Last updated June 26, 2018 at 1:28 pm
Hundreds of new smart genes found.
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Increased intelligence may protect against both Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD, researchers suggest.
A Dutch-led team, which involves the Queensland Brain Institute, has discovered more than 900 new genes linked to intelligence and identified genetic pathways relating to nervous system development and synaptic structure.
They analysed the genetic data and measurements of intelligence of more than 250,000 people and found 190 new genomic loci and 1016 specific genes — of which 939 are new —associated with intelligence.
In a separate study of half a million people, they identified more than 500 genes linked to neuroticism, which is an important risk factor for depression and schizophrenia. They have described two distinct genetic sub-clusters of neuroticism, one relating to depressed affect and the other to worry.
Together, they say, these studies provide new insights into the neurobiology and genetics of cognition, and may aid future research into neuropsychiatric diseases.
The papers on genetics of intelligence and genetics of neuroticism published in Nature Genetics.
