Intelligence is a value that is often identified as a genetic advantage. In fact, not a few studies have reached similar conclusions: intelligent people seem to live longer.
But brilliance can also be associated with other characteristics, not exactly advantageous: in particular, autism, anxiety and depression. This is the result of a study carried out by geneticists at the Queensland Brain Institute in Australia. The work is one of the first to identify specific cell types and genetic pathways related to intelligence, which would pave the way in the medium term to find new ways to improve education; or even therapies to treat neurotic behavior.
The results of the study revealed the following: curiously, genes associated with intelligence seem to make people last longer and protect them against mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia ; but at the same time they make them more prone to autism.
The results of the study not only found many new genes associated with intelligence (a thousand), but also these same genes were associated with some mental health disorders, and also with longevity.
Specifically, many gene variants associated with higher intelligence appeared in people who lived longer and did not have Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or schizophrenia, suggesting that intelligence protects against these disorders.
However, on the negative side, genes associated with intelligence were correlated with an increased risk of autism , anxiety, and depression.
Geneticists had already found genes associated with intelligence. But they have never, until now, found such strong evidence for this association.
Identifying the genes of intelligence
In 2017, researchers used new statistical methods that can detect strong associations between genes and specific traits to analyze genetic and health records across large data sets. This led to the discovery of 52 genes linked to intelligence in 80,000 people.
Now the same team has added nearly 1,000 genes to that list.
This meta-analysis consisted of two massive genetic studies, which constitute “the first solid evidence for many genes and pathways related to intelligence,” according to one of the authors, Peter Visscher, in a statement for Nature Genetics .
Sniekers, S. Stringer, S. ‘Genome-wide association meta-analysis of 78,308 individuals identifies new loci and genes influencing human intelligence’. Nature Genetics volume 49, pages 1107-1112 (2017).
