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All analysis code and supplementary information is publicly available on OSF 🤓 osf.io/k46gu/

The genes associated with these loci were enriched in neuroimaging, neurodegeneration and different metabolic markers. They were further found to be up-regulated in tissues such as blood vessel or down-regulated in the liver.

Subsequently, we pinpointed 95 unique loci across all subunits and traits. Most were identified for the psychiatric/metabolic traits in combination with the tubular-superior subunit, followed by the anterior-superior (displayed in the Manhattan plot), and lastly the anterior-inferior subunit.

We show that the three subunits (anterior-inferior, anterior-superior, tubular-superior) share stronger overlap with psychiatric/neurodevelopmental (autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) than with metabolic (e.g., bone mineral density, BMI, HDL, LDL, systolic blood pressure) traits.

Oxytocin and vasotocin are produced in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei within three hypothalamic subunits. The neuropeptides appear to contribute to co-occurring metabolic and psychiatric traits. The genetic pathways between these hypothalamic volumes and traits remain unknown.