Science at the Edge

Interdisciplinary Physics

Friday October 5, 2012

11:30 BPS 1400

Genetic Architecture of Intelligence

Stephen Hsu

Dept. of Physics

Michigan State University

Abstract

                How do genes affect cognitive ability or other human quantitative traits such as height? I begin with a brief review of psychometric measurements of intelligence, introducing the idea of a "general factor" or g score. The main results concern the stability, validity (predictive power), and heritability of adult g. Next, I discuss ongoing Genome Wide Association Studies which investigate the genetic basis of intelligence. Due mainly to the rapidly decreasing cost of sequencing, it is likely that within the next 10 years we will identify genes which account for a significant fraction of total IQ variation - in the case of height we are well along the way towards a similar goal. Finally, I describe some preliminary results on the underlying genetic architecture of height and intelligence.

Shawna Prater / Secretary

Astrophysics Group

Michigan State University

567 Wilson Road, Room 3261

Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg

East Lansing, MI 48824-2320

Ph: (517) 884-5601 Fax (517) 432-8802

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