UCLA Team Maps How Genes Affect Brain Structure, Intelligence

In summary: Originally posted by selfAdjoint Thanks Carlos. I bookmarked that whole message board, which I didn't know about. Seems valuable. You're welcome. It is a very valuable list. You can learn more about Rushton's work and the issue at: http://www.charlesdarwinresearch.org/This is all very interesting, but can we please get back to the original topic of summarizing the conversation about the UCLA team mapping how genes affect brain structure and intelligence? Thank you. In summary, the UCLA team has created images showing how an individual's genes influence their brain structure and intelligence. Their findings suggest that the amount of gray matter in the frontal parts of the brain is determined by genetic factors and closely
  • #1
Carlos Hernandez
84
0
PRESS RELEASE
UCLA Team Maps How Genes Affect
Brain Structure, Intelligence


UCLA brain mapping researchers have created the first images to show how an individual's genes influence their brain structure and intelligence.

Complete text at http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/MEDIA/NN/Press_Release.html Scroll to bottom of page for the article.
 
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  • #2
Published in Nature Neuroscience, very good..

The team found that the amount of gray matter in the frontal parts of the brain is determined by the genetic make-up of an individual's parents, and strongly correlates with that individual's cognitive ability, as measured by intelligence test (IQ) scores.

Very interesting, I'd rather have had them research twins which were brought up in different environments, but I guess those are hard to find..

Btw, welcome to the Forums, Carlos Hernandez!
 
  • #3
Originally posted by Monique
Published in Nature Neuroscience, very good..



Very interesting, I'd rather have had them research twins which were brought up in different environments, but I guess those are hard to find..

Btw, welcome to the Forums, Carlos Hernandez!

Thanks for the welcome! Here are some twin studies that you were looking for: http://www.lrainc.com/swtaboo/taboos/tjbouc01.html
 
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  • #4
From: "Phil Rushton" <rushton@u...>
Date: Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:01 pm
Subject: The Smarter the People, the Richer the Nation

Charles Murray is certainly correct that "The best source is Art Jensen's
The g Factor (1998)" for his statement that despite thousands of attempts to
show there is much more at work in human intelligence than the g, or general
factor, it has simply not been demonstrated. Psychometricians who work in
industry, the militray, and in education have done their utmost to find what
they call "incremental validity" for predicting success, even to the point
of loading in personality factors like conscientiousness to see if they can
get better predictions for employers, etc. So far the evidence is not good
that much more than g is operating. (Spatial ability may show increements
for fighter pilots; conscientiousness for check-out counter employees).

Having just come back from three days of talks on intelligence at the
International Society for Intelligence Research at Newport Beach, I can say
that this picture remains true. Moreover general intelligence is being
mapped more and more as being in the forebrain and depends on the speed and
efficiency of processing information. The g factor is even extractable from
reaction time measures that everyone can do in less than one second. There
are hopes that IQ research may be put on a ratio scale of measurement with
chronometric apparatus in which there is an absolute zero. Chronometrics
give very lawful results, correalting highly with standard IQ tests and
brain scans and show steady increases in children all the way up to 24, and
then steady decrements until death, just like do g measured IQ and as does
the size of the brain.

This is true cumulative science. Of all the conferences in social sciences
that I go to it is the ONLY conference that seems to show the cumulative
effects of knowledge and not trendy in-cliques that seem to characterize so
much other work. (Admittedly not way beyond Spearman's 1904 model of general
intelligence nor Karl Pearson's first heritability estimate for IQ of 50% or
Paul Broca's 19th century finding that forebrain is responsible for the
highest forms of abstract reasoning.) But at least it is correalted with
incremental truth and that's a huge relief for some of us who sometimes
think others don't even believe there is such a thing.

Professor J. Philippe Rushton, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Department of Psychology,
University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, Canada
http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/psychology/faculty/rushton.html
Tel: 519-661-3685
 
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  • #5
Carlos, I didn't find the essay you quoted here at Rushton's homepage which you linked to. The partial URL you gave for the essay was no help either. Can you give me the correct URL? Thanks.
 
  • #6
Originally posted by selfAdjoint
Carlos, I didn't find the essay you quoted here at Rushton's homepage which you linked to. The partial URL you gave for the essay was no help either. Can you give me the correct URL? Thanks.

The Rushton quote was posted by Rushton at I think the Evolutionary Psychology mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/ Yahoo groups is down right now, you'll have to check back later. And what other links are you referring to? Here is all the links I have on rushton's works:

http://www.harbornet.com/folks/theedrich/JP_Rushton/Race.htm
http://www.charlesdarwinresearch.org/
http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/psychology/faculty/rushton.html
http://www.eugenics.net/papers/rushlv.htm
http://www.eugenics.net/papers/rushton.html
 
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  • #7
Originally posted by selfAdjoint
Carlos, I didn't find the essay you quoted here at Rushton's homepage which you linked to. The partial URL you gave for the essay was no help either. Can you give me the correct URL? Thanks.

selfAdjoint,

Okey, I found the link you wanted: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/message/28360 Professor Rushton is an active participant on that mailing list.
 
  • #8
Thanks Carlos. I bookmarked that whole message board, which I didn't know about. Seems valuable.
 

1. What is the significance of the UCLA team's research on genes and brain structure?

The UCLA team's research on genes and brain structure is significant because it sheds light on the complex relationship between genetics and brain development. By identifying specific genes that are associated with variations in brain structure and intelligence, the researchers have provided valuable insights into the biological basis of intelligence and potential pathways for future research.

2. How did the UCLA team conduct their research?

The UCLA team used a combination of genetic analysis and brain imaging techniques to study the relationship between genes and brain structure. They analyzed genetic data from over 30,000 individuals and compared it to detailed brain scans to identify common genetic variations that were associated with variations in brain structure and intelligence.

3. What were the main findings of the UCLA team's research?

The UCLA team's research revealed that certain genetic variations were associated with differences in brain structure, particularly in regions of the brain involved in higher cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and reasoning. They also found that these genetic variations were linked to differences in intelligence, with individuals who carried certain genetic variations having higher levels of intelligence.

4. How does this research contribute to our understanding of intelligence?

This research contributes to our understanding of intelligence by highlighting the role of genetics in brain development and intelligence. It provides evidence that genetic variations can influence brain structure and function, which in turn can affect cognitive abilities such as intelligence. This supports the idea that intelligence is a complex trait influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

5. What are the potential implications of this research?

The potential implications of this research are far-reaching. It could lead to a better understanding of the genetic basis of intelligence and potentially help identify individuals who are at risk for certain cognitive disorders. It could also inform future research on treatments for cognitive disorders and provide insights into how genetics and environment interact to shape brain development and intelligence. Additionally, this research could have ethical implications, such as how genetic information should be used and shared in the context of intelligence and brain structure.

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