Maciej Trzaskowski|Oliver Davis|John C. DeFries|Jian Yang|Peter M. Visscher|Robert Plomin
DNA Evidence for Strong Genome-Wide Pleiotropy of Cognitive and Learning Abilities
King's College London|King's College London|University of Colorado Boulder|Princess Alexandra Hospital|University of Queensland|Princess Alexandra Hospital|University of Queensland|King's College London
different neurocognitive processes appear involved cognitive abilities verbal nonverbal ability compared learning abilities taught schools reading mathematics however twin studies compare similarity monozygotic dizygotic twins suggest genes largely responsible genetic influence diverse aspects cognitive function possible test evidence strong pleiotropy using dna alone samples unrelated individuals used new method 17 million dna markers sample 2500 unrelated children age 12 investigate first time extent pleiotropy general cognitive ability aka intelligence learning abilities reading mathematics language skills also compared dna results results twin analyses using sample measures dnabased method revealed strong genomewide pleiotropy genetic correlations greater 070 general cognitive ability language reading mathematics results highly similar twin study estimates genetic correlations results indicate genes related diverse neurocognitive processes general rather specific effects