The Telegraph reports on a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry:
A gene which may make people more intelligent has been discovered by scientists.
Researchers have found that teenagers who had a highly functioning NPTN gene performed better in intelligence tests.
It is thought the NPTN gene indirectly affects how the brain cells communicate and may control the formation of the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the human brain, also known as ‘grey matter.’
Previously it has been shown that grey matter plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought and language.
Studies have also proved that the thickness of the cerebral cortex correlates with intellectual ability. However, until now no genes had been identified.
Teens with an underperforming NPTN gene did less well in intelligence tests…
Their findings suggest that some differences in intellectual abilities can result from the decreased function of the NPTN gene in particular regions of the left brain hemisphere.
Although the genetic variation identified in this study only accounts for an estimated 0.5 per cent of the total variation in intelligence.
However, the findings may have important implications for the understanding of biological mechanisms underlying several psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism, where impaired cognitive ability is a key feature of the disorder.
One commenter to the Telegraph story writes:
When any correlation is made to race, the study will be defunded, its records shredded and participants vaporized.
