Genetic ancestry differences in brain morphology

Modeling the 3D Geometry of the Cortical Surface with Genetic Ancestry

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(15)00671-5

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Here, we demonstrate that the three-dimensional geometry of cortical surface is highly predictive of individuals’ genetic ancestry in West Africa, Europe, East Asia, and America, even though their genetic background has been shaped by multiple waves of migratory and admixture events...

As Figure 1 shows, the geometry of the cortical surface has good predictive value for each of the ancestry components. The variances explained by the models are 66% for ancestry in YRI, 55% for ancestry in CEU, 49% for ancestry in EA, and 47% for ancestry in NA...

Crania of African ancestry tended to have a narrower cranial base, and those of Northern European ancestry had elongated occipital and frontal regions. Crania of East Asian ancestry had a high cranial vault, and crania of Native American ancestry were flatter.