In a
groundbreaking study published Nov. 21 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, researchers have uncovered significant genetic
connections between human language abilities and musical rhythm skills,
providing new insights into the biological underpinnings of these fundamental
human traits.
The study brought together leading
experts in the areas of musicality genetics and language genetics from
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in close collaboration with researchers at
the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands.
The study revealed overlapping genetic
underpinnings between rhythm-related skills and language-related traits,
including dyslexia. Multiple datasets were used from over 1 million
individuals. By applying advanced multivariate methods, the researchers were
able to identify common genetic factors and explore their biological and
evolutionary significance.
The study revealed that genetic variants
associated with higher likelihood of rhythm impairments tended to be also
associated with higher likelihood of dyslexia. The reverse was also the case:
Genetic variants associated with more accurate musical rhythm skills
co-occurred with genes linked to higher performance on language and reading
tests, and to language-related educational outcomes (i.e. grades in foreign
language classes).
Combining the statistical power achieved
by the large dataset and creative integration of brain data, the study team was
then able to reach a new understanding of how the genes that influence our
rhythm and language skills play a role in the neural circuitry supporting these
traits. The results showed 16 regions of the genome overlapped between rhythm
and language, and these loci showed up as being likely to harbor genetic variants known to play a role in
regulating gene expression in various types of brain cells.
According to Reyna Gordon, PhD, associate professor at VUMC and senior author on the paper, the
results suggest a complex genetic and neurobiological architecture shared by
human musical rhythm and the capacity to learn and maintain human language.
“We were particularly intrigued by the
finding of genetic variants jointly tied to rhythm and language as being
enriched for oligodendrocytes in the brain,” Gordon said. “Oligodendrocytes are
a type of brain cell that help to
maintain specific
connections between brain areas by helping the connecting circuitry to stay
healthy and strong.”
Analyses conducted by co-author Yasmina
Mekki, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at VUMC, resulted in a locus on chromosome 20
that was common to neural connectivity in the language network and rhythm.
Taken together, these findings point to connectivity as a key neurobiological
factor impacted jointly by the polygenic (many-gene) bases of rhythm and
language interindividual variation.
Human brains are special in their strong
connectivity between auditory and motor regions. These connections are a
hypothesized co-evolved neurobiological underpinning of language and
musicality, according to prior work in the field. Additional potential evolutionary
signatures highlighted by the results include a joint variant (linked to both
rhythm impairment and dyslexia) occurring in the gene DLAT, which has been
previously implicated in rare neurodevelopmental disorders.
Collectively, the study uncovered novel
genomic factors shared between
rhythm and language traits in humans and their role in development and function
of the human brain. These results contribute exciting new knowledge to the
understanding of the origins of human musicality and communication skills.
Potential future clinical applications may include risk detection and
personalization of treatments based on an individual’s genetic predispositions to rhythm impairments and childhood
reading/language impairments.
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