Preschool musicality is associated with school-age communication abilities through genes related to rhythmicity

Early-life abilities involved in perceiving, producing and engaging with music (musicality) may shape later (social) communication and language abilities. Here, we investigate phenotypic and genetic relationships linking musicality and communication abilities by studying information from preschool and school-aged children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 4169-6737 per measure, age 0.5-17 years). Using structural models, we identified relationships between latent musicality and speech- and cognition-related variables (r > 0.30). Consistently, polygenic scores for rhythmicity in adulthood (PGS_rhythmicity) showed associations with preschool and school-age musicality (incremental-Nagelkerke-R² = 0.006-0.011, p < 0.0025), as well as school-age communication and cognition-related measures (incremental-R² = 0.04-1%, p < 0.0025). Studying the directionality of genetic effects using a mediation framework, we found evidence supporting a developmental pathway linking preschool musicality to school-age speech-/syntax-related abilities, as captured by PGS_rhythmicity (shared effect: β = 0.0051(SE = 0.0021), p = 0.015). Associations were found conditional on general cognition and genetically unrelated to educational attainment, suggesting robust developmental links between early musicality and later speech-related communication performance.