Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Association of Copy Number Variation of the 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 Region with Cortical and Subcortical Morphology and Cognition

  • Dennis Van Der Meer
  • , Ida E. Sønderby
  • , Tobias Kaufmann
  • , G. Bragi Walters
  • , Abdel Abdellaoui
  • , David Ames
  • , Katrin Amunts
  • , Micael Andersson
  • , Nicola J. Armstrong
  • , Manon Bernard
  • , Nicholas B. Blackburn
  • , John Blangero
  • , Dorret I. Boomsma
  • , Henry Brodaty
  • , Rachel M. Brouwer
  • , Robin Bülow
  • , Wiepke Cahn
  • , Vince D. Calhoun
  • , Svenja Caspers
  • , Gianpiero L. Cavalleri
  • Christopher R.K. Ching, Sven Cichon, Simone Ciufolini, Aiden Corvin, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Joanne E. Curran, Shareefa Dalvie, Paola Dazzan, Eco J.C. De Geus, Greig I. De Zubicaray, Sonja M.C. De Zwarte, Norman Delanty, Anouk Den Braber, Sylvane Desrivieres, Marta Di Forti, Joanne L. Doherty, Gary Donohoe, Stefan Ehrlich, Else Eising, Thomas Espeseth, Simon E. Fisher, Tormod Fladby, Oleksandr Frei, Vincent Frouin, Masaki Fukunaga, Thomas Gareau, David C. Glahn, Hans J. Grabe, Nynke A. Groenewold, Ómar Gústafsson, Jan Haavik, Asta K. Haberg, Ryota Hashimoto, Jayne Y. Hehir-Kwa, Derrek P. Hibar, Manon H.J. Hillegers, Per Hoffmann, Laurena Holleran, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Hilleke E. Hulshoff Pol, Masashi Ikeda, Sébastien Jacquemont, Neda Jahanshad, Christiane Jockwitz, Stefan Johansson, Erik G. Jönsson, Masataka Kikuchi, Emma E.M. Knowles, John B. Kwok, Stephanie Le Hellard, David E.J. Linden, Jingyu Liu, Arvid Lundervold, Astri J. Lundervold, Nicholas G. Martin, Karen A. Mather, Samuel R. Mathias, Katie L. McMahon, Allan F. McRae, Sarah E. Medland, Torgeir Moberget, Clara Moreau, Derek W. Morris, Thomas W. Mühleisen, Robin M. Murray, Jan E. Nordvik, Lars Nyberg, Loes M. Olde Loohuis, Roel A. Ophoff, Michael J. Owen, Tomas Paus, Zdenka Pausova, Juan M. Peralta, Bruce Pike, Carlos Prieto, Erin Burke Quinlan, Céline S. Reinbold, Tiago Reis Marques, James J.H. Rucker, Perminder S. Sachdev, Sigrid B. Sando, Peter R. Schofield, Andrew J. Schork, Gunter Schumann, Jean Shin, Elena Shumskaya, Ana I. Silva, Sanjay M. Sisodiya, Vidar M. Steen, Dan J. Stein, Lachlan T. Strike, Christian K. Tamnes, Alexander Teumer, Anbupalam Thalamuthu, Diana Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, Anne Uhlmann, Magnús Úlfarsson, Dennis Van 'T Ent, Marianne B.M. Van Den Bree, Evangelos Vassos, Wei Wen, Katharina Wittfeld, Margaret J. Wright, Tetyana Zayats, Anders M. Dale, Srdjan Djurovic, Ingrid Agartz, Lars T. Westlye, Hreinn Stefánsson, Kári Stefánsson, Paul M. Thompson, Ole A. Andreassen*
*Corresponding author for this work
  • University of Oslo
  • Maastricht University
  • deCODE Genetics
  • University of Iceland
  • University of Amsterdam
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • University of Melbourne
  • National Ageing Research Institute
  • Jülich Research Centre
  • Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
  • JARA-BRAIN
  • Umeå University
  • Murdoch University
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • Amsterdam UMC
  • VU University Medical Center
  • University of New South Wales
  • Utrecht University
  • University of Greifswald
  • Altrecht
  • Georgia State University
  • University of New Mexico
  • Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
  • SFI FutureNeuro Research Centre
  • University of California at Los Angeles
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Basel
  • King's College London
  • Trinity College Dublin
  • Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla
  • Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla
  • University of Cape Town
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • Cardiff University
  • University of Galway
  • Technische Universität Dresden
  • Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
  • Radboud University Nijmegen
  • Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
  • National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Physiological Sciences
  • The Graduate University for Advanced Studies
  • Boston Children's Hospital
  • Institute of Living
  • Harvard University
  • German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • University of Bergen
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry Kodaira
  • The University of Osaka
  • Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology
  • Genentech Incorporated
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • University of Bonn
  • Fujita Health University
  • University of Montreal
  • University of Montreal
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • The University of Sydney
  • Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • Neuroscience Research Australia
  • University of Queensland
  • The CatoSenteret Rehabilitation Center
  • University of Calgary
  • Universidad de Salamanca
  • Imperial College London
  • Prince of Wales Hospital
  • Institute of Biological Psychiatry
  • Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute
  • University College London
  • Diakonhjemmet Hospital
  • Valdecilla Biomedical Research Institute
  • South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Broad Institute
  • University of California at San Diego

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Importance: Recurrent microdeletions and duplications in the genomic region 15q11.2 between breakpoints 1 (BP1) and 2 (BP2) are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. These structural variants are present in 0.5% to 1.0% of the population, making 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 the site of the most prevalent known pathogenic copy number variation (CNV). It is unknown to what extent this CNV influences brain structure and affects cognitive abilities. Objective: To determine the association of the 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 deletion and duplication CNVs with cortical and subcortical brain morphology and cognitive task performance. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this genetic association study, T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging were combined with genetic data from the ENIGMA-CNV consortium and the UK Biobank, with a replication cohort from Iceland. In total, 203 deletion carriers, 45 247 noncarriers, and 306 duplication carriers were included. Data were collected from August 2015 to April 2019, and data were analyzed from September 2018 to September 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: The associations of the CNV with global and regional measures of surface area and cortical thickness as well as subcortical volumes were investigated, correcting for age, age2, sex, scanner, and intracranial volume. Additionally, measures of cognitive ability were analyzed in the full UK Biobank cohort. Results: Of 45756 included individuals, the mean (SD) age was 55.8 (18.3) years, and 23754 (51.9%) were female. Compared with noncarriers, deletion carriers had a lower surface area (Cohen d = -0.41; SE, 0.08; P = 4.9 × 10-8), thicker cortex (Cohen d = 0.36; SE, 0.07; P = 1.3 × 10-7), and a smaller nucleus accumbens (Cohen d = -0.27; SE, 0.07; P = 7.3 × 10-5). There was also a significant negative dose response on cortical thickness (β = -0.24; SE, 0.05; P = 6.8 × 10-7). Regional cortical analyses showed a localization of the effects to the frontal, cingulate, and parietal lobes. Further, cognitive ability was lower for deletion carriers compared with noncarriers on 5 of 7 tasks. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings, from the largest CNV neuroimaging study to date, provide evidence that 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 structural variation is associated with brain morphology and cognition, with deletion carriers being particularly affected. The pattern of results fits with known molecular functions of genes in the 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 region and suggests involvement of these genes in neuronal plasticity. These neurobiological effects likely contribute to the association of this CNV with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)420-430
Number of pages11
JournalJAMA Psychiatry
Volume77
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Oct 2019
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Association of Copy Number Variation of the 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 Region with Cortical and Subcortical Morphology and Cognition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this