Our brains are quite fascinating. They control how we think, learn, and react to the things around us. But how does the brain work?
Well, researchers from Biogen Inc. and other institutions have been trying to find answers to this question. They’ve made a cool discovery.
They found eight genes that have a strong connection to how our brain works when we’re adults. This was explained in their research paper, which was published in Nature Genetics.
Cracking the Code: The Role of Genes
To understand how our brains work, the researchers looked closely at our genes. Genes are the body’s instruction manuals. They decide how our bodies grow and function.
The researchers studied the genes of 454,787 people from the UK Biobank. These people had taken different tests to measure how their brains work.
From this huge amount of data, the researchers found eight special genes. These genes seem to have a strong effect on how our brain functions.
The genes are: ADGRB2, KDM5B, GIGYF1, ANKRD12, SLC8A1, RC3H2, CACNA1A, and BCAS3.
The Three Tests: EDU, RT, and VNR
The researchers wanted to see how these genes affect three aspects of our brain’s function. The first aspect is ‘educational attainment’ (EDU), which is basically how far we go in school.
The second is ‘reaction time’ (RT), which is how quickly we respond to things.
The last one is ‘verbal-numerical reasoning’ (VNR), which is how good we are at solving problems that involve words and numbers.
Different genes seemed to affect these three aspects differently. For instance, the gene ADGRB2 had a strong effect on EDU but didn’t seem to affect RT or VNR.
The gene KDM5B, however, seemed to have a strong effect on all three aspects.
KDM5B: A Special Gene
KDM5B was unique because it was the only gene that had a strong effect on all three aspects of brain function that were studied.
Interestingly, this gene was also linked to hand grip strength, which is how strongly you can grip things with your hand.
This could mean that there is a connection between how our brain works and how strong our grip is.
Also, it’s interesting to note that the way KDM5B works in our body seems to be very balanced. If there is too much of KDM5B, it can lead to problems with how we understand information.
This was found out in another study where mice had trouble with their brain function when there was a change in how KDM5B worked.
What’s Next?
This discovery could have big implications. If we can control how these genes work, we could potentially improve how our brain works.
In fact, researchers are already looking at ways to control KDM5B for cancer treatment. Maybe in the future, this could be used to help improve our brain function as well.
Also, some of these genes have been found to be linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. These are conditions that affect how our brain develops and works.
This could mean that some adults have lower brain function because of changes in these genes.
This research is an important step in understanding how our brains work. It shows that our genes play a big role in this. But there’s still a lot to learn.
As we understand more about our brains, we could find new ways to improve our brain function and treat brain-related conditions.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and Vitamin E may help prevent Parkinson’s disease
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and strawberries could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was published in Nature Genetics.
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