PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Dyslexia genetics linked to brain structure

2024-12-18
(Press-News.org)

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty in which genes often play a role. How do genes associated with dyslexia relate to brain structure in the general population? In a large-scale study published in Science Advances, a team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen found that genetic variants that increase the chance of dyslexia were associated with differences in brain areas involved in motor coordination, vision, and language.

Around 5% of school-age children have severe difficulties in learning how to read and/or spell, a condition known as dyslexia. “Dyslexia is partly influenced by genes and quite strongly heritable”, says first author Sourena Soheili-Nezhad. “Yet, dyslexia is a complex trait, which cannot be explained by changes in a single brain region or a single gene. Studying exactly which genes affect which brain networks can help to understand how cognitive functions develop differently in this learning difficulty.”

Genetic chance of dyslexia

To investigate how the genetic contribution to dyslexia is related to brain structure, Soheili-Nezhad and his team undertook a large-scale genetic study. The researchers used data from more than a million people collected by the company 23andMe, which revealed many genetic variants that increase the chance of a person having dyslexia.

For more than 30,000 adults from a large database (the UK Biobank), the researchers could then calculate ‘polygenic scores’ for dyslexia and link them to brain scans. Even though there was no information on which people had dyslexia in the UK Biobank database, the genetic disposition to dyslexia varied across adults and could be linked to specific parts of the brain.

Internal capsule

A higher genetic chance of dyslexia was associated with lower volume in brain areas involved in movement coordination and processing of speech sounds. In contrast, dyslexia-related genetic variants were associated with increased volume in the visual cortex.

The researchers also observed differences in a white matter bundle deep inside the brain, called the internal capsule. In this brain area, white matter density was associated with genetic influences not only on dyslexia but also on educational attainment, fluid intelligence and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), traits that are correlated with dyslexia.

Brain development

“These results are consistent with dyslexia as a complex trait that can involve a combination of altered cognitive processes”, explains Clyde Francks, senior author of the study. “Although our study used data from adults, some of the brain changes probably relate to altered development of the brain during early stages of life, for example in the foetus or during infancy, which then remain stable across the lifetime. Other changes might reflect responses of the brain to decades of altered behaviour in people with higher genetic disposition to dyslexia. For example, years of avoiding reading in personal and professional life might impact the brain’s visual system.”

Cause or consequence?

In future studies, the researchers plan to use data from children or adolescents instead of adults, to study more closely which brain changes are involved in causing dyslexia, as opposed to being downstream consequences of having the trait.

“Understanding the brain basis of dyslexia could also possibly help to achieve earlier diagnosis and educational intervention in the future, with more targeted strategies suited to the profiles of individual children”, concludes Soheili-Nezhad.

 

Publication

Sourena Soheili-Nezhad, Dick Schijven, Rogier B. Mars, Simon E. Fisher & Clyde Francks (2024). Distinct impact modes of polygenic disposition to dyslexia in the adult brain. Science Advances. DOI: 10.5061/dryad.80gb5mkz6

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Living in the deep, dark, slow lane: Insights from the first global appraisal of microbiomes in earth’s subsurface environments

Living in the deep, dark, slow lane: Insights from the first global appraisal of microbiomes in earth’s subsurface environments
2024-12-18
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Which microbes thrive below us in darkness – in gold mines, in aquifers, in deep boreholes in the seafloor – and how do they compare to the microbiomes that envelop the Earth’s surfaces, on land and sea? The first global study to embrace this huge question, conducted at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, reveals astonishingly high microbial diversity in some subsurface environments (up to 491 meters below the seafloor and up to 4375 m below ground).  This discovery ...

New discovery by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers provides hope in fighting drug-resistant malaria

2024-12-18
Malaria, caused by a parasite transmitted to humans through an infected mosquito’s bite, is a leading cause of illness and death worldwide. Most susceptible are pregnant women, displaced people and children in developing countries, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treating the disease is difficult because Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, is resistant to nearly all malaria medications. But in a study published today in Science Advances, researchers at Case Western Reserve ...

What is metformin’s secret sauce?

What is metformin’s secret sauce?
2024-12-18
Leading diabetes drug lowers blood sugar by interfering with mitochondria CHICAGO --- Millions of people take metformin, a Type 2 diabetes medication that lowers blood sugar. The “wonder drug” has also been shown to slow cancer growth, improve COVID outcomes and reduce inflammation. But until now, scientists have been unable to determine how, exactly, the drug works.    A new Northwestern Medicine study has provided direct evidence in mice that the drug reversibly cuts the cell’s ...

Researchers unlock craniopharyngioma growth mechanism and identify potential new therapy

Researchers unlock craniopharyngioma growth mechanism and identify potential new therapy
2024-12-18
Chinese researchers recently revealed new insights on the growth of craniopharyngioma and identified a potential therapeutic treatment. Their findings were published online in Science Translational Medicine on December 19. Craniopharyngioma, a benign yet highly invasive tumor occurring along the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, presents a unique clinical challenge. Although nonmalignant, its proximity to critical brain structures often leads to severe endocrine and metabolic complications. The tumor can invade the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, resulting in endocrine dysfunction and metabolic disorders ...

Massive volcanic eruptions did not cause the extinction of dinosaurs

Massive volcanic eruptions did not cause the extinction of dinosaurs
2024-12-18
Massive volcanic eruptions on the Indian peninsula have long been proposed as an alternative cause for the demise of the dinosaurs. This phase of active volcanism took place in a period just before the Earth was struck by a meteorite, 66 million years ago. The effect of these volcanic eruptions on the Earth’s climate has been topic of fierce scientific debates for decades. Now, climate scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Manchester show that, while the volcanism caused a temporary cold period, the effects had already worn off thousands of years before the meteorite impacted. The scientists therefore conclude that the meteorite impact was the ...

Common cough syrup ingredient shows promise in treating serious lung disease

Common cough syrup ingredient shows promise in treating serious lung disease
2024-12-18
A common over-the-counter ingredient in many cough syrups may have a greater purpose for people suffering from lung fibrosis that is related to any number of serious health conditions.  Scientists from EMBL Heidelberg were part of a collaborative effort to discover an effective treatment for lung fibrosis and found that the best candidate may be one that is already available as a cough medicine around the world, dextromethorphan. The study was recently published in Science Translational Medicine and showed how dextromethorphan can impede ...

Improvement initiative increased well-being and reduced inefficiencies for surgical residents

Improvement initiative increased well-being and reduced inefficiencies for surgical residents
2024-12-18
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a systemic approach to eliminating inefficiencies in surgical residency programs can reduce unnecessary work hours in the general residency program at UC San Diego. The approach—based on Lean methodology—can also positively impact the training and overall well-being of surgery residents. The results are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). “Our study shows ...

After lockdown, immune system reacts more strongly to viruses and bacteria

2024-12-18
Research from Radboud university medical center shows that the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on people's immune response to microorganisms. During the lockdown, inflammation level in the body was low, but afterwards, the immune system reacted more intensely to viruses and bacteria. The results are now published in Frontiers of Immunology. In this study, the researchers examined the effects of various health measures introduced during the pandemic, such as lockdowns and vaccinations. The study was conducted in a large cohort of people living with HIV, as well as in healthy individuals. The researchers ...

MD Anderson Research Highlights for December 18, 2024

2024-12-18
HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Smoking cessation medications are safe and effective for people with depression Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) are more likely to smoke, leading to higher risks of nicotine addiction and early death from tobacco-related illnesses. To identify the best treatments for quitting, researchers led by George ...

Massive black hole in the early universe spotted taking a ‘nap’ after overeating

Massive black hole in the early universe spotted taking a ‘nap’ after overeating
2024-12-18
Scientists have spotted a massive black hole in the early universe that is ‘napping’ after stuffing itself with too much food. Like a bear gorging itself on salmon before hibernating for the winter, or a much-needed nap after Christmas dinner, this black hole has overeaten to the point that it is lying dormant in its host galaxy. An international team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect this black hole in the early universe, just 800 million years after the Big Bang. The black hole is huge – ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Novel treatment combination improves progression-free survival in metastatic, estrogen-receptor-positive HER-2-negative breast cancer

ESMO 2025: Trial results show belzutifan shrinks rare neuroendocrine tumors and improves symptoms in patients

ESMO 2025: Dual targeted therapy shows promise in previously treated advanced kidney cancer patients

New generation of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) shows unprecedented promise in early-stage disease

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet for October 2025

Three science and technology leaders elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Jump Trading CSO Kevin Bowers elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Former Inscripta CEO Sri Kosaraju elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Citadel’s Jordan Chetty elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

McGill research flags Montreal snow dump, inactive landfills as major methane polluters

A lightweight and rapid bidirectional search algorithm

Eighty-five years of big tree history available in one place for the first time

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery

Health and economic air quality co-benefits of stringent climate policies

How immune cells deliver their deadly cargo

How the brain becomes a better listener: How focus enhances sound processing

Processed fats found in margarines unlikely to affect heart health

Scientists discover how leukemia cells evade treatment

Sandra Shi MD, MPH, named 2025 STAT Wunderkind

Treating liver disease with microscopic nanoparticles

Chemicals might be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter your skin

Pregnant patients with preexisting high cholesterol may have elevated CV risk

UC stroke experts discuss current and future use of AI tools in research and treatment

The Southern Ocean’s low-salinity water locked away CO2 for decades, but...

OHSU researchers develop functional eggs from human skin cells

Most users cannot identify AI bias, even in training data

Hurricane outages: Analysis details the where, and who, of increased future power cuts

Craters on surface of melanoma cells found to serve as sites for tumor killing

Research Spotlight: Mapping overlooked challenges in stroke recovery

Geographic and temporal patterns of screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in the US

[Press-News.org] Dyslexia genetics linked to brain structure