A Genetically Informed Brain Atlas for Enhancing Brain Imaging Genomics

    April 2025 in “ Nature Communications ”
    Jingxuan Bao, Junhao Wen, Changgee Chang, Shizhuo Mu, Jiong Chen, Manu Shivakumar, Yuhan Cui, Güray Erus, Zhijian Yang, Shu Yang, Zixuan Wen, Yize Zhao, Dokyoon Kim, Duy Duong‐Tran, Andrew J. Saykin, Bingxin Zhao, Christos Davatzikos, Qi Long, Li Shen, Ozioma Okonkwo, Leslie M. Shaw, Edward B. Lee, Arthur W. Toga, Laurel Beckett, Danielle Harvey, Robert C. Green, Kwangsik Nho, Richard J. Perrin, Duygu Tosun, Pallavi Sachdev, Erin Drake, Tom Montine, Catherine Conti, Rachel Nosheny, Diana Truran Sacrey, Juliet Fockler, Melanie J. Miller, Winnie Kwang, Chengshi Jin, Adam Diaz, Miriam Ashford, Derek Flenniken, Adrienne Kormos, Michael Rafii, Rema Raman, Gustavo Jimenez, Michael Donohue, Jennifer Salazar, Andrea Fidell, Virginia Boatwright, Justin Robison, Caileigh Zimmerman, Yuliana Cabrera, Sarah Walter, Taylor Clanton, Elizabeth Shaffer, Caitlin Webb, Lindsey Hergesheimer, Stephanie Smith, Sheila Ogwang, Olusegun Adegoke, Payam Mahboubi, Jeremy Pizzola, Cecily Jenkins, Naomi Saito, Kedir Adem Hussen, Hannatu Amaza, Mai Seng Thao, Shaniya Parkins, Omobolanle Ayo, Matt Glittenberg, Isabella Hoang, Kaori Kubo Germano, Joe Strong, Trinity Weisensel, Fabiola Magana, Lisa Thomas, Vanessa Guzman, Adeyinka Ajayi, Joseph Di Benedetto, Sandra Talavera, Robert A. Koeppe, Gil Rabinovici, Victor Villemagne, Brian LoPresti, John Morris, Erin Franklin, Virginia M. Y. Lee, Magdalena Korecka, Magdalena Brylska, Yang Wan, J. Q. Trojanowki, Karen Crawford, Scott Neu, Tatiana M. Foroud, Taeho Jo, Shannon L. Risacher, Hannah Craft, Liana G. Apostolova, Kelly Nudelman
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    TLDR GIANT improves brain imaging by using genetics to better map brain regions.
    The study introduces the GIANT (Genetically Informed brAiN aTlas), a novel brain atlas that integrates genetic and neuroanatomical data to enhance brain imaging genomics. GIANT improves upon traditional brain atlases by clustering brain voxels into genetically informed regions, resulting in increased regional SNP heritability and enhanced polygenicity. It was validated using data from 38,290 subjects from the UK Biobank and 1,809 subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, demonstrating its generalizability across diverse populations. GIANT's genetic architecture revealed associations with complex traits and potential for gene-guided drug discovery, offering a robust tool for advancing imaging genomics and understanding the genetic underpinnings of brain morphology.
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