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Genetic contributions to Trail Making Test performance in UK Biobank
S P Hagenaars1,2,3,4, S R Cox1,2, W D Hill1,2
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Molecular Psychiatry
|September 20, 2017
Summary
The Trail Making Test (TMT) reveals significant genetic links to cognitive abilities. This executive function test shares genetic roots with general cognition, processing speed, and memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Psychology
Background:
- The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a key measure of executive function.
- It is widely believed to correlate strongly with general cognitive abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic architecture of the TMT.
- To explore shared genetic influences between TMT performance and other cognitive tests.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 23,821 participants from the UK Biobank.
- Calculation of single-nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability for TMT measures.
- Assessment of genetic correlations and polygenic profile analysis with cognitive tests.
Main Results:
- Heritability estimates for TMT parts A, B, and B-A were 7.9%, 22.4%, and 17.6% respectively.
- Significant genetic correlations were found between TMT measures and verbal-numerical reasoning, general cognitive function, processing speed, and memory.
- Polygenic analysis confirmed substantial shared genetic etiology between TMT and general cognitive function, processing speed, and memory.
Conclusions:
- The TMT is strongly associated with general cognitive function and processing speed, both phenotypically and genetically.
- These findings highlight the complex genetic underpinnings of executive functions and their overlap with broader cognitive domains.
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