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What contributes to individual differences in brain structure?

Jenny Gu1, Ryota Kanai2

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Sussex Brighton, UK.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|May 9, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genetic and environmental factors significantly shape individual differences in adult human brain structure, influencing behavior, cognition, and health. This review examines how these factors contribute to brain variability.

Keywords:
brain structuregene environment interactionsindividual differencesplasticitystructural MRI

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Genetics
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Individual differences in adult human brain structure correlate with variations in behavior, cognitive abilities, and health.
  • Understanding the determinants of brain structure variability is crucial for fields like neuroscience and psychiatry.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and evaluate empirical literature on the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in human brain structure.
  • To examine the separate and interactive effects of genes and environment on brain morphology.

Main Methods:

  • Review of empirical studies including twin, genome-wide association, cross-sectional, and longitudinal designs.
  • Analysis of evidence for genetic influences on brain morphology.
  • Evaluation of environmental influences and gene-environment interactions/correlations on brain structure.

Main Results:

  • Both genetic factors and environmental influences play critical roles in determining individual variability in brain structure.
  • Evidence supports the notion that brain architecture is shaped by a combination of genetic predispositions and environmental exposures.
  • Gene-environment interactions and correlations further contribute to the complex landscape of brain structure variation.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic and environmental factors are fundamental contributors to individual differences in adult human brain structure.
  • The interplay between genes and environment is essential for understanding brain morphology variations.
  • This understanding has implications for behavior, cognition, and mental and physical health.