{"title":"Large-scale genetic mapping for human brain asymmetry.","authors":"Zhiqiang Sha, Clyde Francks","doi":"10.1016/B978-0-443-15646-5.00029-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Left-right asymmetry is an important aspect of human brain organization for functions including language and hand motor control, which can be altered in some psychiatric traits. The last 5 years have seen rapid advances in the identification of specific genes linked to variation in asymmetry of the human brain and/or handedness. These advances have been driven by a new generation of large-scale genome-wide association studies, carried out in samples ranging from roughly 16,000 to over 1.5 million participants. The implicated genes tend to be most active in the embryonic and fetal brain, consistent with early developmental patterning of brain asymmetry. Several of the genes encode components of microtubules or other microtubule-associated proteins. Microtubules are key elements of the internal cellular skeleton (cytoskeleton). A major challenge remains to understand how these genes affect, or even induce, the brain's left-right axis. Several of the implicated genes have also been associated with psychiatric or neurologic disorders, and polygenic dispositions to autism and schizophrenia have been associated with structural brain asymmetry. Knowledge of developmental mechanisms that lead to hemispheric specialization may ultimately help to define etiologic subtypes of brain disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":12907,"journal":{"name":"Handbook of clinical neurology","volume":"208 ","pages":"241-254"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Handbook of clinical neurology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-15646-5.00029-4","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Left-right asymmetry is an important aspect of human brain organization for functions including language and hand motor control, which can be altered in some psychiatric traits. The last 5 years have seen rapid advances in the identification of specific genes linked to variation in asymmetry of the human brain and/or handedness. These advances have been driven by a new generation of large-scale genome-wide association studies, carried out in samples ranging from roughly 16,000 to over 1.5 million participants. The implicated genes tend to be most active in the embryonic and fetal brain, consistent with early developmental patterning of brain asymmetry. Several of the genes encode components of microtubules or other microtubule-associated proteins. Microtubules are key elements of the internal cellular skeleton (cytoskeleton). A major challenge remains to understand how these genes affect, or even induce, the brain's left-right axis. Several of the implicated genes have also been associated with psychiatric or neurologic disorders, and polygenic dispositions to autism and schizophrenia have been associated with structural brain asymmetry. Knowledge of developmental mechanisms that lead to hemispheric specialization may ultimately help to define etiologic subtypes of brain disorders.
期刊介绍:
The Handbook of Clinical Neurology (HCN) was originally conceived and edited by Pierre Vinken and George Bruyn as a prestigious, multivolume reference work that would cover all the disorders encountered by clinicians and researchers engaged in neurology and allied fields. The first series of the Handbook (Volumes 1-44) was published between 1968 and 1982 and was followed by a second series (Volumes 45-78), guided by the same editors, which concluded in 2002. By that time, the Handbook had come to represent one of the largest scientific works ever published. In 2002, Professors Michael J. Aminoff, François Boller, and Dick F. Swaab took on the responsibility of supervising the third (current) series, the first volumes of which published in 2003. They have designed this series to encompass both clinical neurology and also the basic and clinical neurosciences that are its underpinning. Given the enormity and complexity of the accumulating literature, it is almost impossible to keep abreast of developments in the field, thus providing the raison d''être for the series. The series will thus appeal to clinicians and investigators alike, providing to each an added dimension. Now, more than 140 volumes after it began, the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series has an unparalleled reputation for providing the latest information on fundamental research on the operation of the nervous system in health and disease, comprehensive clinical information on neurological and related disorders, and up-to-date treatment protocols.