skip to main content


This content will become publicly available on October 10, 2024

Title: FTO variation and early frontostriatal brain development in children
Abstract Objective

Common obesity‐associated genetic variants at the fat mass and obesity‐associated (FTO) locus have been associated with appetitive behaviors and altered structure and function of frontostriatal brain regions. The authors aimed to investigate the influence ofFTOvariation on frontostriatal appetite circuits in early life.

Methods

Data were drawn from RESONANCE, a longitudinal study of early brain development. Growth trajectories of nucleus accumbens and frontal lobe volumes, as well as total gray matter and white matter volume, by risk allele (AA) carrier status onFTOsingle‐nucleotide polymorphism rs9939609 were examined in 228 children (102 female, 126 male) using magnetic resonance imaging assessments obtained from infancy through middle childhood. The authors fit functional concurrent regression models with brain volume outcomes over age as functional responses, andFTOgenotype, sex, BMIzscore, and maternal education were included as predictors.

Results

Bootstrap pointwise 95% CI for regression coefficient functions in the functional concurrent regression models showed that the AA group versus the group with no risk allele (TT) had greater nucleus accumbens volume (adjusted for total brain volume) in the interval of 750 to 2250 days (2–6 years).

Conclusions

These findings suggest that common genetic risk for obesity is associated with differences in early development of brain reward circuitry and argue for investigating dynamic relationships among genotype, brain, behavior, and weight throughout development.

 
more » « less
NSF-PAR ID:
10481744
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Obesity
Volume:
32
Issue:
1
ISSN:
1930-7381
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: p. 156-165
Size(s):
["p. 156-165"]
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more prevalent in males than in females, but the neurobiological mechanisms that give rise to this sex-bias are poorly understood. The female protective hypothesis suggests that the manifestation of ASD in females requires higher cumulative genetic and environmental risk relative to males. Here, we test this hypothesis by assessing the additive impact of several ASD-associatedOXTRvariants on reward network resting-state functional connectivity in males and females with and without ASD, and explore how genotype, sex, and diagnosis relate to heterogeneity in neuroendophenotypes. Females with ASD who carried a greater number of ASD-associated risk alleles in theOXTRgene showed greater functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc; hub of the reward network) and subcortical brain areas important for motor learning. Relative to males with ASD, females with ASD and higherOXTRrisk-allele-dosage showed increased connectivity between the NAcc, subcortical regions, and prefrontal brain areas involved in mentalizing. This increased connectivity between NAcc and prefrontal cortex mirrored the relationship between genetic risk and brain connectivity observed in neurotypical males showing that, under increasedOXTRgenetic risk load, females with ASD and neurotypical males displayed increased connectivity between reward-related brain regions and prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that females with ASD differentially modulate the effects of increased genetic risk on brain connectivity relative to males with ASD, providing new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms through which the female protective effect may manifest.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Studying genetic mechanisms underlying primate brain morphology can provide insight into the evolution of human brain structure and cognition. In humans, loss‐of‐function mutations in the gene coding for ASPM (Abnormal Spindle Microtubule Assembly) have been associated with primary microcephaly, which is defined by a significantly reduced brain volume, intellectual disability and delayed development. However, less is known about the effects of commonASPMvariation in humans and other primates. In this study, we characterized the degree of coding variation atASPMin a large sample of chimpanzees (N = 241), and examined potential associations between genotype and various measures of brain morphology. We identified and genotyped five non‐synonymous polymorphisms in exons 3 (V588G), 18 (Q2772K, K2796E, C2811Y) and 27 (I3427V). Using T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging of brains, we measured total brain volume, cerebral gray and white matter volume, cerebral ventricular volume, and cortical surface area in the same chimpanzees. We found a potential association betweenASPMV588G genotype and cerebral ventricular volume but not with the other measures. Additionally, we found that chimpanzee, bonobo, and human lineages each independently show a signature of acceleratedASPMprotein evolution. Overall, our results suggest the potential effects ofASPMvariation on cerebral cortical development, and emphasize the need for further functional studies. These results are the first evidence suggestingASPMvariation might play a role in shaping natural variation in brain structure in nonhuman primates.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    The endocannabinoid system is an important regulator of emotional responses such as fear, and a number of studies have implicated endocannabinoid signaling in anxiety. The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) C385A polymorphism, which is associated with enhanced endocannabinoid signaling in the brain, has been identified across species as a potential protective factor from anxiety. In particular, adults with the variant FAAH 385A allele have greater fronto‐amygdala connectivity and lower anxiety symptoms. Whether broader network‐level differences in connectivity exist, and when during development this neural phenotype emerges, remains unknown and represents an important next step in understanding how the FAAH C385A polymorphism impacts neurodevelopment and risk for anxiety disorders. Here, we leveraged data from 3,109 participants in the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study℠ (10.04 ± 0.62 years old; 44.23% female, 55.77% male) and a cross‐validated, data‐driven approach to examine associations between genetic variation and large‐scale resting‐state brain networks. Our findings revealed a distributed brain network, comprising functional connections that were both significantly greater (95% CI forpvalues = [<0.001, <0.001]) and lesser (95% CI forpvalues = [0.006, <0.001]) in A‐allele carriers relative to non‐carriers. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between genotype and the summarized connectivity of functional connections that were greater in A‐allele carriers, such that non‐carriers with connectivity more similar to A‐allele carriers (i.e., greater connectivity) had lower anxiety symptoms (β = −0.041,p = 0.030). These findings provide novel evidence of network‐level changes in neural connectivity associated with genetic variation in endocannabinoid signaling and suggest that genotype‐associated neural differences may emerge at a younger age than genotype‐associated differences in anxiety.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    From birth to 5 years of age, brain structure matures and evolves alongside emerging cognitive and behavioral abilities. In relating concurrent cognitive functioning and measures of brain structure, a major challenge that has impeded prior investigation of their time‐dynamic relationships is the sparse and irregular nature of most longitudinal neuroimaging data. We demonstrate how this problem can be addressed by applying functional concurrent regression models (FCRMs) to longitudinal cognitive and neuroimaging data. The application of FCRM in neuroimaging is illustrated with longitudinal neuroimaging and cognitive data acquired from a large cohort (n= 210) of healthy children, 2–48 months of age. Quantifying white matter myelination by using myelin water fraction (MWF) as imaging metric derived from MRI scans, application of this methodology reveals an early period (200–500 days) during which whole brain and regional white matter structure, as quantified by MWF, is positively associated with cognitive ability, while we found no such association for whole brain white matter volume. Adjusting for baseline covariates including socioeconomic status as measured by maternal education (SES‐ME), infant feeding practice, gender, and birth weight further reveals an increasing association between SES‐ME and cognitive development with child age. These results shed new light on the emerging patterns of brain and cognitive development, indicating that FCRM provides a useful tool for investigating these evolving relationships.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract Objectives

    Black older adults have a higher vascular burden compared to non‐Hispanic White (NHW) older adults, which may put them at risk for a form of depression known as vascular depression (VaDep). The literature examining VaDep in Black older adults is sparse. The current study addressed this important gap by examining whether vascular burden was associated with depressive symptoms in Black older adults.

    Methods

    Participants included 113 Black older adults from the Healthy Brain Project, a substudy of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study. In multiple regression analyses, clinical vascular burden (sum of vascular conditions) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume predicted depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, controlling for demographic variables. Follow‐up analyses compared the associations in the Black subsample and in 179 NHW older adults.

    Results

    Higher total WMH volume, but not clinically‐defined vascular burden, predicted higher concurrent depressive symptoms and higher average depressive symptoms over 4 years. Similar associations were found between uncinate fasciculus (UF) WMHs and concurrent depressive symptoms and between superior longitudinal fasciculus WMHs and average depressive symptoms. The association between depressive symptoms and UF WMH was stronger in Black compared to NHW individuals.

    Conclusion

    This research is consistent with the VaDep hypothesis and extends it to Black older adults, a group that has historically been underrepresented in the literature. Results highlight WMH in the UF as particularly relevant to depressive symptoms in Black older adults and suggest this group may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of WMH.

     
    more » « less