Correspondence

Discordant Brain-Surface Anatomy in Monozygotic Twins

N Engl J Med 1994; 331:952-953October 6, 1994

Article

To the Editor:

The development of the convolutional pattern of the human brain is poorly understood1. Using high-resolution in vivo magnetic resonance morphometry, we recently studied cerebral left-right asymmetry in 20 pairs of healthy monozygotic twins (16 female and 4 male pairs, ranging in age from 10 to 62 years) who were concordant (10 pairs) or discordant (10 pairs) for handedness2. Monozygosity was ensured by blood typing, which yielded a probability >0.99 that each pair was monozygotic2.

A comparison of the 128 contiguous sagittal magnetic resonance images obtained from the brain of each subject, as well as multiplanar image reconstructions,3 showed that the gyral and sulcal patterns in all the twin pairs were dissimilar (Figure 1Figure 1Discordance for Sulcal and Gyral Anatomy in a Pair of Healthy, Concordantly Right-Handed 22-Year-Old Monozygotic Female Twins.). Corroborating preliminary observations based on cortical-surface reconstructions,4 the findings indicate that the development of the convolutions of the brain is strongly influenced by nongenetic factors -- that is, by environment, experience, or chance.

H. Steinmetz, M.D.
A. Herzog, M.D.
Y. Huang, M.D.
T. Hacklander, M.D.
Heinrich Heine University, D-40001 Dusseldorf, Germany

4 References

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   Steinmetz H, Herzog A, Schlaug G, Huang Y, Jancke L. Brain (a)symmetry in monozygotic twins. Cereb Cortex (in press).
   

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   Steinmetz H, Huang YX. Two-dimensional mapping of brain surface anatomy. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 1991;12:997-1000
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   Weinberger DR, Bartley AJ, Jones DW, Zigun JR. Regional cortical gyral variations in human monozygotic twins. Soc Neurosci Abstracts 1992;18:595-595 abstract.
   

Citing Articles (13)

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   Caroline C. Brun, Natasha Leporé, Xavier Pennec, Agatha D. Lee, Marina Barysheva, Sarah K. Madsen, Christina Avedissian, Yi-Yu Chou, Greig I. de Zubicaray, Katie L. McMahon, Margaret J. Wright, Arthur W. Toga, Paul M. Thompson. (2009) Mapping the regional influence of genetics on brain structure variability — A Tensor-Based Morphometry study. NeuroImage 48:1, 37-49
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   J. Eric Schmitt, Lisa T Eyler, Jay N Giedd, William S Kremen, Kenneth S Kendler, Michael C Neale. (2007) Review of Twin and Family Studies on Neuroanatomic Phenotypes and Typical Neurodevelopment. Twin Research and Human Genetics 10:5, 683-694
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   Arno Klein, Joy Hirsch. (2005) Mindboggle: a scatterbrained approach to automate brain labeling. NeuroImage 24:2, 261-280
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   A Scamvougeras. (2003) Size of the human corpus callosum is genetically determined: an MRI study in mono and dizygotic twins. Neuroscience Letters 338:2, 91-94
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   Hagop Youssoufian, Reed E. Pyeritz. (2002) Mechanisms and consequences of somatic mosaicism in humans. Nature Reviews Genetics 3:10, 748-758
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   Anne L. Foundas, Alec Weisberg, Cassandra A. Browning, Daniel R. Weinberger. (2001) Morphology of the Frontal Operculum: A Volumetric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of the Pars Triangularis. Journal of Neuroimaging 11:2, 153-159
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   Georges Le Goualher, Anne Marie Argenti, Michel Duyme, William F.C. Baaré, H.E. Hulshoff Pol, Dorret I. Boomsma, Abderrezak Zouaoui, Christian Barillot, Alan C. Evans. (2000) Statistical Sulcal Shape Comparisons: Application to the Detection of Genetic Encoding of the Central Sulcus Shape. NeuroImage 11:5, 564-574
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   Andrs Ide, Carlos Dolezal, Mauricio Fernndez, Eduardo Labb, Rodrigo Mandujano, Soledad Montes, Paola Segura, Gregorio Verschae, Paula Yarmuch, Francisco Aboitiz. (1999) Hemispheric differences in variability of fissural patterns in parasylvian and cingulate regions of human brains. The Journal of Comparative Neurology 410:2, 235-242
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   Mark A. Haidekker, Carl J.G. Evertsz, Clemens Fitzek, Stephan Boor, Reimer Andresen, Peter Falkai, Peter Stoeter, Heinz-Otto Peitgen. (1998) Projecting the sulcal pattern of human brains onto a 2D plane — a new approach using potential theory and MRI. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 83:2, 75-84
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10. 10

    M. Mazánek, T. Angert, K. -R. Atzor, P. Falkai, M. Gänsicke, S. Boor, C. Mehrtens, W. Maier, P. Stoeter. (1997) Asymmetrie des Planum temporale bei Zwillingen und Schizophrenen. Klinische Neuroradiologie 7:2, 83-92
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11. 11

    Verne S. Caviness, James Meyer, Nikos Makris, David N. Kennedy. (1996) MRI-Based Topographic Parcellation of Human Neocortex: An Anatomically Specified Method with Estimate of Reliability. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 8:6, 566-587
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12. 12

    Judith G Hall. (1996) Twinning: mechanisms and genetic implications. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 6:3, 343-347
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13. 13

    HELMUTH STEINMETZ. (1996) Structure, Function and Cerebral Asymmetry: In Vivo Morphometry of the Planum Temporale. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 20:4, 587-591
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