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Genetic control of dynamic brain network reconfiguration during working memory.

Overview

Authors: Maryam Fatemi1, Mohammad Reza Daliri1
ORCID iDs: Mohammad Reza Daliri
  1. Neuroscience & Neuroengineering Research Lab., Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST), Narmak, Tehran, Iran
Institutions: Iran University of Science and Technology (Iran)
Journal: PloS one, volume 21, issue 3, article e0339570
Dates: received 30 July 2025; accepted 9 December 2025; published online 2 March 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0339570 · PMID 41770726 · PMCID PMC12952623 · OpenAlex W7133221344
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: genetics / omics (modality), structural MRI / diffusion (modality), fMRI (modality), human (organism), cognitive (subfield)
Methods: Statistics, Machine learning, Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Preprocessing, Connectivity, fMRI & imaging
MeSH: Brain*, Memory, Short-Term*, Nerve Net*, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic (* major topic)
Journal subjects: Biology and Life Sciences, Genetics, Heredity, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, Working Memory, Cognition, Memory, Learning and Memory, Gene Identification and Analysis, Genetic Networks, Computer and Information Sciences, Network Analysis, Neural Networks, Developmental Biology, Twins, Brain Mapping, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Medicine and Health Sciences, Diagnostic Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Research and Analysis Methods, Imaging Techniques, Radiology and Imaging, Neuroimaging, Evolutionary Biology, Population Genetics, Genetic Polymorphism, Population Biology
Topic: Functional Brain Connectivity Studies (Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience), according to OpenAlex
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 59 references in the paper

Abstract

Working memory is fundamental to human cognition, yet the genetic contributions to dynamic brain network states during task remain poorly understood. Here, we examined static and dynamic functional connectivity in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins performing a 2-back versus 0-back working memory task, isolating cognitive-load-specific neural processes. Static functional connectivity exhibited moderate heritability (A ≈ 0.30), predominantly in heteromodal association cortex, including the Default Mode Network (DMN) and fronto-cingulate control regions, whereas primary sensory-motor networks showed minimal genetic influence. Dynamic connectivity further distinguished mean and variance components: mean dynamic connectivity demonstrated moderate heritability (A ≈ 0.23–0.30) across DMN–attention and DMN–frontal control interactions, whereas variance of dynamic connectivity showed the strongest genetic effects (A ≈ 0.25–0.44), reflecting highly heritable moment-to-moment neural flexibility within temporal, cingulo-opercular, and executive networks. Using k-means clustering, we identified two recurring dynamic brain states. State 2 was dominant (occupancy 75.6%) and stable (mean dwell ≈ 3.98 windows), whereas State 1 was transient (occupancy 24.4%, dwell ≈ 1.29 windows). Notably, neither state occupancy nor switching dynamics showed significant heritability, indicating these temporal characteristics are largely driven by environmental or task-related variability. Collectively, these findings reveal a gradient of genetic influence: static connectivity captures a moderately heritable trait-like baseline; mean dynamic connectivity reflects intermediate task-modulated coordination; and dynamic variability represents the most genetically influenced phenotype, highlighting neural flexibility and adaptability as heritable traits. These results suggest that variability in dynamic connectivity may serve as a sensitive endophenotype for cognitive and psychiatric traits, emphasizing the importance of temporal network dynamics in capturing genetically mediated individual differences in working memory.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Tracing map

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Data

Datasets cited

Data Availability

All the data used are from public databases (https://humanconnectome.org/study/hcp-young-adult) and described and referenced properly in the manuscript.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

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Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 2 authors, 10 MeSH terms, 56 references.

Cite

This paper

Fatemi, M., & Daliri, M. R. (2026). Genetic control of dynamic brain network reconfiguration during working memory. PloS one, 21(3), e0339570. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339570

BibTeX

@article{fatemi2026genetic,
author = {Fatemi, Maryam and Daliri, Mohammad Reza},
title = {{Genetic control of dynamic brain network reconfiguration during working memory}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2026},
month = mar,
volume = {21},
number = {3},
pages = {e0339570},
publisher = {PLOS},
issn = {1932-6203},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0339570},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339570},
pmid = {41770726},
pmcid = {PMC12952623}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Fatemi, Maryam
AU - Daliri, Mohammad Reza
TI - Genetic control of dynamic brain network reconfiguration during working memory
T2 - PloS one
J2 - PLoS One
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/03/02
VL - 21
IS - 3
SP - e0339570
SN - 1932-6203
PB - PLOS
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0339570
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339570
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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