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A genome-wide association study for extremely high intelligence
D Zabaneh1, E Krapohl1, H A Gaspar1,2
1King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
Molecular Psychiatry
|May 8, 2018
Summary
Genetic studies of extreme intelligence reveal significant heritability and overlap with educational attainment. This research highlights the utility of extreme trait selection for understanding cognitive genetics.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Understanding the genetic architecture of human intelligence is a complex challenge.
- Previous genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified genetic variants associated with intelligence, but with small effect sizes.
- Studying extreme traits can offer unique insights into the genetic underpinnings of complex phenotypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic basis of extremely high intelligence using a case-control genome-wide association design.
- To determine the heritability of extreme intelligence and its genetic correlation with educational attainment and population IQ.
- To identify specific genetic variants and pathways associated with exceptionally high cognitive ability.
Main Methods:
- A case-control genome-wide association study design was employed.
- Cases comprised 1238 individuals from the top 0.0003% of the population distribution of intelligence (mean IQ ~170).
- 8172 unselected population-based controls were included for comparison.
Main Results:
- The single-nucleotide polymorphism heritability for the extreme IQ trait was 0.33, the highest reported for a cognitive phenotype.
- Significant genome-wide genetic correlations were observed with educational attainment (0.78) and population IQ (0.86).
- Three variants in the ADAM12 locus achieved genome-wide significance but did not replicate in normal-range IQ studies. The gene family plexins showed significant enrichment for associations with high IQ.
Conclusions:
- Extreme trait selection is a valuable strategy for the genetic study of intelligence.
- Extremely high intelligence is genetically continuous with normal-range intelligence.
- The findings suggest shared genetic factors between high intelligence, educational attainment, and neurodevelopmental pathways.
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