London:
Scientists have identified over 500 genes linked to intelligence after
comparing DNA variations in more than 240,000 people from around the world.
The study,
published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, sheds new light on the
biological building blocks of people’s differences in intelligence.
Researchers from
Harvard University in the US, University of Edinburgh and University of
Southampton in the UK identified 538 genes that play a role in intellectual
ability. They also found 187 regions in the human genome that are linked to
thinking skills.
Genes found to
be linked to intelligence also appeared to influence other biological
processes, researchers said.
Some genes
linked to intellectual ability are also associated with living longer,
scientists found.
They also found
that genes linked with problem solving powers were associated with the process
by which neurons carry signals from one place to another in the brain.
Using these
genetic discoveries, scientists predicted seven per cent of intelligence
differences in an independent group of individuals using their DNA alone.
“Our study
identified a large number of genes linked to intelligence,” said David Hill
from University of Edinburgh.
“We were also
able to identify some of the biological processes that genetic variation
appears to influence to produce such differences in intelligence, and we were
also able to predict intelligence in another group using only their DNA,” said
Hill.
“We know that
environments and genes both contribute to the differences we observe in
people’s intelligence,” said Ian Deary, from University of Edinburgh.
“This study adds
to what we know about which genes influence intelligence, and suggests that
health and intelligence are related in part because some of the same genes
influence them,” Deary said.
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