Rare variants in axonogenesis genes connect three families with sound-color synesthesia.

ABSTRACT: Synesthesia is a rare nonpathological phenomenon where stimulation of one sense automatically provokes a secondary perception in another. Hypothesized to result from differences in cortical wiring during development, synesthetes show atypical structural and functional neural connectivity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. The trait also appears to be more common among people with autism spectrum disorder and savant abilities. Previous linkage studies searching for shared loci of large effect size across multiple families have had limited success. To address the critical lack of candidate genes, we applied whole-exome sequencing to three families with sound-color (auditory-visual) synesthesia affecting multiple relatives across three or more generations. We identified rar

SUBMITTER: Tilot AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5866556 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature