Intergenerational transmission of the patterns of functional and structural brain networks
Yu Takagi, Naohiro Okada, Shuntaro Ando, Noriaki Yahata, Kentaro Morita, Daisuke Koshiyama, Shintaro Kawakami, Kingo Sawada, Shinsuke Koike, Kaori Endo, Syudo Yamasaki, Atsushi Nishida, Kiyoto Kasai, Saori Tanaka
Abstract
There is clear evidence of intergenerational transmission of life values, cognitive traits, psychiatric disorders, and even aspects of daily decision making. To investigate biological substrates of this phenomenon, the brain has received increasing attention as a measurable biomarker and potential target for intervention. However, no previous study has quantitatively and comprehensively investigated the effects of intergenerational transmission on functional and structural brain networks. Here, by employing an unusually large cohort dataset (N = 84 parent-child dyads; 45 sons, 39 daughters, 81 mothers, and 3 fathers), we show that patterns of functional and structural brain networks are preserved over a generation. We also demonstrate that several demographic factors and behavioral/physiological phenotypes have a relationship with brain similarity. Collectively, our results provide a comprehensive picture of neurobiological substrates of intergenerational transmission and demonstrate the usability of our dataset for investigating the neurobiological substrates of intergenerational transmission.