Heart-brain connections: Phenotypic and genetic insights from magnetic resonance images.
Bingxin ZhaoTengfei LiZirui FanYue YangJuan ShuXiaochen YangXifeng WangTianyou LuoJiarui TangDi XiongZhenyi WuBingxuan LiJie ChenYue ShanChalmer TomlinsonZiliang ZhuYun LiJason L SteinHongtu ZhuPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023)
Cardiovascular health interacts with cognitive and mental health in complex ways, yet little is known about the phenotypic and genetic links of heart-brain systems. We quantified heart-brain connections using multiorgan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from more than 40,000 subjects. Heart MRI traits displayed numerous association patterns with brain gray matter morphometry, white matter microstructure, and functional networks. We identified 80 associated genomic loci ( P < 6.09 × 10 -10 ) for heart MRI traits, which shared genetic influences with cardiovascular and brain diseases. Genetic correlations were observed between heart MRI traits and brain-related traits and disorders. Mendelian randomization suggests that heart conditions may causally contribute to brain disorders. Our results advance a multiorgan perspective on human health by revealing heart-brain connections and shared genetic influences.
Keyphrases
- white matter
- magnetic resonance imaging
- genome wide
- resting state
- heart failure
- contrast enhanced
- multiple sclerosis
- magnetic resonance
- mental health
- functional connectivity
- copy number
- cerebral ischemia
- dna methylation
- machine learning
- diffusion weighted imaging
- electronic health record
- climate change
- mental illness
- optical coherence tomography