Strong resemblance in the amplitude of oscillatory brain activity in monozygotic twins is not caused by "trivial" similarities in the composition of the skull

Abstract

Previous twin studies have shown strong heritability of electroencephalogram amplitude characteristics, such as power spectra. However, it has been suggested that these high heritabilities may reflect "trivial" twin resemblance in intervening tissues such as the skull. Here we demonstrate strong monozygotic twin correlation (0.79 < r < 0.88) of eyes-closed resting-state magnetoencephalogram power, which is insensitive to intervening tissues. These results confirm that brain activity itself is highly heritable.