Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Identifies New Loci and Genes Influencing Human Intelligence

Sniekers, Suzanne; Stringer, Sven; Watanabe, Kyoko; Duijn, Cornelia M. van; Jansen, Philip R.; Breen, Gerome; Tiemeier, Henning; Plomin, Robert; Payton, Anthony; Pendleton, Neil; Savage, Jeanne E.; Posthuma, Daniëlle

doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.08.013

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Assuming that the association between paternal IQ and offspring risk of neurodevelopmental disorders is largely due to common genetic variation, [8][9][10][11][12] our findings regarding a stronger relationship between high paternal IQ and offspring risk of ASD among male offspring are in line with the notion that female individuals are somewhat protected from familial risk of ASD. 39,40 However, the stronger associations between paternal IQ scores and risk of ASDþADHD among female offspring would not support this theory.…”

supporting

confidence: 85%

“…[4][5][6] However, population-based studies from countries with universal health care report higher ASD prevalence among lower socioeconomic status (SES) families, 7 raising the question of whether previously reported associations were due to greater access to care. 5 Nevertheless, recent studies show that common genetic variation associated with ASD is also associated with higher cognitive abilities, [8][9][10][11][12][13] in apparent support of the first clinical observations.…”

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confidence: 84%

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The Association of Paternal IQ With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Comorbidities: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Gardner

Dalman

Rai

et al. 2020

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psych

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Objective: Original case descriptions of autism noted that parents of the affected children tended to be highly educated and intelligent, a characterization that has endured publicly. Recent genetic studies indicate that risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is associated with high intelligence. We examined the association between paternal intelligence and ASD, considering co-occurring intellectual disability (ID) and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: We used a register-based cohort study design including 360,151 individuals with fathers conscripted to the Swedish military, resident in Stockholm, Sweden, born from 1984 to 2008, and followed until December 31, 2011, for diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, and/or ID. Risk of neurodevelopmental disorders relative to paternal IQ (rated on a 9-point scale) was assessed using a score of 5 (average intelligence) as the referent in models accounting for potentially nonlinear relationships and clustering of siblings. Results: We observed an association between high paternal IQ and offspring risk of ASD without ID/ADHD in models adjusted for individual and family characteristics (OR IQ¼9 1.32, 95% CI 1.15À1.52), an association that appeared to be driven largely by the fathers' score on the technical comprehension portion of the test (OR Technical IQ ¼ 9 1.53, 95% CI 1.31À1.78). Conversely, low paternal IQ was associated with ASDþID (OR IQ ¼ 1 1.78, 95% CI 1.27À2.49) and ASDþADHD (OR IQ ¼ 1 1.40, 95% CI 1.16À1.70); low paternal IQ was strongly associated with ID (OR IQ ¼ 1 4.46, 95% CI 3.62À5.49) and present also for ADHD (OR IQ ¼ 1 1.56, 95% CI 1.42À1.72)] without co-occurring ASD or ID. Conclusion:The relationship between paternal IQ and offspring risk of ASD was nonmonotonic and varied by the presence of co-occurring disorders, probably reflecting phenotypic diversity among affected individuals.

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confidence: 85%

mentioning

confidence: 84%

The Association of Paternal IQ With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Comorbidities: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Gardner

Dalman

Rai

et al. 2020

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psych

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“…Here is a brief description of three of these genes, which were also found in previous studies -GATAD2B, SLC39A1 and AUTS2 [25,26]. The localization of genes is given by [19], and their involvement in diseases by [21].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding genetic factors associated with cognitive abilities

Pomohaibo

Karapuzova²,

Pavlenko³

2021

SR:PE

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The article provides an overview of the results of modern genetic studies of human cognitive abilities. Finding genetic factors, associated with cognitive abilities, will have far-reaching ramifications at all levels of understanding from DNA to brain and to behavior. Despite its complexity, cognitive ability is a reasonable candidate for molecular genetic research because it is one of the most heritable features of behavior. The first attempts to find genetic factors, associated with cognitive abilities, focused on genes, involved in brain development and function, but this direction proved to be unproductive, as it turned out that there are about 18.000 genes, and it was too difficult to detect among them those genes that are involved in cognitive processes. In addition, a considerable number of genetic factors of human traits are single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which are in non-coding DNA regions rather than in traditional genes. The effect of each separate SNP is unimportant, and a clear expression of the general cognitive ability is noticeable only if all the associated SNPs are involved. Currently, over 11,000 such SNPs have been identified, which are uneven in different functional regions of the genome: over 60 % in gene introns, almost 30 % in intergenic DNA regions, about 5 % in gene exons, and about 5 % in transcribed regions (downstream, upstream) and frame regions (UTR'5, UTR'3) of genes. Also there are found 74 SNPs, associated with school achievements. These SNPs are disproportionately located in genes that regulate transcription and alternative splicing of other genes, which are expressed in nerve tissues of the brain during its prenatal development. Finding genetic factors that explain the inheritance of cognitive abilities is important for both science and society. Information about these factors can be used in other fields of human science – human genetics and medicine. It will open up new scientific horizons for education too owing to understanding of the genetic aspects of learning and memory

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“…Taken together, these account for less than 5% of the differences between people. 76 Most differences in intelligence are environmental and social-how you are trained to use your brain. Genes do not determine who we are.…”

Section: Incompleteness Of Genetic Causality In Common Phenotypesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pseudo‐embryology and personhood: How embryological pseudoscience helps structure the American abortion debate

Gilbert

2022

Natural Sciences

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There is a pseudo‐embryology flourishing today, well nourished by popular science, religious ideologies, and the public media. Just as eugenics was a pseudoscience that influenced (and still influences) American popular culture and which was responsible for racist anti‐immigration laws (such as the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924), pseudo‐embryology is also influencing popular culture and legislation. This new pseudoscience promotes the belief that science supports current zygotic and fetal personhood movements as well as anti‐abortion legislation. However, what often passes for science are actually ideological myths, often grounded in and supporting male superiority. Indeed, the first myth of pseudo‐embryology is that fertilization is a masculine act that can be viewed as a classical hero narrative. The second myth is that fertilization is ensoulment, allowing it to displace the feminine act of birth as to when life begins. Here, DNA is seen to play the secular analogue of soul. The third myth is that the fetus in the womb is an independent autonomous entity and that birth merely moves the fetus from the womb to the outside world. This expresses the "seed‐in‐the‐soil" myth that was also prevalent in ancient cultures. In this manner, masculine stories of fertilization are valorized while feminine narratives of birth are suppressed. So when public narratives discuss what "science" says about when human life begins, we are not really discussing science. Rather, we are allowing our discussions to fall back into tenacious ancient misogynist myths that have nothing to do with the conclusions of modern developmental biology. Key points There is no consensus among biologists as to when personhood begins. Different biologists have proposed that personhood begins at such events as fertilization, gastrulation, the acquisition of an EEG pattern, and birth. Other scientists claim that the acquisition of personhood is gradual or that the question of personhood is not a biological one. The “science” debated in public discussions is not the set of conclusions based on biological research. Political discussions of reproduction are often based on false culturally‐based stories. Fertilization is falsely perceived as a race of sperm through a passive female, emphasizing male performance rather than interactions and mutual gamete maturation. The genome is falsely depicted as one's soul, promoting the idea that fertilization is ensoulment. Genetic determinism is often assumed, and plasticity ignored. The fetus is falsely depicted as a seed in nutritive soil, autonomous from the mother. The joint nature of maternal and fetal physiologies and anatomies are marginalized. The false narratives combine to form a “pseudo‐embryology” that influences our thoughts and laws.

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Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Identifies New Loci and Genes Influencing Human Intelligence

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

The Association of Paternal IQ With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Comorbidities: A Population-Based Cohort Study

The Association of Paternal IQ With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Comorbidities: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Finding genetic factors associated with cognitive abilities

Pseudo‐embryology and personhood: How embryological pseudoscience helps structure the American abortion debate

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