- Chen, Chi-Hua;
- Gutierrez, ED;
- Thompson, Wes;
- Panizzon, Matthew S;
- Jernigan, Terry L;
- Eyler, Lisa T;
- Fennema-Notestine, Christine;
- Jak, Amy J;
- Neale, Michael C;
- Franz, Carol E;
- Lyons, Michael J;
- Grant, Michael D;
- Fischl, Bruce;
- Seidman, Larry J;
- Tsuang, Ming T;
- Kremen, William S;
- Dale, Anders M
Surface area of the cerebral cortex is a highly heritable trait, yet little is known about genetic influences on regional cortical differentiation in humans. Using a data-driven, fuzzy clustering technique with magnetic resonance imaging data from 406 twins, we parceled cortical surface area into genetic subdivisions, creating a human brain atlas based solely on genetically informative data. Boundaries of the genetic divisions corresponded largely to meaningful structural and functional regions; however, the divisions represented previously undescribed phenotypes different from conventional (non-genetically based) parcellation systems. The genetic organization of cortical area was hierarchical, modular, and predominantly bilaterally symmetric across hemispheres. We also found that the results were consistent with human-specific regions being subdivisions of previously described, genetically based lobar regionalization patterns.