Vessal Arsalan, Alijanpourotaghsara Amirreza, Strelnikov David, Persely Aliz, Piroska Marton, Alijanpour Amirmasoud, Jokkel Zsofia, Szalontai Laszlo, Forgo Bianka, Kozak Lajos Rudolf, Bekesy-Szabo Adam, Maurovich-Horvat Pal, Tarnoki David Laszlo, Tarnoki Adam Domonkos
Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, 1082, Budapest, Hungary.
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, 702 81, Örebro, Sweden.
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2024 Dec;345:111909. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2024.111909. Epub 2024 Oct 5.
The limbic system and the hippocampus are complex brain structures with key roles in memory, emotions, sexual stimulation and learning, with subregion abnormalities associated with a range of disorders and psychopathologies. Our study aimed to explore the heritability of specific subfield structures within the limbic system and hippocampus first in a Caucasian twin sample with volBrain pipeline.
59 healthy adult Caucasian twin pairs from the Hungarian Twin Registry without any history of previous neurodegenerative or cerebrovascular diseases underwent brain MRI on a 3.0 T scanner (43 monozygotic, MZ and 16 dizygotic, DZ pairs, with a median age of 50±+27 years). The volBrain automated volumetry pipeline was used to calculate the subcortical and general brain volumes from three-dimensional T1-weighted images. Based on age- and sex-adjusted MZ and DZ intra-pair correlations, the univariate ACE model was applied to calculate additive genetic, shared and unshared environmental influences.
Adjusting for age and sex, moderate to strong heritability (A: 59.7 to 73.1 %) was found for most limbic cortex volumes, except for the volumes of entorhinal area and posterior cingulate gyrus where common environmental contribution was detected (C: 56.6 % and 65.0 %, respectively). A substantial heritability (A: 67.0 to 79.4 %) was estimated for the overall hippocampus and most subfield volumes, except for the CA2-CA3 region which was determinated by common environmental factors (C: 45.7 %). Unique environmental variance was a minor to moderate contributor across all variables (E: 20.6 to 54.3 %).
Albeit most limbic cortex, overall hippocampus and most subfield volumes are under substantial genetic influence in healthy adult twins, the volumes of entorhinal area, posterior cingulate gyrus and the CA2-CA3 region of the hippocampus are influenced common environmental factors. The findings underline the importance of unique environmental factors which may play a role in the prevention of disorders related to limbic cortex and hippocampus.
边缘系统和海马体是复杂的脑结构，在记忆、情感、性刺激和学习中起关键作用，其亚区域异常与一系列疾病和精神病理学相关。我们的研究旨在首先在一个使用volBrain管道的白种人双胞胎样本中探索边缘系统和海马体内特定子区域结构的遗传性。
来自匈牙利双胞胎登记处的59对健康成年白种人双胞胎，没有任何先前神经退行性或脑血管疾病史，在3.0 T扫描仪上进行了脑部MRI检查（43对同卵双胞胎，MZ和16对异卵双胞胎，DZ，中位年龄为50±27岁）。使用volBrain自动体积测量管道从三维T1加权图像计算皮质下和全脑体积。基于年龄和性别调整后的MZ和DZ对内相关性，应用单变量ACE模型计算加性遗传、共享和非共享环境影响。
在调整年龄和性别后，发现大多数边缘皮质体积具有中度至高度遗传性（A：59.7%至73.1%），但内嗅区和后扣带回的体积检测到共同环境贡献（C：分别为56.6%和65.0%）。估计整个海马体和大多数子区域体积具有较高遗传性（A：67.0%至79.4%），但CA2-CA3区域由共同环境因素决定（C：45.7%）。独特环境方差在所有变量中是一个较小至中度的贡献因素（E：20.6%至54.3%）。
尽管在健康成年双胞胎中，大多数边缘皮质、整个海马体和大多数子区域体积受到显著的遗传影响，但海马体的内嗅区、后扣带回和CA2-CA3区域的体积受到共同环境因素的影响。这些发现强调了独特环境因素的重要性，其可能在预防与边缘皮质和海马体相关的疾病中发挥作用。
