Brain structures with stronger genetic associations are not less associated with family- and state-level economic contexts

Abstract

We investigate whether neural, cognitive, and psychopathology phenotypes that are more strongly related to genetic differences are less strongly associated with family- and state-level economic contexts (N = 5374 individuals with 1KG-EUR-like genotypes with 870 twins, from the Adolescent Behavior and Cognitive Development study). We estimated the twin- and SNP-based heritability of each phenotype, as well as its association with an educational attainment polygenic index (EA PGI). We further examined associations with family socioeconomic status (SES) and tested whether SES-related differences were moderated by state cost of living and social safety net programs (Medicaid expansion and cash assistance). SES was broadly associated with cognition, psychopathology, brain volumes, and cortical surface areas, even after controlling for the EA PGI. Brain phenotypes that were more heritable or more strongly associated with the EA PGI were not, overall, less related to SES, nor were SES-related differences in these phenotypes less moderated by macroeconomic context and policy. Informing a long-running theoretical debate, and contra to widespread lay beliefs, results suggest that aspects of child brain development that are more strongly related to genetic differences are not, in general, less associated with socioeconomic contexts and policies.

Keywords

• Socioeconomic status
• Brain structure
• Policy
• Heritability
• Educational attainment polygenic index