title: Phenotypic and genetic evidence for a unifactorial structure of spatial abilities.
abstract: Spatial abilities encompass several skills differentiable from general cognitive ability (g). Importantly, spatial abilities have been shown to be significant predictors of many life outcomes, even after controlling forg.To date, no studies have analyzed the genetic architecture of diverse spatial abilities using a multivariate approach. We developed "gamified" measures of diverse putative spatial abilities. The battery of 10 tests was administered online to 1,367 twin pairs (age 19-21) from the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). We show that spatial abilities constitute a single factor, both phenotypically and genetically, even after controlling forgThis spatial ability factor is highly heritable (69%). We draw three conclusions: (i) The high heritability of spatial ability makes it a good target for gene-hunting research; (ii) some genes will be specific to spatial ability, independent ofg; and (iii) these genes will be associated with all components of spatial ability.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom; kaili.rimfeld@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Kaili
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rimfeld
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicholas G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Shakeshaft
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.|International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk 634050, Russia.
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malanchini
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk 634050, Russia.|Sussex House, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodic
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selzam
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
authors.forename: Philip S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.|International Centre for Research in Human Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk 634050, Russia.|Goldsmiths, Department of Psychology, University of London, London SE14 6NW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kovas
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Plomin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D018433:Twin Studies as Topic; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: behavioral genetics; intelligence; mental rotation; spatial ability; twin studies