PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Maria Niarchou AU - Daniel E. Gustavson AU - J. Fah Sathirapongsasuti AU - Manuel Anglada-Tort AU - Else Eising AU - Eamonn Bell AU - Evonne McArthur AU - Peter Straub AU - The 23andMe Research Team AU - J. Devin McAuley AU - John A. Capra AU - Fredrik Ullén AU - Nicole Creanza AU - Miriam A. Mosing AU - David Hinds AU - Lea K. Davis AU - Nori Jacoby AU - Reyna L. Gordon TI - Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity AID - 10.1101/836197 DP - 2021 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 836197 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/09/06/836197.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/09/06/836197.full AB - Moving in synchrony to the beat is a fundamental component of musicality. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify common genetic variants associated with beat synchronization in 606,825 individuals. Beat synchronization exhibited a highly polygenic architecture, with sixty-nine loci reaching genome-wide significance (p<5×10−8) and SNP-based heritability (on the liability scale) of 13%-16%. Heritability was enriched for genes expressed in brain tissues, and for fetal and adult brain-specific gene regulatory elements, underscoring the role of central nervous system-expressed genes linked to the genetic basis of the trait. We performed validations of the self-report phenotype (through internet-based experiments) and of the GWAS (polygenic scores for beat synchronization were associated with patients algorithmically classified as musicians in medical records of a separate biobank). Genetic correlations with breathing function, motor function, processing speed, and chronotype suggest shared genetic architecture with beat synchronization and provide avenues for new phenotypic and genetic explorations.Competing Interest StatementJFS, DH, and members of the 23andMe Research Team are employees of 23andMe, Inc., and hold stock or stock options in 23andMe. All other authors declare no competing interests.