Genetic Link between Brain and Face Shape Discovered | Genetics - Sci-News.com

In a genome-wide association study involving 19,644 individuals of European ancestry, an international team of researchers identified 472 genomic regions, or loci, that influence brain shape, of which 76 are also linked to face shape; these loci don’t influence cognitive ability, further debunking beliefs that intelligence can be assessed by facial features.

recently developed a data-driven approach to phenotyping complex, multidimensional traits; this multivariate approach, when applied to facial surface images, revealed numerous genomic loci with no previously known role in human face shape variation; in the new study, the team implemented this approach to discover associations between common genetic variants and brain shape, using MRI data from middle-aged participants in the UK Biobank.

“To study genetic underpinnings of brain shape, we applied a methodology that we had already used in the past to identify genes that determine the shape of our face,” said Professor Peter Claes, a researcher in the Laboratory for Imaging Genetics at KU Leuven.

They also found evidence that genetic signals that influence both brain and face shape are enriched in the regions of the genome that regulate gene activity during embryogenesis, either in facial progenitor cells or in the developing brain.

“We were astonished to find 76 genetic regions that affect both face and brain shape in the human population,” Professor Wysocka added

Shared heritability of human face and brain shape