Annchen R. Knodt

Shared genetic architecture of brain age gap across 30 cohorts worldwide

This study identifies a shared genetic factor underlying brain age gaps across 30 cohorts, finding 19 SNPs and associations with health traits.

An estimate of the longitudinal pace of aging from a single brain scan predicts dementia conversion, morbidity, and mortality

The paper introduces DunedinPACNI, a brain MRI-based aging measure that predicts dementia conversion, morbidity, and mortality.

Improving Predictability, Test-Retest Reliability and Generalisability of Brain-Wide Associations for Cognitive Abilities via Multimodal Stacking

This paper introduces a stacking machine learning approach to improve predictability, test-retest reliability, and generalisability of brain-wide associations for cognitive abilities using multimodal MRI data.

Genetic variants for head size share genes and pathways with cancer

This study identifies 67 genetic loci associated with head size, finding strong overlaps with cancer pathways and genes, suggesting shared genetic mechanisms between head growth and cancer risk.

Functional Topography of the Neocortex Predicts Covariation in Complex Cognitive and Basic Motor Abilities

The paper examines how functional topography of neocortical networks in midlife relates to covariation in motor and cognitive abilities, finding that motor ability reflects functional topography differences while hearing does not.

Associations between thinner retinal neuronal layers and suboptimal brain structural integrity: Are the eyes a window to the brain?

The paper examines the association between retinal neuronal layer thickness and brain structural integrity in midlife, finding thinner retinal layers correlate with reduced brain structural measures.

Meta-analytic activation maps can help identify affective processes captured by contrast-based task fMRI: the case of threat-related facial expressions

The paper compares meta-analysis maps (MAMs) of emotion categories with individual contrast maps (ICMs) from task fMRI data to identify affective processes related to threat-related facial expressions.

A connectome-wide functional signature of trait anger

This study identifies brain connectivity patterns associated with trait anger using a large sample and connectome-wide analysis, finding hyperconnectivity in action-related regions.

Associations between childhood family emotional health, fronto-limbic grey matter volume, and saliva 5mC in young adulthood

The paper examines associations between childhood family emotional health, brain grey matter volume, and DNA methylation in saliva, finding mediation effects and enriched biological pathways.

Pervasively thinner neocortex as a transdiagnostic feature of general psychopathology

The paper identifies a common pattern of reduced neocortical thickness across multiple psychiatric disorder categories and the general psychopathology factor.

Little Evidence for Associations Between the Big Five Personality Traits and Variability in Brain Gray or White Matter

The paper tests associations between Big Five personality traits and brain structure variability in 1,107 students, finding only a weak and inconsistent link between conscientiousness and superior temporal gyrus surface area.

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The paper identifies genetic loci associated with human cortical structure and finds genetic correlations with neuropsychiatric disorders.

What is the test-retest reliability of common task-fMRI measures? Newempirical evidence and a meta-analysis

Task-fMRI regional activation has poor test-retest reliability: meta-analytic mean intraclass correlation .397 across 77 un-thresholded substudies, and .067 to .485 for 11 tasks in HCP and Dunedin retest samples.

Brain-age in midlife is associated with accelerated biological aging and cognitive decline in a longitudinal birth-cohort

This study shows that older brain-age in midlife is linked to accelerated biological aging and cognitive decline, supporting brain-age as a biomarker while highlighting its potential to reflect lifelong CNS variation.

Replicability of Structural Brain Alterations Associated with General Psychopathology: Evidence from a Population-Representative Birth Cohort

The paper replicates structural brain alterations linked to the p factor in a longitudinal cohort, finding support for cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit and visual association cortex associations but not cerebellar morphology.

Maternal Overprotection in Childhood is Associated with Amygdala Reactivity and Structural Connectivity in Adulthood

This study finds that higher maternal overprotection in childhood is linked to increased amygdala reactivity to explicit threat signals and reduced structural integrity of the uncinate fasciculus in young adulthood.

Convergent evidence for predispositonal effects of brain volume on alcohol consumption

The paper identifies smaller brain volumes in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and insula as predispositional risk factors for alcohol use, supported by genetic and longitudinal evidence.

A GWAS-Derived Polygenic Score for Interleukin-1β is Associated with Hippocampal Volume in Two Samples

The paper associates a GWAS-derived polygenic score for IL-1β with hippocampal volume in two independent samples, showing a positive correlation.

Microstructural integrity of white matter moderates an association between childhood adversity and adult trait anger

The paper examines how white matter microstructural integrity moderates the link between childhood adversity and adult trait anger using diffusion MRI data.

General Functional Connectivity: shared features of resting-state and task fMRI drive reliable and heritable individual differences in functional brain networks

This paper introduces General Functional Connectivity (GFC) to improve reliability and heritability of intrinsic connectivity estimates by combining resting-state and task fMRI data.

Corticolimbic circuit structure moderates an association between early life stress and later trait anxiety

The paper examines how structural features of the corticolimbic circuit moderate the link between childhood adversity and trait anxiety in young adults.

White matter hyperintensities are common in midlife and already associated with cognitive decline

This study finds that white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are common in midlife and are associated with lower IQ and greater cognitive decline from childhood to midlife.

A Polygenic Score for Higher Educational Attainment is Associated with Larger Brains

The paper finds that a polygenic score for educational attainment is associated with larger brain size and better cognitive test performance, suggesting a genetic link between brain size and intelligence.

Paradoxical Associations Between Familial Affective Responsiveness, Stress, and Amygdala Reactivity

The paper examines how subtle variations in caregiving, specifically familial affective responsiveness, influence amygdala reactivity to interpersonal threat in adolescents, revealing paradoxical associations with stress levels.

A Connectome Wide Functional Signature of Transdiagnostic Risk for Mental Illness

The paper identifies a functional signature of transdiagnostic mental illness risk through hyper-connectivity between visual association cortex and frontoparietal and default mode networks.

Do Candidate Genes Affect the Brain’s White Matter Microstructure? Large-Scale Evaluation of 6,165 Diffusion MRI Scans

The paper evaluates 15 candidate SNPs associated with psychiatric disorders using 6,165 diffusion MRI scans, finding no significant associations after correction for multiple testing.