Summary
Intelligence is associated with important economic and healthrelated life outcomes1. Despite intelligence having substantial heritability2 (0.54) and a confirmed polygenic nature, initial genetic studies were mostly underpowered3 5. Here we report a meta-analysis for intelligence of 78,308 individuals. We identify 336 associated SNPs (METAL P < 5 1 0-8) in 1 8 genomic loci, of which 1 5 are new. Around half of the SNPs are located inside a gene, implicating 22 genes, of which 11 are new findings. Gene-based analyses identified an additional 30 genes (MAGMA P < 2.73 1 0-6), of which all but one had not been implicated previously. We show that the identified genes are predominantly expressed in brain tissue, and pathway analysis indicates the involvement of genes regulating cell development (MAGMA competitive P = 3.5 1 0-6). Despite the well-known difference in twin-based heritability2 for intelligence in childhood (0.45) and adulthood (0.80), we show substantial genetic correlation (rg = 0.89, LD score regression P = 5.4 1 0-29). These findings provide new insight into the genetic architecture of intelligence.
Suzanne Sniekers, Sven Stringer , Kyoko Watanabe, Philip R Jansen, et al.2017 Genome-wide association meta-analysis of 78,308 individuals identifies new loci and genes influencing human intelligence. The Lancet doi:10.1038/ng.3869
1 Application
Application ID |
16406 | Causes of individual differences in cognitive and mental health |
1 Return
Return ID | App ID | Description | Archive Date |
723 | 16406 | Genome-wide association meta-analysis of 78,308 individuals identifies new loci and genes influencing human intelligence | 17 Oct 2017 |