Variations in gene co-expression of insulin receptor in the brain (ePRS-IR), working memory, and error-related learning in humans.

A new genetic approach which considers the effect size of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, selected from co-expression gene networks) over health outcomes, titled expression-based polygenic risk score (ePRS), was created in Prof. Patricia Silveira’s Lab at McGill University. The project aim is to assess in which way two ePRS of insulin receptors, one accounting for insulin receptors on mesocorticolimbic pathway and other linked to hippocampus, impacts working memory and error-related learning in children and adolescents from two cohorts: the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN) cohort, using data from children aged 72 months of age; and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort, using data from adolescents aged 17 years old. This study can impact neuroscience research by showing in which ways genetic variations on brain insulin receptors impact cognitive functions also impaired in people with obesity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Patricia Silveira

Student:

Partner:

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

McGill University

Program: