Copyright 2001 U.P.I.
United Press International
November 5, 2001, Monday 02:18 AM Eastern Time
SECTION: WEATHER
LENGTH: 794 words
HEADLINE: Stories from Modern Science...from UPI
BYLINE: By ALEX CUKAN, UPI Science Writer
HOW GENES AFFECT BRAIN STRUCTURE
UCLA brain mapping researchers in California have created the first images to
show how an
individual's genes can influence brain structure and intelligence. Published in
Nature
Neuroscience, the findings offer new insight on how parents pass on personality
traits and
cognitive abilities, and how brain diseases run in families. The team found that
the amount
of gray matter in the frontal parts of the brain is determined by the genetic
make-up of an
individual's parents. Brain regions controlling language and reading skills were
virtually
identical in identical twins, who share exactly the same genes, while siblings
showed only
60 percent of the normal brain differences. "This tight structural similarity in
the brains
of family members helps explain why brain diseases, including schizophrenia and
some types
of dementia, run in families," says Paul Thompson. "We were stunned to see that
the amount
of gray matter in frontal brain regions was strongly inherited, and also
predicted an
individual's IQ score." 0-