A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries.
Although much genetic research has addressed normal variation in intelligence, little is known about the etiology of high cognitive abilities. Using data from 11,000 twin pairs (age range = 6-71 years) from the genetics of high cognitive abilities consortium, we investigated the genetic and environmental etiologies of high general cognitive ability (g). Age-appropriate psychometric cognitive tests were administered to the twins and used to create g scores standardized within each study. Liability-threshold model fitting was used to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for the top 15% of the distribution of g. Genetic influence for high g was substantial (0.50, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.41-0.60). Shared environmental influences were moderate (0.28, 0.19-0.37). We conclude that genetic variation contributes substantially to high g in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Haworth
Claire M A
CM
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
Wright
Margaret J
MJ
Martin
Nicolas W
NW
Martin
Nicholas G
NG
Boomsma
Dorret I
DI
Bartels
Meike
M
Posthuma
Danielle
D
Davis
Oliver S P
OS
Brant
Angela M
AM
Corley
Robin P
RP
Hewitt
John K
JK
Iacono
William G
WG
McGue
Matthew
M
Thompson
Lee A
LA
Hart
Sara A
SA
Petrill
Stephen A
SA
Lubinski
David
D
Plomin
Robert
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001076:Aptitude; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002672:Child, Gifted / Q000235:genetics*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000235:genetics*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009426:Netherlands; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics*; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult