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Genetic and environmental contributions to cortical structure in children with varying language skills
Poster Session A, Wednesday, September 30, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, Wangari Maathai
This poster is part of the Sandbox Series.
Theresa Dischner1, Carmen Providoli1,2, Sarah V. Di Pietro1, Nina Raduner1,3, Alice Gilmet1, Iliana I. Karipidis1, Elena M. Cabello4, Christian C. Ruff4, Nora M. Raschle5, Michael von Rhein2, Anita Rauch4, Silvia Brem1; 1University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, 2University Children's Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 3University of Calgary, 4University of Zurich, 5Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich
Language ability varies widely across children in the general population, and while most follow typical language acquisition, some show early difficulties. In some children, these difficulties resolve, while others develop persistent difficulties, such as developmental language disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition affecting approximately 7% of children. However, the reasons underlying this variability are not fully understood. It is suggested that language ability results from complex interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors, with language skills being both substantially heritable and sensitive to environmental input, yet no single factor alone is sufficient to cause language impairments [1]. Therefore, polygenic risk scores offer a promising approach to capturing cumulative genetic risk for complex conditions such as language difficulties [2]. Both genetic risk factors and language-related environmental influences have been separately shown to predict variability in brain structure within language regions [2-3]. However, how these factors interact remains unclear, particularly in children with language difficulties. Critically, cortical surface area and cortical thickness are genetically and developmentally distinct: surface area is thought to be more strongly influenced by genetic factors, whereas cortical thickness may be more susceptible to environmental influences [4]. Yet, whether a language-specific polygenic risk score alongside specific environmental language measures predicts cortical surface area and thickness in children with varying language abilities remains to be examined. This ongoing project aims to fill this gap by disentangling genetic and environmental contributions to cortical brain structure in 106 children aged 5-7 with varying language skills. We examine a language-specific polygenic risk score and specific environmental language measures, including parental language input, home literacy environment, and speech-language therapy attendance, as predictors of cortical surface area and thickness in language regions. It is hypothesised that genetic risk will more strongly predict cortical surface area and environmental language factors will more strongly predict cortical thickness in language networks. This pattern would be consistent with the distinct etiological origins of these cortical measures and the view that they reflect unique contributions to language development and difficulties [3-5]. It is further hypothesised that the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to cortical structure differ across children with varying language skills. These findings are expected to improve our understanding of what distinguishes children with persistent language difficulties from those who recover from early language difficulties, to contribute to the nature-nurture debate in language development, and to highlight the added value of examining cortical surface area and thickness separately in future neuroimaging studies investigating language. Ultimately, this work may help identify modifiable factors that could guide more targeted support for children with or at risk of developmental language disorder. [1] Boerma et al. (2023). Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 154. [2] Mountford et al. (2022). Children, 9. [3] Demir-Lira et al. (2021). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15. [4] Van Drunen et al. (2024). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 68. [5] Mitchell et al. (2020). NeuroImage, 212.
Topic Areas: Language Development/Acquisition, Disorders: Developmental