Genetic and phylogenetic uncoupling of structure and function in human transmodal cortex

• Main Authors: Bayrak, Ş (Author), Bernhardt, B.C (Author), Bethlehem, R.A.I (Author), Eickhoff, S.B (Author), Kochunov, P. (Author), Margulies, D. (Author), Masouleh, S.K (Author), Paquola, C. (Author), Park, B.-Y (Author), Royer, J. (Author), Smallwood, J. (Author), Valk, S.L (Author), Vos de Wael, R. (Author), Xu, T. (Author), Yeo, B.T.T (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: NLM (Medline) 2022
• Subjects: article; association cortex; autobiographical memory; brain cortex; cognition; genetic regulation; human; human experiment; Macaca; meta analysis; nonhuman; social cognition; structure activity relation; writing
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher
• ISBN: 20411723 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29886-1

Brain structure scaffolds intrinsic function, supporting cognition and ultimately behavioral flexibility. However, it remains unclear how a static, genetically controlled architecture supports flexible cognition and behavior. Here, we synthesize genetic, phylogenetic and cognitive analyses to understand how the macroscale organization of structure-function coupling across the cortex can inform its role in cognition. In humans, structure-function coupling was highest in regions of unimodal cortex and lowest in transmodal cortex, a pattern that was mirrored by a reduced alignment with heritable connectivity profiles. Structure-function uncoupling in macaques had a similar spatial distribution, but we observed an increased coupling between structure and function in association cortices relative to humans. Meta-analysis suggested regions with the least genetic control (low heritable correspondence and different across primates) are linked to social-cognition and autobiographical memory. Our findings suggest that genetic and evolutionary uncoupling of structure and function in different transmodal systems may support the emergence of complex forms of cognition. © 2022. The Author(s).