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Brain wiring economics, network organisation and population-level genomics
Alicja Monaghan1,2, Danyal Akarca1,3, Duncan E Astle1,4
1MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Imaging Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
|August 13, 2025
Summary
Genes influence brain structure by affecting network efficiency. Higher genetic propensity for cognitive ability leads to more efficient, randomized brain networks, suggesting genetic factors shape brain organization.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- The structural organization of the human brain is crucial for cognitive function.
- Understanding the genetic underpinnings of brain structure is a key challenge in neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of common genetic variants in shaping the structural organization of the living human brain.
- To explore the relationship between genetic propensity for cognitive ability and simulated brain network properties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized diffusion-based structural neuroimaging in 2,153 children (9-11 years old).
- Applied polygenic scores to assess genetic influence on cognitive ability.
- Employed computational modeling of brain connectomes, incorporating a cost-value trade-off for network formation.
Main Results:
- Individuals with higher genetic propensity for cognitive ability required a weaker wiring cost penalty to simulate their network properties.
- This softer distance penalty resulted in more stochastic, diverse, and efficient simulated networks.
- Gene expression data revealed overlapping biological pathways between polygenic scores and optimal cost-value trade-offs in network simulation.
Conclusions:
- Genetic propensity for cognitive ability influences the economic trade-offs governing brain network structure.
- Computational modeling integrating genetic data provides insights into how genes shape brain organization and function.
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