Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high 
polygenicity

Niarchou, Maria; Gustavson, Daniel E.; Sathirapongsasuti, J. Fah; Anglada-Tort, Manuel; Eising, Else; Bell, Eamonn; McArthur, Evonne; Straub, Peter; The 23andMe Research Team; McAuley, J. Devin; Capra, John A.; Ullén, Fredrik; Creanza, Nicole; Mosing, Miriam A.; Hinds, David; Davis, Lea K.; Jacoby, Nori; Gordon, Reyna L.

doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01359-x

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Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity

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Anglada-Tort, Manuel
Research Group Computational Auditory Perception, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Max Planck Society;

Eising, Else
Language and Genetics Department, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society;

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Ullén, Fredrik
Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Max Planck Society;
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet;

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Mosing, Miriam A.
Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Max Planck Society;
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet;
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne;

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Jacoby, Nori
Research Group Computational Auditory Perception, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Niarchou, M., Gustavson, D. E., Sathirapongsasuti, J. F., Anglada-Tort, M., Eising, E., Bell, E., et al. (2022). Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 1292-1309. doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01359-x.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000A-9C52-A

Abstract

Moving in synchrony to the beat is a fundamental component of musicality. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify common genetic variants associated with beat synchronization in 606,825 individuals. Beat synchronization exhibited a highly polygenic architecture, with sixty-nine loci reaching genome-wide significance (p<5×10−8) and SNP-based heritability (on the liability scale) of 13%-16%. Heritability was enriched for genes expressed in brain tissues, and for fetal and adult brain-specific gene regulatory elements, underscoring the role of central nervous system-expressed genes linked to the genetic basis of the trait. We performed validations of the self-report phenotype (through internet-based experiments) and of the GWAS (polygenic scores for beat synchronization were associated with patients algorithmically classified as musicians in medical records of a separate biobank). Genetic correlations with breathing function, motor function, processing speed, and chronotype suggest shared genetic architecture with beat synchronization and provide avenues for new phenotypic and genetic explorations.Competing Interest StatementJFS, DH, and members of the 23andMe Research Team are employees of 23andMe, Inc., and hold stock or stock options in 23andMe. All other authors declare no competing interests.