Genetic variation shared with rhythmicity does not account for the association between preschool musicality and school-age verbal cognition¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The shared effect between preschool musicality and school-age verbal cognition captured by PGS rhythmicity is non-significant (β = 0.001, SE = 0.002, p = 0.71), although the total phenotypic effect is substantial (β = 0.32, p = 2.35×10−11). → 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 · r2

The same mediation-analogue SEM as the speech analysis (N = 5873) tested the musicality-to-cognition path; the article reports "little evidence that the variation shared with PGSrhythmicity contributes" (shared effect p = 0.71) despite a significant total effect (β = 0.32). No effect size printed, so impact is null.

"there was little evidence that the variation shared with PGSrhythmicity contributes to the association between preschool musicality (Fmusicality) and school-age verbal cognition (Fcognition) (shared effect: β = 0.001 (SE = 0.002), p = 0.71; total effect: β =0 . 3 2 ( S E=0 . 0 3 1 ) , p =2 . 3 5×1 0−11)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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 — related
• Phenotypic and genetic associations with musicality are robust to genetic confounding via educational attainment — related
• 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 — related
• 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
• 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%
• In latent difference score models of ability domains, nearly all PGS-to-change pathways are small and nonsignificant, while age consistently predicts pre-test level and change — related