RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Genetic “General Intelligence,” Objectively Determined and Measured
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 766600
DO 10.1101/766600
A1 Javier de la Fuente
A1 Gail Davies
A1 Andrew D. Grotzinger
A1 Elliot M. Tucker-Drob
A1 Ian J. Deary
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/12/766600.1.abstract
AB It has been known for 115 years that, in humans, diverse cognitive traits are positively intercorrelated; this forms the basis for the general factor of intelligence (g). We directly test for a genetic basis for g using data from seven different cognitive tests (N = 11,263 to N = 331,679) and genome-wide autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms. A genetic g factor accounts for 58.4% (SE = 4.8%) of the genetic variance in the cognitive traits, with trait-specific genetic factors accounting for the remaining 41.6%. We distill genetic loci broadly relevant for many cognitive traits (g) from loci associated with only individual cognitive traits. These results elucidate the etiological basis for a long-known yet poorly-understood phenomenon, revealing a fundamental dimension of genetic sharing across diverse cognitive traits.