A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries

Claire M A Haworth; Margaret J. Wright; Nicolas W. Martin; Nicholas G. Martin; Dorret I. Boomsma; Meike Bartels; Danielle Posthuma; Oliver S P Davis; Angela M Brant; Robin P. Corley; John K. Hewitt; William G. Iacono; Matthew McGue; Lee A. Thompson; Sara A. Hart; Stephen A. Petrill; David Lubinski; Robert Plomin

doi:10.1007/s10519-009-9262-3

A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries

Claire M A Haworth, Margaret J. Wright, Nicolas W. Martin, Nicholas G. Martin, Dorret I. Boomsma, Meike Bartels, Danielle Posthuma, Oliver S P Davis, Angela M Brant, Robin P. Corley, John K. Hewitt, William G. Iacono, Matthew McGue, Lee A. Thompson, Sara A. Hart, Stephen A. Petrill, David Lubinski, Robert Plomin^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

Although much genetic research has addressed normal variation in intelligence, little is known about the etiology of high cognitive abilities. Using data from 11,000 twin pairs (age range = 6-71 years) from the genetics of high cognitive abilities consortium, we investigated the genetic and environmental etiologies of high general cognitive ability (g). Age-appropriate psychometric cognitive tests were administered to the twins and used to create g scores standardized within each study. Liability-threshold model fitting was used to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for the top 15% of the distribution of g. Genetic influence for high g was substantial (0.50, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.41-0.60). Shared environmental influences were moderate (0.28, 0.19-0.37). We conclude that genetic variation contributes substantially to high g in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	359-370
Number of pages	12
Journal	Behavior Genetics
Volume	39
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9262-3
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2009

Keywords

Genetics
High cognitive ability
Intelligence
Talent
Twins

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Haworth, C. M. A., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. W., Martin, N. G., Boomsma, D. I., Bartels, M., Posthuma, D., Davis, O. S. P., Brant, A. M., Corley, R. P., Hewitt, J. K., Iacono, W. G., McGue, M., Thompson, L. A., Hart, S. A., Petrill, S. A., Lubinski, D., & Plomin, R. (2009). A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries. Behavior Genetics, 39(4), 359-370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9262-3

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title = "A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries",

abstract = "Although much genetic research has addressed normal variation in intelligence, little is known about the etiology of high cognitive abilities. Using data from 11,000 twin pairs (age range = 6-71 years) from the genetics of high cognitive abilities consortium, we investigated the genetic and environmental etiologies of high general cognitive ability (g). Age-appropriate psychometric cognitive tests were administered to the twins and used to create g scores standardized within each study. Liability-threshold model fitting was used to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for the top 15% of the distribution of g. Genetic influence for high g was substantial (0.50, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.41-0.60). Shared environmental influences were moderate (0.28, 0.19-0.37). We conclude that genetic variation contributes substantially to high g in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.",

keywords = "Genetics, High cognitive ability, Intelligence, Talent, Twins",

author = "Haworth, {Claire M A} and Wright, {Margaret J.} and Martin, {Nicolas W.} and Martin, {Nicholas G.} and Boomsma, {Dorret I.} and Meike Bartels and Danielle Posthuma and Davis, {Oliver S P} and Brant, {Angela M} and Corley, {Robin P.} and Hewitt, {John K.} and Iacono, {William G.} and Matthew McGue and Thompson, {Lee A.} and Hart, {Sara A.} and Petrill, {Stephen A.} and David Lubinski and Robert Plomin",

year = "2009",

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doi = "10.1007/s10519-009-9262-3",

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Haworth, CMA, Wright, MJ, Martin, NW, Martin, NG, Boomsma, DI, Bartels, M, Posthuma, D, Davis, OSP, Brant, AM, Corley, RP, Hewitt, JK, Iacono, WG, McGue, M, Thompson, LA, Hart, SA, Petrill, SA, Lubinski, D & Plomin, R 2009, 'A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries', Behavior Genetics, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 359-370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9262-3

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AU - Haworth, Claire M A

AU - Wright, Margaret J.

AU - Martin, Nicolas W.

AU - Martin, Nicholas G.

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

AU - Bartels, Meike

AU - Posthuma, Danielle

AU - Davis, Oliver S P

AU - Brant, Angela M

AU - Corley, Robin P.

AU - Hewitt, John K.

AU - Iacono, William G.

AU - McGue, Matthew

AU - Thompson, Lee A.

AU - Hart, Sara A.

AU - Petrill, Stephen A.

AU - Lubinski, David

AU - Plomin, Robert

PY - 2009/7/1

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AB - Although much genetic research has addressed normal variation in intelligence, little is known about the etiology of high cognitive abilities. Using data from 11,000 twin pairs (age range = 6-71 years) from the genetics of high cognitive abilities consortium, we investigated the genetic and environmental etiologies of high general cognitive ability (g). Age-appropriate psychometric cognitive tests were administered to the twins and used to create g scores standardized within each study. Liability-threshold model fitting was used to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for the top 15% of the distribution of g. Genetic influence for high g was substantial (0.50, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.41-0.60). Shared environmental influences were moderate (0.28, 0.19-0.37). We conclude that genetic variation contributes substantially to high g in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

KW - Genetics

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KW - Intelligence

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JO - Behavior Genetics

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A twin study of the genetics of high cognitive ability selected from 11,000 twin pairs in six studies from four countries

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