Genome-wide meta-analysis of cognitive empathy: heritability, and correlates with sex, neuropsychiatric conditions and cognition

V Warrier (1) , K L Grasby (2) , F Uzefovsky (3, 1) , R Toro (4, 5) , P Smith (1) , B Chakrabarti (6) , J Khadake (7, 1) , E Mawbey-Adamson (1, 7) , N Litterman (8) , J-J Hottenga (9, 10) , G Lubke (11) , D I Boomsma (9) , N G Martin (2) , P K Hatemi (12) , S E Medland (2) , D A Hinds (8) , T Bourgeron (5) , S Baron-Cohen (13, 1)

1 CAM - University of Cambridge [UK]
2 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
3 BGU - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
4 GHFC (UMR_3571 / U-Pasteur_1) - Génétique humaine et fonctions cognitives - Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions
5 CNRS - UMR3571 - Gènes, Synapses et Cognition
6 UOR - University of Reading
7 CUH - Cambridge University Hospitals - NHS
8 23andMe Inc.
9 VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]
10 VU University Medical Center [Amsterdam]
11 UND - University of Notre Dame [Indiana]
12 Penn State - Pennsylvania State University
13 CPFT - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust [Cambridge]

We conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of cognitive empathy using the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' Test (Eyes Test) in 88,056 research volunteers of European Ancestry (44,574 females and 43,482 males) from 23andMe Inc., and an additional 1497 research volunteers of European Ancestry (891 females and 606 males) from the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study. We confirmed a female advantage on the Eyes Test (Cohen's d=0.21, P<2.2 × 10(-16)), and identified a locus in 3p26.1 that is associated with scores on the Eyes Test in females (rs7641347, Pmeta=1.58 × 10(-8)). Common single nucleotide polymorphisms explained 5.8% (95% CI: 4.5%-7.2%; P=1.00 × 10(-17)) of the total trait variance in both sexes, and we identified a twin heritability of 28% (95% CI: 13%-42%). Finally, we identified significant genetic correlation between the Eyes Test and anorexia nervosa, openness (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), and different measures of educational attainment and cognitive aptitude.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 6 June 2017; doi:10.1038/mp.2017.122.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]; Cognitive science; Life Sciences [q-bio]

V Warrier, K L Grasby, F Uzefovsky, R Toro, P Smith, et al.. Genome-wide meta-analysis of cognitive empathy: heritability, and correlates with sex, neuropsychiatric conditions and cognition. Molecular Psychiatry, 2017, advance online publication. ⟨10.1038/mp.2017.122⟩. ⟨pasteur-01577832⟩