Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Measuring Connectivity in the Primary Visual Pathway in Human Albinism Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Tractography
Published on: August 11, 2016
Heritability of anterior and posterior visual N1
D J A Smit1, D Posthuma, D I Boomsma
1Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. dja.smit@psy.vu.nl
Abstract:
Previous studies have reported that individual variation in N1 amplitude is related to attentional problems and alcoholism. Using data from 651 twins and siblings from 292 families we examined whether variation in N1 amplitude and latency can be explained by genetic factors. In half of the subjects the age centered around 26 (young adult cohort), in the other half the age centered around 49 (middle-aged adult cohort). Two visual N1 components were identified by a spatial PCA -- an early anterior component peaking from 88 to 168 ms after stimulus presentation and a posterior one peaking from 132 to 220 ms. Significant heritability was found for anterior N1 amplitude (22%) and posterior amplitude (50%), and for anterior latency (45%) and posterior latency (43%). We conclude that visual N1 amplitude and latency may serve as endophenotypes to detect genetic variation in susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.
Related Concept Videos
Vision
Visual Agnosia
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Cranial Nerves: Types Part I
Olfactory Nerve (Cranial Nerve I)
The olfactory nerve, or cranial nerve I, is unique as it is purely sensory and dedicated to the sense of smell. This nerve originates in the olfactory epithelium of the...
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

