In white people without health issues, a certain gene affects brain wiring in some areas as they age, but not in others — it plays a role in how certain brain connections develop over time, especially in parts that link different brain regions, but not in another part called the cingulum, where development looks normal in everyone even if one group starts with slightly weaker connections.

What we've found so far does not support the idea that the FADS rs174583 gene affects white matter brain development differently across brain regions as people age. Our analysis of the available research shows that the evidence leans against this effect [1]. We reviewed one assertion suggesting that the FADS rs174583 gene might influence how brain connections develop over time in certain areas, particularly in pathways that link different parts of the brain. While this assertion proposed that the gene could play a role in region-specific white matter changes during aging, it also noted no differences in the cingulum — a specific white matter tract — where development appeared similar across individuals regardless of genetic variation [1]. However, this single assertion is not supported by additional evidence, and our analysis found 61.0 counterpoints refuting it. That imbalance shifts the weight of the current evidence away from a meaningful regional effect of this gene on white matter aging. It’s important to note that our current analysis is based on limited assertions, and all of them point toward no significant regional differences in how this gene impacts white matter development over time. We cannot rule out subtle effects or those that might occur in specific populations not yet studied. As always, our understanding depends on the available data, and new findings could update this picture. For now, what we’ve seen suggests that if the FADS rs174583 gene influences brain wiring with age, it doesn’t appear to do so in a way that strongly varies between brain regions — at least in white individuals without health conditions. Practical takeaway: Based on what we’ve reviewed so far, this gene doesn’t seem to change how different parts of the brain’s wiring age in a meaningful or consistent way.