Polymorphism of DCDC2 Reveals Differences in Cortical Morphology of Healthy Individuals—A Preliminary Voxel Based Morphometry Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there is an association between the putative reading disability (RD) susceptibility gene Doublecortin Domain Containing 2 (DCDC2), and gray matter (GM) distribution in the brain, in a sample of healthy control individuals. METHOD: Fifty-six control subjects were genotyped for an RD-associated deletion in intron 2 of DCDC2. Voxel based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to assess GM differences between the two groups. RESULTS: Individuals heterozygous for the deletion exhibited significantly higher GM volumes in reading/language and symbol-decoding related brain regions including superior, medial and inferior temporal, fusiform, hippocampal/para-hippocampal, inferior occipito-parietal, inferior and middle frontal gyri, especially in the left hemisphere. GM values correlated with published data on regional DCDC2 expression in a lateralized manner. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a role for DCDC2 in GM distribution in language-related brain regions in healthy individuals.