Cognitive and brain development is independently influenced by socioeconomic status and polygenic scores for educational attainment

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Nicholas Judd - , Karolinska Institutet (Author)
  • Bruno Sauce - , Karolinska Institutet (Author)
  • John Wiedenhoeft - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Jeshua Tromp - , Leiden University (Author)
  • Bader Chaarani - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • Alexander Schliep - , University of Gothenburg (Author)
  • Betteke van Noort - , MSB Medical School Berlin Hochschule für Gesundheit und Medizin (Author)
  • Jani Penttilä - , Tampere University (Author)
  • Yvonne Grimmer - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Corinna Insensee - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Andreas Becker - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Tobias Banaschewski - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Arun L.W. Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Erin Burke Quinlan - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Sylvane Desrivières - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Herta Flor - , Heidelberg University , University of Mannheim (Author)
  • Antoine Grigis - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Penny Gowland - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Andreas Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Bernd Ittermann - , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Author)
  • Jean Luc Martinot - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Marie Laure Paillère Martinot - , Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université (Author)
  • Eric Artiges - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Frauke Nees - , Heidelberg University , University of Mannheim (Author)
  • Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Tomáš Paus - , Bloorview Research Institute, University of Toronto (Author)
  • Luise Poustka - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Sarah Hohmann - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Sabina Millenet - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Juliane H. Fröhner - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Author)
  • Michael N. Smolka - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Henrik Walter - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Robert Whelan - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Gunter Schumann - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Hugh Garavan - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • Torkel Klingberg - , Karolinska Institutet (Author)

Abstract

Genetic factors and socioeconomic status (SES) inequalities play a large role in educational attainment, and both have been associated with variations in brain structure and cognition. However, genetics and SES are correlated, and no prior study has assessed their neural associations independently. Here we used a polygenic score for educational attainment (EduYears-PGS), as well as SES, in a longitudinal study of 551 adolescents to tease apart genetic and environmental associations with brain development and cognition. Subjects received a structural MRI scan at ages 14 and 19. At both time points, they performed three working memory (WM) tasks. SES and EduYears-PGS were correlated (r = 0.27) and had both common and independent associations with brain structure and cognition. Specifically, lower SES was related to less total cortical surface area and lower WM. EduYears-PGS was also related to total cortical surface area, but in addition had a regional association with surface area in the right parietal lobe, a region related to nonverbal cognitive functions, including mathematics, spatial cognition, and WM. SES, but not EduYears-PGS, was related to a change in total cortical surface area from age 14 to 19. This study demonstrates a regional association of EduYears-PGS and the independent prediction of SES with cognitive function and brain development. It suggests that the SES inequalities, in particular parental education, are related to global aspects of cortical development, and exert a persistent influence on brain development during adolescence.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume117
Issue number22
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jun 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 32430323
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890720
ORCID /0000-0002-8493-6396/work/161891642

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Development, Polygenic scores, Socioeconomic status, Structural MRI, Working memory