Scientists discover the parts of the brain which determine intelligence – and say they may be able to control them
Researchers at University College London said the clusters of genes found in brain controlled all human cognitive functions from memory to attention and reasoning
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists have identified a cluster of genes in the brain that could determine human intelligence.
The two clusters - called M1 and M3 - are networks of hundreds of individual genes that are thought to influence all our cognitive functions - including memory, attention, processing speed and reasoning.
The scientists at Imperial College London who conducted the study believe these clusters are likely to be under the control of master regulator switches.
They now want to identify where these switches are and learn whether it is possible to manipulate them - saying this could ultimately mean gene therapy could boost cognitive function.
Dr Michael Johnson- who led the study - said: “We know that genetics plays a major role in intelligence but until now haven't known which genes are relevant. This research highlights some of genes involved in human intelligence, and how they interact with each other.
“Our research suggests that it might be possible to work with these genes to modify intelligence, but that is only a theoretical possibility at the moment - we have just taken a first step along that road.”
In the study - published in the journal Nature Neuroscience - the researchers looked at samples of human brain from patients who had undergone neurosurgery for epilepsy or suffered from neurological disorders such as autism and intellectual disabilty.
They also looked at the genetic information from health people who had undergone IQ tests.
They found that the same genes that influence human intelligence in healthy people were also the same genes that caused impaired cognitive ability when mutated.
Dr Johnson said: “Traits such intelligence are governed by large groups of genes working together - like a football team made up of players in different positions.
“We found that some of these genes overlap with those that cause severe childhood onset epilepsy or intellectual disability.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments