andreas

AU - Hibar, Derrek P

AU - Hoekstra, Pieter J

AU - Hoogman, Martine

AU - Howells, Fleur M

AU - Hu, Hao

AU - Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E

AU - Huyser, Chaim

AU - Ittermann, Bernd

AU - Jahanshad, Neda

AU - Jönsson, Erik G

AU - Jurk, Sarah

AU - Kahn, Rene S

AU - Kelly, Sinead

AU - Kraemer, Bernd

AU - Kugel, Harald

AU - Kwon, Jun Soo

AU - Lemaitre, Herve

AU - Lesch, Klaus-Peter

AU - Lochner, Christine

AU - Luciano, Michelle

AU - Marquand, Andre F

AU - Martin, Nicholas G

AU - Martínez-Zalacaín, Ignacio

AU - Martinot, Jean-Luc

AU - Mataix-Cols, David

AU - Mather, Karen

AU - McDonald, Colm

AU - McMahon, Katie L

AU - Menchón, José M

AU - Morris, Derek W

AU - Mothersill, Omar

AU - Maniega, Susana Munoz

AU - Mwangi, Benson

AU - Nakamae, Takashi

AU - Nakao, Tomohiro

AU - Narayanaswaamy, Janardhanan C

AU - Nees, Frauke

AU - Nordvik, Jan E

AU - Onnink, A Marten H

AU - Opel, Nils

AU - Ophoff, Roel

AU - Paillère Martinot, Marie-Laure

AU - Papadopoulos Orfanos, Dimitri

AU - Pauli, Paul

AU - Paus, Tomáš

AU - Poustka, Luise

AU - Reddy, Janardhan Yc

AU - Renteria, Miguel E

AU - Roiz-Santiáñez, Roberto

AU - Roos, Annerine

AU - Royle, Natalie A

AU - Sachdev, Perminder

AU - Sánchez-Juan, Pascual

AU - Schmaal, Lianne

AU - Schumann, Gunter

AU - Shumskaya, Elena

AU - Smolka, Michael N

AU - Soares, Jair C

AU - Soriano-Mas, Carles

AU - Stein, Dan J

AU - Strike, Lachlan T

AU - Toro, Roberto

AU - Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

AU - Uhlmann, Anne

AU - Hernández, Maria Valdés

AU - van den Heuvel, Odile A

AU - van der Meer, Dennis

AU - van Haren, Neeltje E M

AU - Veltman, Dick J

AU - Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan

AU - Vetter, Nora C

AU - Vuletic, Daniella

AU - Walitza, Susanne

AU - Walter, Henrik

AU - Walton, Esther

AU - Wang, Zhen

AU - Wardlaw, Joanna

AU - Wen, Wei

AU - Westlye, Lars T

AU - Whelan, Robert

AU - Wittfeld, Katharina

AU - Wolfers, Thomas

AU - Wright, Margaret J

AU - Xu, Xiufeng

AU - Yun, Je-Yeon

AU - Zhao, JingJing

AU - Franke, Barbara

AU - Glahn, David C

AU - Mazoyer, Bernard

AU - Fisher, Simon E

AU - Francks, Clyde

PY - 2017/10/31

Y1 - 2017/10/31

N2 - The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods. Volumetric asymmetry of seven subcortical structures was assessed in 15,847 MRI scans from 52 datasets worldwide. There were sex differences in the asymmetry of the globus pallidus and putamen. Heritability estimates, derived from 1170 subjects belonging to 71 extended pedigrees, revealed that additive genetic factors influenced the asymmetry of these two structures and that of the hippocampus and thalamus. Handedness had no detectable effect on subcortical asymmetries, even in this unprecedented sample size, but the asymmetry of the putamen varied with age. Genetic drivers of asymmetry in the hippocampus, thalamus and basal ganglia may affect variability in human cognition, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.

AB - The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods. Volumetric asymmetry of seven subcortical structures was assessed in 15,847 MRI scans from 52 datasets worldwide. There were sex differences in the asymmetry of the globus pallidus and putamen. Heritability estimates, derived from 1170 subjects belonging to 71 extended pedigrees, revealed that additive genetic factors influenced the asymmetry of these two structures and that of the hippocampus and thalamus. Handedness had no detectable effect on subcortical asymmetries, even in this unprecedented sample size, but the asymmetry of the putamen varied with age. Genetic drivers of asymmetry in the hippocampus, thalamus and basal ganglia may affect variability in human cognition, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.

KW - Subcortical brain asymmetry

KW - Age

KW - Handedness

KW - Sex

KW - Enigma

KW - Heritability

KW - Meta-analysis

U2 - 10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z

DO - 10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z

M3 - Article

SN - 1931-7557

SP - 1497

EP - 1514

JO - Brain Imaging and Behavior

JF - Brain Imaging and Behavior

ER -

Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex

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