Biology subjects

Docherty, A. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Docherty, A. R..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Inheritance of neural substrates for motivation and pleasure experience

Despite advances in the understanding of the reward system and the role of dopamine in recent decades, the heredity of the underlying neural mechanisms is not known. In the present study, a Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was used to examine the haemodynamic activation of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a key hub of the reward system, in 86 healthy monozygotic twins and 88 dizygotic twins during the anticipation of monetary incentives. The participants also completed self-report measures of pleasure experience. Using a voxel-wise heritability mapping method, activation of the bilateral NAcc during the anticipation of monetary gains was found to have significant heritability (h2 = 0.20-0.49). Moreover, significant shared genetic covariance was observed between pleasure experience and NAcc activation when anticipating monetary gain. These findings suggest that NAcc activation and self-reported pleasure experience may both be heritable, and their phenotypic correlation may be partially explained by shared genetic variation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Trans-ancestral GWAS of alcohol dependence reveals common genetic underpinnings with psychiatric disorders

Liability to alcohol dependence (AD) is heritable, but little is known about its complex polygenic architecture or its genetic relationship with other disorders. To discover loci associated with AD and characterize the relationship between AD and other psychiatric and behavioral outcomes, we carried out the largest GWAS to date of DSM - IV diagnosed AD. Genome - wide data on 14,904 individuals with AD and 37,944 controls from 28 case / control and family - based studies were meta - analyzed, stratified by genetic ancestry (European, N = 46,568; African; N = 6,280). Independent, genome - wide significant effects of different ADH1B variants were identified in European (rs1229984; p = 9.8E - 13) and African ancestries (rs2066702; p = 2.2E - 9). Significant genetic correlations were observed with schizophrenia, ADHD, depression, and use of cigarettes and cannabis. There was only modest genetic correlation with alcohol consumption and inconsistent associations with problem drinking. The genetic underpinnings of AD only partially overlap with those for alcohol consumption, underscoring the genetic distinction between pathological and non - pathological drinking behaviors.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2017

Proof Of Concept: Molecular Prediction Of Schizophrenia Risk

Key PointsO_ST_ABSQuestionC_ST_ABSTo what extent do global polygenic risk scores (PRS), molecular pathway-specific PRS, complement component (C4) gene expression, MHC loci, sex, and ancestry jointly contribute to risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SZ)?\n\nFindingsGlobal polygenic risk for schizophrenia, sex, and their interaction most robustly predict risk in a classification and regression tree model, with highest risk groups having 50/50 chance of SZ.\n\nMeaningPsychometric risk indicators, such as prodromal symptom assessments, may be enhanced by the examination of genetic risk metrics. Preliminary results suggest that of genetic risk metrics, global polygenic information has the most potential to significantly aide in the prediction of SZ.\n\nAbstractO_ST_ABSImportanceC_ST_ABSSchizophrenia (SZ) has a complex, heterogeneous symptom presentation with limited established associations between biological markers and illness onset. Many (gene) molecular pathways (MPs) are enriched for SZ signal, but it is still unclear how these MPs, global PRS, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) complement component (C4) gene expression, and MHC loci might jointly contribute to SZ and its clinical presentation. It is also unclear whether sex or ancestry interacts with these metrics to increase risk in certain individuals.\n\nObjectiveTo examine multiple genetic metrics, sex, and their interactions as possible predictors of SZ risk. Genetic information could aid in the clinical prediction of risk, but it is still unclear which genetic metrics are most promising, and how sex interacts with genetic risk metrics.\n\nDesign, Setting, and ParticipantsTo examine molecular risk in a proof-of-concept study, we used the Wellcome Trust case-control cohort and classified cases as a function of 1) polygenic risk score (PRS) for both whole genome and for 345 implicated molecular pathways, 2) predicted C4 expression, 3) SZ-relevant MHC loci, 4) sex, and 5) ancestry.\n\nMain Outcomes and MeasuresPRSs, C4 expression, SZ-relevant MHC loci, sex, and ancestry as joint risk factors for SZ.\n\nResultsRecursive partitioning yielded 15 molecular risk classes and retained as significant psychosis classifiers only sex, genome-wide SZ polygenic risk, and one MP PRS. Sex was the most robust classifier in a stepwise regression, and there was a significant interaction of sex with SZ PRS on case status, suggesting males have a lower polygenic risk threshold. By down-sampling case proportion to 1% and 1.4% population base rates in males and females, respectively, high-risk subtypes defined by this model had roughly a 52% odds of developing SZ (individuals with SZ PRS elevated by 2.6 SDs; incidence = 51.8%).\n\nConclusions and RelevanceThis proof-of-concept suggests that global SZ PRS, sex, and their interaction are robust predictors of risk and that males have a lower PRS threshold for onset. Implications for the integration of these metrics with psychometrically-identified risk are discussed.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Polygenic prediction of the phenome, across ancestry, in emerging adulthood

BackgroundIdentifying genetic relationships between complex traits in emerging adulthood can provide useful etiological insights into risk for psychopathology. College-age individuals are under-represented in genomic analyses thus far, and the majority of work has focused on clinical disorder or cognitive abilities rather than normal-range behavioral outcomes.\n\nMethodsThis study examined a sample of emerging adults 18-22 years of age (N = 5,947) to construct an atlas of polygenic risk for 33 traits predicting relevant phenotypic outcomes. Twenty-eight hypotheses were tested based on the previous literature on samples of European ancestry, and the availability of rich assessment data allowed for polygenic predictions across 55 psychological and medical phenotypes.\n\nResultsPolygenic risk for schizophrenia in emerging adults predicted anxiety, depression, nicotine use, trauma, and family history of psychological disorders. Polygenic risk for neuroticism predicted anxiety, depression, phobia, panic, neuroticism, and was correlated with polygenic risk for cardiovascular disease.\n\nConclusionsThese results demonstrate the extensive impact of genetic risk for schizophrenia, neuroticism, and major depression on a range of health outcomes in early adulthood. Minimal cross-ancestry replication of these phenomic patterns of polygenic influence underscores the need for more genome-wide association studies of non-European populations.

genomics↗