Genetic influences on EEG coherence in 5-year-old twins

Electroencephalographic (EEG) coherence has been suggested to be an index of the connectivity of the brain. It represents the coupling between two EEG signals from different brain areas and is mathematically analogous to a cross-correlation in the frequency domain. We obtained data from 167 pairs of 5-year-old twins to study genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in intrahemispheric coherences. Coherence was computed in the theta band (4.0 to 7.5 cycles/s) between prefrontal, frontal, central, parietal, and occipital regions during quiet rest. Univariate genetic analyses of the data showed moderate to strong genetic influences for all coherences. Broad heritabilities ranged from 30 to 71%, with a mean heritability of 49%. With one exception, no sex differences were found. Split-half reliabilities varied with interelectrode distances, ranging from .91 for the shortest distance to .62 for the longest distance. When split-half reliabilities are compared with heritabilities, the data suggest that for cortico-cortical connections between adjacent brain areas, a large part of the variance is explained by "true" environmental influences, whereas for longer connections, that is, sensory to frontal areas, the variance is mostly genetic in origin.