Polygenic scores for rhythmicity associate with school-age speech-related communication and verbal-cognition outcomes, with two associations passing multiple-testing correction and four at the nominal level¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Among 14 school-age outcomes, two associations with PGS rhythmicity pass the multiple-testing threshold (p < 0.0025, incremental R2: 0.004–0.01) and four are nominal (p < 0.05). → Lucía de Hoyos 2025

Evidence¶

Lucía de Hoyos 2025¶

Lucía de Hoyos, Ellen Verhoef, Aysu Okbay, Janne R. Vermeulen, Celeste Figaroa, Miriam Lense, Simon E. Fisher, Reyna L. Gordon & Beate St Pourcain. (2025). Preschool musicality is associated with school-age communication abilities through genes related to rhythmicity. npj Science of Learning 10:39. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00329-y

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Linear regression screen of 14 ALSPAC school-age outcomes (N = 4169–5645) on PGS rhythmicity; the article reports "two associations passing the multiple-testing threshold" and four nominal, including intelligibility and fluency (β = 0.12, p = 1.3×10−6) and nonword repetition (β = 0.24, p = 5.1×10−13).

"We found evidence for two associations passing the multiple-testing threshold (p < 0.0025, incremental R2:0 . 0 0 4– 0.01, Fig.2b) and four associations at the nominal level (p < 0.05, Fig.2b, Supplementary Table 3)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The association between preschool musicality and school-age speech-related communication is partially accounted for by polygenic scores for rhythmicity — related
• Polygenic scores for adult rhythmicity validate ALSPAC preschool and school-age musicality measures, extending genetic associations with rhythmicity to an earlier developmental window — related
• Genetic variation shared with rhythmicity does not account for the association between preschool musicality and school-age verbal cognition — related
• Preschool and school-age musicality measures predict school-age communication and social communication, explaining up to 6% of phenotypic variance, while infant nursery-rhyme measures explain less than 1%
• Latent musicality correlates moderately with speech-related communication (r = 0.50) and modestly with cognition (r = 0.33), but not with pragmatic or social-communication factors
• Phenotypic and genetic associations with musicality are robust to genetic confounding via educational attainment