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Childhood intelligence is heritable, highly polygenic and associated with FNBP1L.

B Benyamin¹, Bst Pourcain², O S Davis³

¹1] The University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia [2] Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Molecular Psychiatry

|January 30, 2013

Summary

This study

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Area of Science:

Genetics
Developmental Psychology
Psychometrics

Background:

Childhood intelligence is a significant predictor of life outcomes.
General intelligence is known to be highly heritable and genetically stable.
No specific genetic loci for childhood intelligence have been identified previously.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) on childhood intelligence.
To investigate the genetic architecture and heritability of childhood intelligence.
To explore the potential for polygenic prediction of childhood intelligence.

Main Methods:

Performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on childhood intelligence in 17,989 individuals.
Analyzed aggregate effects of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
Conducted polygenic prediction analyses in independent validation cohorts.

Main Results:

Aggregate effects of common SNPs explained 22-46% of phenotypic variation in childhood intelligence.
The gene FNBP1L was significantly associated with childhood intelligence.
Polygenic prediction models showed significant correlations with childhood intelligence outcomes.

Conclusions:

This study provides molecular evidence supporting the heritability and polygenic nature of childhood intelligence.
Aggregate SNP effects significantly contribute to childhood intelligence variation.
Larger sample sizes are needed to identify individual genetic variants associated with genome-wide significance.