Genetic basis of phase amplitude coupling entrained by working memory

Abstract

Working memory (WM) is a core determinant of cognitive functions, and its impairment is a hallmark of several psychiatric conditions. Here, we investigated whether genetic factors contribute to WM performance. Analyzing magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from the Human Connectome Project (82 healthy adults: monozygotic [MZ] and dizygotic [DZ] twin pairs and unrelated [UR] pairs) performing WM tasks, we observed that WM accuracy is markedly more similar within MZ twin pairs than in DZ or UR pairs, indicating a genetic contribution to WM performance. To uncover a candidate neural mechanism for this genetic influence, we quantified phase-amplitude coupling (PAC)—the modulation of high-frequency amplitude by low-frequency phase—and compared PAC patterns across individuals. We define PAC alignment as the between-individual similarity of PAC temporal patterns. PAC alignment was significantly higher in MZ than in DZ or UR pairs and positively correlated with similarity in WM behavioral accuracy, linking PAC to behavior. Together, these findings support PAC alignment as a candidate genetically influenced neural feature related to individual differences in WM.