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Genetic Covariation Between Brain Volumes and IQ, Reading Performance, and Processing Speed

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Abstract

Although there has been much interest in the relation between brain size and cognition, few studies have investigated this relation within a genetic framework and fewer still in non-adult samples. We analyzed the genetic and environmental covariance between structural MRI data from four brain regions (total brain volume, neocortex, white matter, and prefrontal cortex), and four cognitive measures (verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), reading ability, and processing speed), in a sample of 41 MZ twin pairs and 30 same-sex DZ twin pairs (mean age at cognitive test = 11.4 years; mean age at scan = 15.4 years). Multivariate Cholesky decompositions were performed with each brain volume measure entered first, followed by the four cognitive measures. Consistent with previous research, each brain and cognitive measure was found to be significantly heritable. The novel finding was the significant genetic but not environmental covariance between brain volumes and cognitive measures. Specifically, PIQ shared significant common genetic variance with all four measures of brain volume (r g = .58–.82). In contrast, VIQ shared significant genetic influence with neocortex volume only (r g = .58). Processing speed was significant with total brain volume (r g = .79), neocortex (r g = .64), and white matter (r g = .89), but not prefrontal cortex. The only brain measure to share genetic influence with reading was total brain volume (r g = .32), which also shared genetic influences with processing speed.

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Notes

  1. Cholesky decompositions were also done with each cognitive variable entered in the first position, and the four brain volumes entered as the second through fifth variables, and the pattern of results was the same as what is presented here.

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Acknowledgments

Initial work on this paper was done when R. Betjemann was a postdoctoral trainee at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. This training was funded by NIMH training grant T32 MH016880-25. This project was also funded by NIH grant HD027802 to the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center, of which B. Pennington, J. DeFries, and E. Willcutt are Co-PIs.

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Author notes

  1. Erin Phinney Johnson

    Present address: Waterford Research Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

  2. Holly Barnard

    Present address: Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, D-12, Regis University, 3333 Regis Blvd., Denver, CO, 80221, USA

    Rebecca S. Betjemann

  2. University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Erin Phinney Johnson, Holly Barnard, Richard Boada & Bruce F. Pennington

  3. University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Denver, CO, USA

    Richard Boada & Christopher M. Filley

  4. Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver, CO, USA

    Christopher M. Filley

  5. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Pauline A. Filipek

  6. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Erik G. Willcutt & John C. DeFries

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  1. Rebecca S. Betjemann
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Correspondence to Rebecca S. Betjemann.

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Betjemann, R.S., Johnson, E.P., Barnard, H. et al. Genetic Covariation Between Brain Volumes and IQ, Reading Performance, and Processing Speed. Behav Genet 40, 135–145 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9328-2

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