Approved Research

Are genetic variants associated with social connectedness in UK Biobank participants also associated with individual variation in motor function?

Lay summary

The aim of this research is to investigate which genes contribute to differences in social behaviour and movement in people. We will also explore whether there is an overlap between genes linked to social behaviours and movement in humans and those previously identified in honeybees. We will use data collected from a large group of adults who took part in the UK Biobank project alongside honeybee data from the University of Illinois will identify key genes that have been used and reused to build social behaviours throughout the course of evolution.

Previous work has shown that certain aspects of sociability in humans and honeybees are underpinned by similar gene sets and that humans social support is a protective factor against a range of mental and physical health issues. Thus, understanding more about the genetic basis of social behaviour may help create new biologically-targeted strategies to support individuals who struggle most to access social support. We believe furthering our knowledge about the genetic underpinning of social behaviour could also help in identifying those who are most at risk of poor health outcomes relating to difficulties with utilising social support. This information could also be used to develop biologically-informed treatments to boost people's capacity to be socially connected. This would then have a tangible public health benefit to society by ensuring more individuals who suffer with ill-health are able to tap into a readily available resource for greater health and wellbeing - that of connecting with other people.

Additionally, the information we will gain from our research will allow us to better understand how difficulties with both social and motor functioning might occur in people with neurological and psychiatric disorders. This in turn may provide a valuable opportunity to develop new therapies which can be used to treat patients with conditions such as Parkinson's diseases. Additionally, this knowledge has the potential to highlight bio-markers that could be regularly measured in these patients to assess changes in social and motor functions. This in turn could aid in developing targeted therapeutic interventions to help regulate the biological systems governed by the affected genes.

This study is being undertaken by a research group at the University of Birmingham who have a strong commitment to public dissemination of research findings and intend to share the results from this work through peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, presentations at scientific meetings and interactive workshops at public engagement events.