Polygenic scores for adult rhythmicity validate ALSPAC preschool and school-age musicality measures, extending genetic associations with rhythmicity to an earlier developmental window¶

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? All musicality measures except singing songs at 5 years associate with PGS rhythmicity at the multiple-testing threshold (p < 0.0025, incremental Nagelkerke-R2: 0.006–0.011). → 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

Proportional odds logistic regression of ALSPAC musicality measures on PGS rhythmicity (N = 5483–6028), using 23andMe beat-synchronisation GWAS weights; the article reports all measures "except for singing songs at 5 years" passed p < 0.0025 with incremental Nagelkerke-R2 of 0.006–0.011; no standardised effect size was printed.

"All associations except for singing songs at 5 years passed the multip le-testing threshold ( p < 0.0025, incremental Nagelkerke -R2: 0. 0 0 6– 0.011)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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
• 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% — related
• 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