Decoupling Sleep and Brain Size in Childhood: An Investigation of Genetic Covariation in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Leanna M. Hernandez; Minsoo Kim; Cristian Hernandez; Wesley Thompson; Chun Chieh Fan; Adriana Galván; Mirella Dapretto; Susan Y. Bookheimer; Andrew Fuligni; Michael J. Gandal

Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science (Jan 2023)

Decoupling Sleep and Brain Size in Childhood: An Investigation of Genetic Covariation in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Leanna M. Hernandez,
Minsoo Kim,
Cristian Hernandez,
Wesley Thompson,
Chun Chieh Fan,
Adriana Galván,
Mirella Dapretto,
Susan Y. Bookheimer,
Andrew Fuligni,
Michael J. Gandal

Affiliations

Leanna M. Hernandez: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Leanna Hernandez, Ph.D.
Minsoo Kim: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Cristian Hernandez: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Wesley Thompson: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California
Chun Chieh Fan: Center for Human Development, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California
Adriana Galván: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Mirella Dapretto: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Susan Y. Bookheimer: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Staglin IMHRO Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Andrew Fuligni: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Michael J. Gandal: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Address correspondence to Michael J. Gandal, M.D., Ph.D.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 1
pp. 139 – 148

Abstract

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Background: Childhood sleep problems are common and among the most frequent and impairing comorbidities of childhood psychiatric disorders. In adults, sleep disturbances are heritable and show strong genetic associations with brain morphology; however, little is known about the genetic architecture of childhood sleep and potential etiological links between sleep, brain development, and pediatric-onset psychiatric symptoms. Methods: Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (nPhenotype = 4428 for discovery/replication, nGenetics = 4728; age 9–10 years), we assessed phenotypic relationships, heritability, and genetic correlations between childhood sleep disturbances (insomnia, arousal, breathing, somnolence, hyperhidrosis, sleep-wake transitions), brain size (surface area, cortical thickness, volume), and dimensional psychopathology. Results: Sleep disturbances showed widespread positive associations with multiple domains of childhood psychopathology; however, only insomnia showed replicable associations with smaller brain surface area. Among the sleep disturbances assessed, only insomnia showed significant heritability (h2SNP = 0.15, p 0.80, ps < .05). We found no evidence of genetic correlation between childhood insomnia and brain size. Furthermore, polygenic risk scores calculated from genome-wide association studies of adult insomnia and adult brain size did not predict childhood insomnia; instead, polygenic risk scores trained using attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder genome-wide association studies predicted decreased surface area at baseline as well as insomnia and externalizing symptoms longitudinally. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate a distinct genetic architecture underlying childhood insomnia and brain size and suggest genetic overlap between childhood insomnia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomatology. Additional research is needed to examine how genetic risk manifests in altered developmental trajectories and comorbid sleep/psychiatric symptoms across adolescence.

Published in Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science

ISSN: 2667-1743 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system: Psychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biological-psychiatry-global-open-science

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