The Genetics of Intelligence

Intelligence is defined as general mental capacity, which includes the abilities to reason, solve new problems, think abstractly, and learn quickly. Genetic factors explain a considerable fraction of inter-individual differences in intelligence. For many years, research on intelligence was limited to estimating the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors, without identifying any individual causal factors.

This review of the literature is based on pertinent original publications and reviews.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that certain gene loci are associated with intelligence, as well as with educational attainment, which is known to be correlated with intelligence. As each individual gene locus accounts for only a very small part of the variance in intelligence ( < 0.02%), so-called "polygenic scores" (PGS) have been calculated in which thousands of genetic variants are summarized together. On the basis of the largest GWAS performed to date, it is estimated that 7-15% of inter-individual differences in educational attainment and 7-10% in intelligence among persons of European descent can be explained by genetic factors. These genetic effects are partly indirect. At the same time, the relative importance of genetic factors in determining complex features such as intelligence and educational attainment must always be seen against the background of individual environmental conditions. In the presence of difficult social conditions, for example, the influence of genetic factors is typically lower.

At present, the polygenic scores generated from genome-wide association studies are primarily of scientific interest, yet they are becoming increasingly informative and valid for individual prediction. There is, therefore, a need for broad social discussion about their future use.