{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Genetic association analysis of human median voice pitch identifies a common locus for tonal and non-tonal languages.
{Author}: Di Y;Mefford J;Rahmani E;Wang J;Ravi V;Gorla A;Alwan A;Zhu T;Flint J;
{Journal}: Commun Biol
{Volume}: 7
{Issue}: 1
{Year}: 2024 May 7
{Factor}: 6.548
{DOI}: 10.1038/s42003-024-06198-2
{Abstract}: The genetic influence on human vocal pitch in tonal and non-tonal languages remains largely unknown. In tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, pitch changes differentiate word meanings, whereas in non-tonal languages, such as Icelandic, pitch is used to convey intonation. We addressed this question by searching for genetic associations with interindividual variation in median pitch in a Chinese major depression case-control cohort and compared our results with a genome-wide association study from Iceland. The same genetic variant, rs11046212-T in an intron of the ABCC9 gene, was one of the most strongly associated loci with median pitch in both samples. Our meta-analysis revealed four genome-wide significant hits, including two novel associations. The discovery of genetic variants influencing vocal pitch across both tonal and non-tonal languages suggests the possibility of a common genetic contribution to the human vocal system shared in two distinct populations with languages that differ in tonality (Icelandic and Mandarin).