Mark E. Bastin

General cognitive function and the brain's structural connectome

The paper shows that general cognitive function is supported by a widespread white matter network across multiple brain regions and connectivity measures.

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.

Increased surface area of Heschl's gyrus following music-cued motor training.

This study shows that adding musical cues to motor training increases surface area of Heschl's gyrus in healthy adults, indicating auditory-specific neuroplastic changes.

Relative strength variability measures for brain structural connectomes and their relationship with cognitive functioning

This paper introduces new graph measures for brain structural connectomes, showing they better predict general cognitive function than existing measures.

Lifetime brain atrophy estimated from a single MRI: measurement characteristics and genome-wide correlates

This paper evaluates methods to estimate lifetime brain atrophy from a single MRI scan and identifies genetic correlates, finding that the residual method best captures brain shrinkage and has strong heritability.

Brain maps of general cognitive function and spatial correlations with neurobiological cortical profiles

The paper identifies brain regions most related to general cognitive function and links them to neurobiological properties using meta-analysis and multimodal cortical maps.

Genomic analysis of intracranial and subcortical brain volumes yields polygenic scores accounting for variation across ancestries

The paper conducts GWAS on brain volumes, identifies genetic loci, and develops polygenic scores with cross-ancestry predictive ability and causal links to neuropsychiatric disorders.

DNAm scores for serum GDF15 and NT-proBNP levels associate with a range of traits affecting the body and brain

The paper develops epigenetic scores for GDF15 and NT-proBNP levels, showing associations with disease risks and brain health traits in two cohorts.

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.

General and specific patterns of cortical gene expression as substrates of complex cognitive functioning

The paper identifies general and specific patterns of cortical gene expression related to cognitive functioning using principal component analysis and validates them across datasets.

Feature similarity gradients detect alterations in the neonatal cortex associated with preterm birth

This study uses the Vogt-Bailey index to analyze cortical microstructure gradients in preterm and term infants, finding spatially distributed alterations in preterm infants.

Blood-based DNA methylation study of alcohol consumption

This paper develops an epigenetic score to objectively measure alcohol consumption using blood-based DNA methylation and validates it across multiple cohorts, finding associations with brain health metrics.

General factors of white matter microstructure from DTI and NODDI in the developing brain

The paper uses DTI and NODDI metrics from 16 white matter tracts in preterm and term infants to identify general factors that capture shared variance and predict preterm birth outcomes.

Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of cognitive abilities

This study identifies DNA methylation predictors of cognitive function using blood samples, showing they explain variance in cognitive ability and associate with biological markers.

Three major dimensions of human brain cortical ageing in relation to cognitive decline across the 8th decade of life.

This study identifies three dimensions of cortical ageing in the human brain and links the most general dimension to cognitive decline across multiple domains in older adults.

Birth weight is associated with brain tissue volumes seven decades later, but not with age-associated changes to brain structure

The paper examines the association between birth weight and brain structure in older age, finding positive links with brain volumes but not with age-related structural changes.

Maternal cortisol is associated with neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner

This study finds that maternal cortisol levels are linked to differences in neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity, with sex-specific effects observed in girls and boys.

Hierarchical complexity of the macro-scale neonatal brain

This study examines hierarchical complexity in neonatal and adult brain networks, finding greater complexity in term-born neonates compared to preterms, linked to connectivity patterns in intermediate tiers.

Plasma lipid and liporotein biomarkers in LBC1936: Do they predict general cognitive ability and brain structure?

This study identifies lipid biomarkers associated with brain structure but not cognitive ability in older adults using metabolomic data from the LBC1936 cohort.

Age-related changes of Peak width Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity (PSMD) across the adult life span: a multi-cohort study

This study examines age-related changes in PSMD across the adult lifespan using multi-cohort diffusion tensor imaging data, finding PSMD increases consistently while other metrics show different age patterns.

Psychotic-like experiences, polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia and structural properties of the salience, default mode and central-executive networks in healthy participants from UK Biobank

The paper investigates associations between polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia, psychotic-like experiences, and structural brain network properties in healthy UK Biobank participants.

Age-dependent genetic variants associated with longitudinal changes in brain structure across the lifespan

This study identifies genetic variants linked to longitudinal brain structure changes across the lifespan using MRI data from 15,640 individuals.

Polygenic architecture of human neuroanatomical diversity

This study examines the genomic architecture of neuroanatomical diversity using SNP data and MRI, finding polygenic influences and environmental factors affecting brain asymmetry.

The effect of network thresholding and weighting on structural brain networks in the UK Biobank

This study evaluates how different network thresholding methods affect structural brain network properties and their association with age in the UK Biobank.

Quantitative Measurements of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces in the Brain are Associated with Retinal Microvascular Parameters in Older Community-Dwelling Subjects

The paper quantifies perivascular spaces (PVS) in brain MRI and links them to retinal microvascular parameters in older adults, finding associations with arteriolar narrowing and reduced branching complexity.

Neonatal morphometric similarity mapping for predicting brain age and characterizing neuroanatomic variation associated with preterm birth

The paper uses morphometric similarity networks derived from MRI data to predict brain age and identify neuroanatomic variations in preterm and term neonates.

Enhanced prediction of cognitive function using aging-sensitive networks within the human structural connectome

The paper examines how aging affects brain network integrity and its association with cognitive function using MRI data from two cohorts.

Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation and its association with subcortical volumes: findings from the ENIGMA Epigenetics Working Group

The paper reports epigenome-wide meta-analyses of blood DNA methylation with subcortical brain volumes, identifying significant associations with hippocampal volume and potential biological mechanisms.

An epigenetic predictor of death captures multi-modal measures of brain health

This paper introduces DNAm GrimAge, an epigenetic clock that predicts mortality and is associated with multiple brain health measures in older adults.

Familial t(1;11) translocation is associated with disruption of white matter structural integrity and oligodendrocyte-myelin dysfunction

The paper investigates the impact of a t(1;11) translocation on white matter integrity and oligodendrocyte-myelin function using DTI and cellular models.