Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 12, No. 5, 486-493,
May 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Brain Volumes and Surface Morphology in Monozygotic Twins
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, , 1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA and , 2 Departments of Psychiatry & Neurology, University of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Tonya White, Assistant Professor,Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — F256/2B West, University of Minnesota College of Medicine, 2450 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454-1495, USA. Email: white174{at}umn.edu.
Because healthy monozygotic twins share an identical genetic complement, they provide a unique opportunity to explore the genetic and environmental determinants of brain development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the similarities between measures of cerebral and subcortical volumes and surface morphology in monozygotic twins compared with a matched control sample. Combinations of automated and manual methods were used to evaluate total brain volume, gray matter, white matter, ventricles and volumes of the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. An artificial neural network algorithm was used to measure the cerebellum, thalamus, caudate and putamen. Measures of surface morphology included an index of gyral and sulcal curvature, surface area and cortical depth. The cerebral volume regions, including the gray matter, white matter and lobar volumes, were highly correlated within monozygotic twin pairs, with nearly all correlation coefficients >0.90. The cerebellum was also highly correlated (r = 0.99). Reasonably high correlations were found for the cortical depth (r = 0.84), caudate (r = 0.84), thalamus (r = 0.75) and putamen (r = 0.75). The surface measures, however, demonstrated the least correlation within twin pairs and thus are more prone to environmental influences. The high to moderate correlations between MZ twins compared with the matched controls highlights the role of heredity in both prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopment.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. Toro and Y. Burnod A Morphogenetic Model for the Development of Cortical Convolutions Cereb Cortex, December 1, 2005; 15(12): 1900 - 1913. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. C. Ferguson, A. Blane, J. Wardlaw, B. M. Frier, P. Perros, R. J. McCrimmon, and I. J. Deary Influence of an Early-Onset Age of Type 1 Diabetes on Cerebral Structure and Cognitive Function Diabetes Care, June 1, 2005; 28(6): 1431 - 1437. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T Jarvenpaa, M P Laakso, R Rossi, M Koskenvuo, J Kaprio, I Raiha, T Kurki, M Laine, G B Frisoni, and J O Rinne Hippocampal MRI volumetry in cognitively discordant monozygotic twin pairs J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, January 1, 2004; 75(1): 116 - 120. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|