Quantifying the Effects of 16p11.2 Copy Number Variants on Brain Structure: A Multisite Genetic-First Study

Sandra Martin-Brevet, Borja Rodríguez-Herreros, Jared A. Nielsen, Clara Moreau, Claudia Modenato, Anne M. Maillard, Aurélie Pain, Sonia Richetin, Aia E. Jønch, Abid Y. Qureshi, Nicole R. Zürcher, Philippe Conus, 16p11.2 European Consortium, Marie-Claude Addor, Joris Andrieux, Benoît Arveiler, Geneviève Baujat, Frédérique Sloan-Béna, Marco Belfiore, Dominique Bonneau, Sonia Bouquillon, Odile Boute, Alfredo Brusco, Tiffany Busa, Jean-Hubert Caberg, Dominique Campion, Vanessa Colombert, Marie-Pierre Cordier, Albert David, François-Guillaume Debray, Marie-Ange Delrue, Martine Doco-Fenzy, Ulrike Dunkhase-Heinl, Patrick Edery, Christina Fagerberg, Laurence Faivre, Francesca Forzano, David Genevieve, Marion Gérard, Daniela Giachino, Agnès Guichet, Olivier Guillin, Delphine Héron, Bertrand Isidor, Aurélia Jacquette, Sylvie Jaillard, Hubert Journel, Boris Keren, Didier Lacombe, Sébastien Lebon, Cédric Le Caignec, Marie-Pierre Lemaître, James Lespinasse, Michèle Mathieu-Dramart, Sandra Mercier, Cyril Mignot, Chantal Missirian, Florence Petit, Kristina Pilekær Sørensen, Lucile Pinson, Ghislaine Plessis, Fabienne Prieur, Caroline Rooryck-Thambo, Massimiliano Rossi, Damien Sanlaville, Britta Schlott Kristiansen, Caroline Schluth-Bolard, Marianne Till, Mieke Van Haelst, Lionel Van Maldergem, Simons Variation in Individuals Project Consortium, Hanalore Alupay, Benjamin Aaronson, Sean Ackerman, Katy Ankenman, Ayesha Anwar, Constance Atwell, Alexandra Bowe, Arthur L. Beaudet, Marta Benedetti, Jessica Berg, Jeffrey Berman, Leandra N. Berry, Audrey L. Bibb, Lisa Blaskey, Jonathan Brennan, Christie M. Brewton, Randy Buckner, Polina Bukshpun, Jordan Burko, Phil Cali, Bettina Cerban, Yishin Chang, Maxwell Cheong, Vivian Chow, Zili Chu, Darina Chudnovskaya, Lauren Cornew, Corby Dale, John Dell, Allison G. Dempsey, Trent Deschamps, Rachel Earl, James Edgar, Jenna Elgin, Jennifer Endre Olson, Yolanda L. Evans, Anne Findlay, Gerald D. Fischbach, Charlie Fisk, Brieana Fregeau, Bill Gaetz, Leah Gaetz, Silvia Garza, Jennifer Gerdts, Orit Glenn, Sarah E. Gobuty, Rachel Golembski, Marion Greenup, Kory Heiken, Katherine Hines, Leighton Hinkley, Frank I. Jackson, Julian Jenkins, Rita J. Jeremy, Kelly Johnson, Stephen M. Kanne, Sudha Kessler, Sarah Y. Khan, Matthew Ku, Emily Kuschner, Anna L. Laakman, Peter Lam, Morgan W. Lasala, Hana Lee, Kevin LaGuerre, Susan Levy, Alyss Lian Cavanagh, Ashlie V. Llorens, Katherine Loftus Campe, Tracy L. Luks, Elysa J. Marco, Stephen Martin, Alastair J. Martin, Gabriela Marzano, Christina Masson, Kathleen E. McGovern, Rebecca McNally Keehn, David T. Miller, Fiona K. Miller, Timothy J. Moss, Rebecca Murray, Srikantan S. Nagarajan, Kerri P. Nowell, Julia Owen, Andrea M. Paal, Alan Packer, Patricia Z. Page, Brianna M. Paul, Alana Peters, Danica Peterson, Annapurna Poduri, Nicholas J. Pojman, Ken Porche, Monica B. Proud, Saba Qasmieh, Melissa B. Ramocki, Beau Reilly, Timothy P.L. Roberts, Dennis Shaw, Tuhin Sinha, Bethanny Smith-Packard, Anne Snow Gallagher, Vivek Swarnakar, Tony Thieu, Christina Triantafallou, Roger Vaughan, Mari Wakahiro, Arianne Wallace, Tracey Ward, Julia Wenegrat, Anne Wolken, Wendy K. Chung, Elliott H. Sherr, John E. Spiro, Ferath Kherif, Jacques S. Beckmann, Nouchine Hadjikhani, Alexandre Reymond, Randy L. Buckner, Bogdan Draganski, Sébastien Jacquemont

16p11.2 breakpoint 4 to 5 copy number variants (CNVs) increase the risk for developing autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and language and cognitive impairment. In this multisite study, we aimed to quantify the effect of 16p11.2 CNVs on brain structure. Using voxel- and surface-based brain morphometric methods, we analyzed structural magnetic resonance imaging collected at seven sites from 78 individuals with a deletion, 71 individuals with a duplication, and 212 individuals without a CNV. Beyond the 16p11.2-related mirror effect on global brain morphometry, we observe regional mirror differences in the insula (deletion > control > duplication). Other regions are preferentially affected by either the deletion or the duplication: the calcarine cortex and transverse temporal gyrus (deletion > control; Cohen's d > 1), the superior and middle temporal gyri (deletion < control; Cohen's d < -1), and the caudate and hippocampus (control > duplication; -0.5 > Cohen's d > -1). Measures of cognition, language, and social responsiveness and the presence of psychiatric diagnoses do not influence these results. The global and regional effects on brain morphometry due to 16p11.2 CNVs generalize across site, computational method, age, and sex. Effect sizes on neuroimaging and cognitive traits are comparable. Findings partially overlap with results of meta-analyses performed across psychiatric disorders. However, the lack of correlation between morphometric and clinical measures suggests that CNV-associated brain changes contribute to clinical manifestations but require additional factors for the development of the disorder. These findings highlight the power of genetic risk factors as a complement to studying groups defined by behavioral criteria.