Polygenic Associations Between Motor Behavior, Neuromotor Traits, and Active Music Engagement in Four Cohorts.

PGS for faster walking pace was associated with higher amounts of active music engagement in meta-analysis across cohorts and outcomes.

• Results were meta-analyzed for each PGS main effect across outcomes and cohorts
• Four independent cohorts were included: CLSA (N = 22,198), WLS (N = 4605), BioVU (N = 6150), and OM (N = 1559)
• This was the primary significant finding among PGSs for five behavioral motor traits, 12 structural brain traits, and seven rate-of-change in brain structure traits tested
• The association with walking pace PGS was identified as the key result linking motor genetics to music engagement

Within the CLSA cohort specifically, a higher PGS for walking pace was associated with greater odds of engaging with music.

• The CLSA cohort was the largest individual cohort analyzed, with N = 22,198 participants
• The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) provided cohort-specific results consistent with the meta-analytic findings
• The outcome was measured as odds of active music engagement (playing a musical instrument or singing)

The study investigated polygenic scores derived from 24 existing genome-wide association studies covering motor behavioral and neuromotor structural traits.

• PGSs were trained from existing GWAS for five behavioral motor traits, 12 structural brain traits, and seven rate-of-change in brain structure traits
• Active music engagement was defined as playing a musical instrument or singing
• Four independent cohorts were used: CLSA, WLS, BioVU, and Vanderbilt's Online Musicality Study (OM)
• Total combined sample across cohorts exceeded 34,000 participants (CLSA N=22,198; WLS N=4,605; BioVU N=6,150; OM N=1,559)

Active music engagement may be protective of motor function decline in aging, and genetic architecture of the motor system may influence music engagement.

• The paper frames the relationship as potentially bidirectional: playing musical instruments may transfer to motor function benefits, but genetic predispositions for motor behavior may also influence music engagement
• The study was motivated by the hypothesis that motor behavior genetics and motor system brain structures may influence active music engagement
• Future research recommendations include considering genetic underpinnings of motor behavior when evaluating effects of music engagement on motor function

The findings suggest a shared genetic architecture between motor function and active music engagement.

• The authors conclude that polygenic predisposition toward faster walking pace shares genetic overlap with propensity for active music engagement
• The result was consistent across multiple cohorts and survived meta-analytic aggregation
• The authors recommend future research consider genetic underpinnings of motor behavior in studies of music engagement and motor function