Genetics of Brain Structure and Function

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目标是确定与大脑结构和功能变异相关的数量性状位点。这项研究的最终前景是发现易导致大脑紊乱和精神疾病的基因。我们相信，在随机抽样的扩展谱系中分析遗传对大脑结构和功能的影响，将为了解正常和病理脑功能相关的基因提供重要线索。该项目的重点是定量内表型的遗传解剖，它比离散的疾病状态本身更直接地索引大脑功能的潜在生物学基础。为此，我们将对墨西哥裔美国人进行神经成像和神经心理学检查，这些人在过去15年里一直是我们正在进行的基因研究的一部分。所有参与者之前都进行了基因分型，我们的计划是利用现有的基因组扫描和全基因组定量转录组学数据与神经解剖学和神经认知变量的相关性。我们的具体目标是：1)对大约30个大家族的1000名墨西哥裔美国人进行高质量的脑磁共振成像和神经心理学检查，2)通过估计其遗传性和遗传相关性来评估脑相关表型的定量遗传结构，3)将特定的脑形态变量和定量白细胞衍生的基因表达测量分类为与脑功能相关的内表型，4)通过使用方差分量方法进行基于连锁的基因组扫描来定位影响定量脑相关表型变异的qtl； 5)使用联合利用计算机生物信息学、遗传和转录数据的客观优先级策略来细化定位qtl的位置并识别位置候选位点；6)确定两个最佳位置候选基因中最可能的功能变异。本项目涉及John Blangero博士、西南生物医学研究基金会和John Blangero博士的R01申请。圣安东尼奥德克萨斯大学健康科学中心的David Glahn和Peter Fox说。如果获得资助，我们的数据和生物材料将被纳入NIMH人类遗传学计划，使其可供更广泛的科学界的合格研究人员使用。与机构任务的相关性：与大脑有关的精神疾病是一个主要的公共卫生负担，其生物学原理在很大程度上仍然未知。通过识别参与大脑功能和结构的基因，我们将为这些疾病的决定因素提供新的生物学候选物，从而提高干预的潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to identify quantitative trait loci associated with variation in brain structure and function. The ultimate promise of this research is the discovery of genes that predispose to brain disorders and mental illnesses. We believe that the analysis of genetic influences on brain structure and function in randomly sampled extended pedigrees will provide significant clues regarding the genes that are involved in both normal and pathological brain function. The focus of the project is on the genetic dissection of quantitative endophenotypes that more directly index the underlying biological basis of brain function than do discrete disease states themselves. To this end, we will perform neuroimaging and conduct neuropsychological examinations on Mexican American individuals who have been part of our ongoing genetic research studies for the past 15 years. All participants were previously genotyped and our plan is to utilize existing genome scan and genome-wide quantitative transcriptomic data for correlation with neuroanatomic and neurocognitive variables. Our specific aims are to: 1) perform high quality brain magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological examinations on 1,000 Mexican Americans who are members of approximately 30 large extended families, 2) assess the quantitative genetic architecture of brain-related phenotypes by estimating their heritabilities and their genetic correlations, 3) classify specific brain morphological variables and quantitative leukocyte-derived gene expression measures as endophenotypes related to brain function, 4) localize QTLs influencing variation in the quantitative brain-related phenotypes by performing linkage-based genome scanning using the variance component method, 5) refine the position of localized QTLs and identify positional candidate loci using an objective prioritization strategy that jointly utilizes in silico bioinformatics, genetic, and transcriptional data, and 6) identify the most likely functional variations within the two best positional candidate genes. This project involves coordinated R01 applications from Dr. John Blangero, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, and Drs. David Glahn and Peter Fox, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. If funded, our data and biomaterials will be incorporated into the NIMH Human Genetics Initiative making them available to qualified researchers in the wider scientific community. Relevance to agency mission: Brain-related mental diseases are a major public health burden whose biology is still largely unknown. By identifying genes involved in brain function and structure, we will provide novel biological candidates for the determinants of such diseases and thus improve potential for intervention.