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Three-Dimensional Shape Modeling and Analysis of Brain Structures
Published on: November 14, 2019
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Multidimensional heritability analysis of neuroanatomical shape
Tian Ge1,2,3, Martin Reuter1,4, Anderson M Winkler5
1Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
Nature Communications
|November 16, 2016
Summary
Neuroanatomical shape measurements are heritable, offering new insights into brain genetics. This study reveals shape as a valuable phenotype beyond volume for understanding brain structure and disease.
Area of Science:
- Neurogenetics
- Biomedical Data Analysis
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Multidimensional phenotype vectors are crucial for understanding genetic influences on brain features, behavior, and disease.
- Neuroanatomical shape measurements from MRI scans represent an underexplored class of multidimensional phenotypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the concept of heritability to multidimensional traits.
- To conduct a comprehensive analysis of the heritability of neuroanatomical shape measurements across various brain structures.
- To establish neuroanatomical shape as a complementary phenotype for genetic studies.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and MRI data from 1,320 unrelated, healthy individuals.
- Extension of heritability concepts to multidimensional traits.
- Replication of findings in a twin sample from the Human Connectome Project (HCP).
Main Results:
- Neuroanatomical shape measurements demonstrate significant heritability.
- Heritability of shape is observed independently of brain volume.
- Shape phenotypes provide complementary genetic information compared to volumetric data.
Conclusions:
- Neuroanatomical shape is a heritable trait, offering a novel avenue for genetic research.
- Shape measurements serve as a valuable, complementary phenotype to volume for studying genetic determinants of brain structure.
- This approach can enhance the understanding of the clinical relevance of brain structure variations.
