Genetic influences on brain structure

Here we report on detailed three-dimensional maps revealing how brain struc ture is influenced by individual genetic differences. A genetic continuum w as detected in which brain structure was increasingly similar in subjects w ith increasing genetic affinity. Genetic factors significantly influenced c ortical structure in Broca's and Wernicke's language areas, as well as fron tal brain regions (r(MZ)(2) > 0.8, p < 0.05). Preliminary correlations were performed suggesting that frontal gray matter differences may be linked to Spearman's g, which measures successful test performance across multiple c ognitive domains (p < 0.05). These genetic brain maps reveal how genes dete rmine individual differences, and may shed light on the heritability of cog nitive and linguistic skills, as well as genetic liability for diseases tha t affect the human cortex.