
==== Front
bioRxiv
BIORXIV
bioRxiv
2692-8205
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

10.1101/2024.09.09.611603
preprint
1
Article
Preschool musicality is associated with school-age communication abilities through genes related to rhythmicity
de Hoyos Lucía http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7252-1591

Verhoef Ellen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8315-1095

Okbay Aysu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5170-7781

Vermeulen Janne R
Figaroa Celeste
Lense Miriam http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4362-3032

Fisher Simon E http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3132-1996

Gordon Reyna L http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1643-6979

Pourcain Beate St http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4680-3517

09 9 2024
2024.09.09.611603https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2024.09.09.611603
nihpp-2024.09.09.611603.pdf
Abstract

Early-life musical engagement is an understudied but developmentally important and heritable precursor of later (social) communication and language abilities. This study aims to uncover the aetiological mechanisms linking musical to communication abilities. We derived polygenic scores (PGS) for self-reported beat synchronisation abilities (PGS rhythmicity ) in children (N≤6,737) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and tested their association with preschool musical (0.5-5 years) and school-age (social) communication and cognition-related abilities (9-12 years). We further assessed whether relationships between preschool musicality and school-age communication are shared through PGS rhythmicity , using structural equation modelling techniques. PGS rhythmicity were associated with preschool musicality ( Nagelkerke -R 2 =0.70-0.79%), and school-age communication and cognition-related abilities (R 2 =0.08-0.41%), but not social communication. We identified links between preschool musicality and school-age speech-and syntax-related communication abilities as captured by known genetic influences underlying rhythmicity (shared effect β=0.0065(SE=0.0021), p =0.0016), above and beyond general cognition, strengthening support for early music intervention programmes.
==== Body
pmc
