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Our faces and brains

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Neurological, cognitive and genetic sciences share a longstanding interest in studying the relationship between the shape of the human skull and of the brain. However, the downstream biological genetic underpinnings of such interactions, if they exist, remain largely unknown. A new genetic study now reports on a set of genes that may be involved in substantially shaping the profile of our face and the physical shape of our brain, but not so much its capabilities.

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Fig. 1

Noctiluxx/E+/Getty (skull); DNY59/E+/Getty (brain)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Martijn P. van den Heuvel & Danielle Posthuma

  2. Department of Child Psychiatry, Section Complex Trait Genetics, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Martijn P. van den Heuvel & Danielle Posthuma

Authors
  1. Martijn P. van den Heuvel
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  2. Danielle Posthuma
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Correspondence to Martijn P. van den Heuvel.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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van den Heuvel, M.P., Posthuma, D. Our faces and brains. Nat Genet 53, 765–766 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00858-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00858-3

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