Twin studies are important to investigate genetic influences on variation in human brain morphology in health and disease. However, the twin method has been criticized for its alleged non-generalizability due to differences in the intrauterine and family environment of twins, compared with singletons. To test whether twin-singleton differences complicate interpretation of genetic contributions on variation in brain volume, brains from 112 pairs of twins and 34 of their siblings with a mean (standard deviation) age of 30.7 (9.6) years were scanned using MRI. The influence of birth order, zygosity and twin-sibling differences on brain volume measures was analysed using maximum-likelihood model fitting. Variances were homogeneous across birth order, zygosity and twin-singleton status. Irrespective of zygosity, intracranial volume was smaller in second-born twins compared with first-born twins and compared with siblings. Grey matter volume was smaller in second-born twins compared with first-born twins. White matter was smaller in twins compared with siblings. Differences in grey and white matter between these groups were no longer significant after correction for intracranial volume. Total brain, and lateral and third ventricle volumes were comparable in twins and single-tons. In conclusion, second-born twins have a smaller intracranial volume than their first-born co-twins and siblings. This suggests aberrant early brain development in second-born twins, which is consistent with the sub-optimal pre- and perinatal environment related to birth order in twins. Since other brain volume measures were comparable between the groups, twin studies can provide reliable estimates of heritabilities in brain volume measures and these can be generalized to the singleton population.@en

Background Whole brain tissue volume decreases in schizophrenia have been related to both genetic risk factors and disease-related (possibly nongenetic) factors; however, whether genetic and environmental risk factors in the brains of patients with schizophrenia are differentially reflected in gray or white matter volume change is not known. Methods Magnetic resonance imaging (1.5 T) brain scans of 11 monozygotic and 11 same-gender dizygotic twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia were acquired and compared with 11 monozygotic and 11 same-gender dizygotic healthy control twin pairs. Results Repeated-measures volume analysis of covariance revealed decreased whole brain volume in the patients with schizophrenia as compared with their co-twins and with healthy twin pairs. Decreased white matter volume was found in discordant twin pairs compared with healthy twin pairs, particularly in the monozygotic twin pairs. A decrease in gray matter was found in the patients compared with their co-twins and compared with the healthy twins. Conclusions The results suggest that the decreases in white matter volume reflect the increased genetic risk to develop schizophrenia, whereas the decreases in gray matter volume are related to environmental risk factors. Study of genes involved in the (maintenance) of white matter structures may be particularly fruitful in schizophrenia.@en

The degree to which individual variation in brain structure in humans is genetically or environmentally determined is as yet not well understood. We studied the brains of 54 monozygotic (33 male, 21 female) and 58 dizygotic (17 male, 20 female, 21 opposite sex) pairs of twins and 34 of their full siblings (19 male, 15 female) by means of high resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans. Structural equation modeling was used to quantify the genetic and environmental contributions to phenotypic (co)variance in whole brain, gray and white matter volume of the cerebrum, lateral ventricle volume and associated variables such as intracranial volume and height. Because the cerebral cortex makes up more that two-thirds of the brain mass and almost three-quarters of its synapses, our data predominantly concerns the telencephalon. Genetic factors accounted for most of the individual differences in whole brain (90%), gray (82%) and white (88%) matter volume. Individual differences in lateral ventricle volume were best explained by a model containing common (58%) and unique (42%) environmental factors, indicating genes to be of no or minor influence. In our sample, genetic or environmental influences were not different for males and females. The same genes influenced brain volumes and intracranial volume and almost completely explained their high phenotypic correlation. Genes influencing gray and white matter overlapped to a large extent and completely determined their phenotypic correlation. The high heritability estimates that were found indicate that brain volumes may be useful as intermediate phenotypes in behavioral genetic research.@en

Background: The study was designed to examine the relative contributions of genetic and nongenetic factors to structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia and subjects at risk to develop the disorder. Methods: The brains of 15 monozygotic and 14 samesex dizygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia (patients) and 29 healthy twins pair-wise matched for zygosity, sex, age, and birth order were studied using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans. Results: Intracranial and whole-brain corrected frontal lobe volumes were smaller (4.6% and 2.7%, respectively) in discordant monozygotic twins as compared with healthy monozygotic twins. Irrespective of zygosity, discordant twins had smaller whole-brain (2%), parahippocampal (9%), and hippocampal (8%) volumes than healthy twins. Moreover, patients had smaller whole-brain volumes (2.2%) than their nonschizophrenic cotwins, who in turn had smaller brains (1%) than healthy twins. Lateral and third-ventricle volumes were increased in discordant dizygotic twins as compared with healthy dizygotic twins (60.6% and 56.6%, respectively). Finally, within discordant twins, lateral ventricles were larger (14.4%) in patients than in their nonschizophrenic cotwins. Conclusions: Smaller intracranial volumes in the monozygotic patients and their cotwins suggest that increased genetic risk to develop schizophrenia is related to reduced brain growth early in life. The additional reduction in whole-brain volume found in the patients suggests that the manifestation of the disorder is related to (neurodegenerative) processes that are most likely nongenetic in origin.@en

By means of high-sensitivity capacitance torque magnetometers we have measured the superconducting current js and the dynamic magnetic-moment relaxation of YBa2Cu3O7 and YBa2Cu4O8 films of typically 100 nm thickness at temperatures between 2 K and Tc in magnetic fields up to 6 T. For the measurements of the dynamic relaxation rate Q≡d ln js/d ln (dBe/dt) magnetic-field sweep rates were varied between 0.5 and 40 mT/s. At low fields (typically 0.5 T) the dynamical relaxation rate exhibits a plateau at Q≈0.06 in YBa2Cu3O7 and 0.04 in YBa2Cu4O8. At high fields (Be=μ0He≈ 6 T) the plateaus have completely disappeared and Q increases almost linearly with increasing temperature. At all fields a sharp increase up to Q≊1 is observed when the irreversibility line is approached. By means of the generalized inversion scheme (GIS), the js(T, Be) and Q (T, Be) data are used to determined the current dependent activation energy U (j, T, Be) for thermally activted flux creep. Although the GIS does not make any a priori assumptions about the explicit functional dependences on T and j, the U(j, T=0, Be) function derived from the experimental data by means of the GIS can remarkably well be described with the collective-creep interpolation formula U(j)=(Uc/μ)[(jc/j)μ-1] with μ≈0.6 for currents j>0.15jc (T=0, Be) where Jc(T=0, Be) is the critical current at T=0, and wi Uc depending on Be. At lower current densities U(j, T=0, Be) does not diverge as j-0.6 but shifts gradually to a weaker ln(jc/j) dependence. At low temperatures the current and relaxation data cannot be explained in terms of a thermally activated flux-motion model. Quantum creep has an influence up to ∼13 K.@en

The critical current jc and the pinning energy Uc have been determined for three types of yttrium-based superconducting films from current js and dynamic relaxation Q=d lnjs/d ln(dB/dt) data by means of the generalized inversion scheme. For B<2 T and T<80 K the temperature dependence of jc and Uc for all films is found to be in excellent agreement with a model of single vortices pinned by randomly distributed weak pinning centers via spatial fluctuations of the charge carrier mean free path. Pinning due to spatial fluctuations of Tc is not observed.@en

The supercurrent js and the dynamical relaxation rate Q ≡ dlnjs/dln(dBe/dt) of YBa2Cu3O7 and YBa2Cu4O8 films of about 100 nm thickness have been measured by means of a torque magnetometer for temperatures up to Tc and fields up to Be = 7 T. From these data the true critical current jc(T, Be) and the activation energy function U(j, T, Be) for thermally activated flux motion have been calculated. For fields smaller than about 2 T, both samples are in the single vortex regime. The obtained U(j, T = 0, Be) dependence is rather well described by the collective pinning interpolation formula.@en