In the early stages of embryo formation and development, new research has shown that the face and brain mutually shape each other through both structural effects and cell-to-cell communication. However, the fact is that this interaction, as it turned out, does not affect the further development of the brain, including the behavioral and cognitive characteristics of a person.
An international team of scientists from the UK, Belgium and the United States has identified 76 genetic regions that affect the shape of a person's brain and, at the same time, the shape of his face. The research is published in the journal Nature Genetics.
Previously, experts have already assumed a genetic link between the brain and the face, but knowledge in this area was based on the study of model organisms and clinical data on extremely rare conditions. “We decided to map the genetic relationship between the face and the shape of the human brain in a broader sense, as well as for common genetic variations in a larger, non-clinical population,” said Professor Peter Claas of the Genetics Imaging Laboratory at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium).
The authors of the work applied the methodology that they had previously used to identify genes that determine the shape of the face. “We then analyzed 3D facial images and linked several data points on them with genetic information to find correlations,” added Klaas. So scientists were able to identify the various genes that form the front of the human head.
In a new study, the research team took brain MRI scans and genetic information from nearly 20,000 people of European descent from the British Biobank. “In order to be able to analyze the MRI scans, it was necessary to measure the brain shown in the scans. We focused especially on variations of the “nut-shaped” folded surface of the brain. We then linked the image analysis data to the available genetic information. As a result, it was possible to determine 472 locations of the genome that affect the shape of our brains. 351 of these have never been previously reported. Surprisingly, we found that 76 genomic regions that predict the shape of the brain are associated with the shape of the face,”the scientists said.
In addition, they found evidence that genetic signals that affect both the brain and the shape of the face predominate in those regions of the genome that regulate gene activity during embryogenesis (formation and development of the embryo), or in facial progenitor cells. or in the developing brain. This is not surprising, because the brain and face are formed in a coordinated manner, but the researchers did not assume that the connection would be so genetically complex and would have such an impact on human variability.
However, the apparent genetic relationship between face and brain shape did not in any way affect a person's behavioral and cognitive characteristics, as well as the risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Consequently, the new data will make it possible to refute some pseudoscientific opinions about what a person can tell about the "essence" of its owner. According to the researchers, even with the help of advanced technologies, it is impossible to predict someone's behavior, guided only by facial features.
“Our data confirmed that there is no evidence of a link between a person's face and a person's behavior. Therefore, we openly dissociate ourselves from pseudoscientific claims to the contrary. For example, some believe they can use artificial intelligence to detect aggressive facial tendencies. Such projects are not only unethical, but also lacking a scientific basis,”concluded Claes.