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The genetics of specific cognitive abilities

Francesca Procopio, Quan Zhou, Ziye Wang, Agnieska Gidziela, View ORCID ProfileKaili Rimfeld, View ORCID ProfileMargherita Malanchini, Robert Plomin
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.05.479237
Francesca Procopio
aSocial, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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  • For correspondence: francesca.procopio@kcl.ac.uk
Quan Zhou
bSchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Ziye Wang
aSocial, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
bSchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Agnieska Gidziela
bSchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Kaili Rimfeld
aSocial, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Margherita Malanchini
aSocial, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
bSchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Robert Plomin
aSocial, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Most research on individual differences in performance on tests of cognitive ability focuses on general cognitive ability (g), the highest level in the three-level Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) hierarchical model of intelligence. About 50% of the variance of g is due to inherited DNA differences (heritability) which increases across development. Much less is known about the genetics of the middle level of the CHC model, which includes 16 broad factors such as fluid reasoning, processing speed, and quantitative knowledge. We provide a meta-analytic review of 863,041 monozygotic-dizygotic twin comparisons from 80 publications for these middle-level factors, which we refer to as specific cognitive abilities (SCA). Twin comparisons were available for 11 of the 16 CHC domains. The average heritability across all SCA is 55%, similar to the heritability of g. However, there is substantial differential heritability and the SCA do not show the dramatic developmental increase in heritability seen for g. We also investigated SCA independent of g (g-corrected SCA, which we refer to as SCA.g). A surprising finding is that SCA.g remain substantially heritable (53% on average), even though 25% of the variance of SCA that covaries with g has been removed. Our review frames expectations for genomic research that will use polygenic scores to predict SCA and SCA.g. Genome-wide association studies of SCA.g are needed to create polygenic scores that can predict SCA profiles of cognitive abilities and disabilities independent of g. These could be used to foster children’s cognitive strengths and minimise their weaknesses.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 08, 2022.
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The genetics of specific cognitive abilities
Francesca Procopio, Quan Zhou, Ziye Wang, Agnieska Gidziela, Kaili Rimfeld, Margherita Malanchini, Robert Plomin
bioRxiv 2022.02.05.479237; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.05.479237
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The genetics of specific cognitive abilities
Francesca Procopio, Quan Zhou, Ziye Wang, Agnieska Gidziela, Kaili Rimfeld, Margherita Malanchini, Robert Plomin
bioRxiv 2022.02.05.479237; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.05.479237

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