TY - JOUR
T1 - The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm
AU - Alagöz, Gökberk
AU - Eising, Else
AU - Mekki, Yasmina
AU - Bignardi, Giacamo
AU - Fontanillas, Pierre
AU - Research Team, 23andMe
AU - Nivard, Michel G.
AU - Luciano, Michelle
AU - Cox, Nancy J.
AU - Fisher, Simon E.
AU - Gordon, Reyna L.
N1 - G.A., E.E., N.J.C., R.L.G. and S.E.F. designed the research. G.A., E.E., Y.M. and G.B. performed the research. G.A., E.E. and Y.M. analysed the data. G.A. wrote the initial draft of the paper. E.E., Y.M., G.B., P.F., M.G.N., M.L., R.L.G. and S.E.F. provided critical feedback and commented on the paper.
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - This study aimed to test theoretical predictions over biological underpinnings of previously documented phenotypic correlations between human language-related and musical rhythm traits. Here, after identifying significant genetic correlations between rhythm, dyslexia and various language-related traits, we adapted multivariate methods to capture genetic signals common to genome-wide association studies of rhythm (N = 606,825) and dyslexia (N = 1,138,870). The results revealed 16 pleiotropic loci (P < 5 × 10
−8) jointly associated with rhythm impairment and dyslexia, and intricate shared genetic and neurobiological architectures. The joint genetic signal was enriched for foetal and adult brain cell-specific regulatory regions, highlighting complex cellular composition in their shared underpinnings. Local genetic correlation with a key white matter tract (the left superior longitudinal fasciculus-I) substantiated hypotheses about auditory–motor connectivity as a genetically influenced, evolutionarily relevant neural endophenotype common to rhythm and language processing. Overall, we provide empirical evidence of multiple aspects of shared biology linking language and musical rhythm, contributing novel insight into the evolutionary relationships between human musicality and linguistic communication traits.
AB - This study aimed to test theoretical predictions over biological underpinnings of previously documented phenotypic correlations between human language-related and musical rhythm traits. Here, after identifying significant genetic correlations between rhythm, dyslexia and various language-related traits, we adapted multivariate methods to capture genetic signals common to genome-wide association studies of rhythm (N = 606,825) and dyslexia (N = 1,138,870). The results revealed 16 pleiotropic loci (P < 5 × 10
−8) jointly associated with rhythm impairment and dyslexia, and intricate shared genetic and neurobiological architectures. The joint genetic signal was enriched for foetal and adult brain cell-specific regulatory regions, highlighting complex cellular composition in their shared underpinnings. Local genetic correlation with a key white matter tract (the left superior longitudinal fasciculus-I) substantiated hypotheses about auditory–motor connectivity as a genetically influenced, evolutionarily relevant neural endophenotype common to rhythm and language processing. Overall, we provide empirical evidence of multiple aspects of shared biology linking language and musical rhythm, contributing novel insight into the evolutionary relationships between human musicality and linguistic communication traits.
KW - evolutionary genetics
KW - genome-wide association studies
UR - https://github.com/galagoz/pleiotropyevo
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85210037302
U2 - 10.1038/s41562-024-02051-y
DO - 10.1038/s41562-024-02051-y
M3 - Article
SN - 2397-3374
VL - 9
SP - 376
EP - 390
JO - Nature Human Behaviour
JF - Nature Human Behaviour
IS - 2
ER -