Genes contributing to subcortical volumes and intellectual ability implicate the thalamus
Open accessAbstract
It has been shown that brain volume and general intellectual ability are to a significant extent influenced by the same genetic factors. Several cortical regions of the brain also show a genetic correlation with intellectual ability, demonstrating that intellectual functioning is probably represented in a heritable distributed network of cortical regions throughout the brain. This study is the first to investigate a genetic association between subcortical volumes and intellectual ability, taking into account the thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens using an extended twin design. Genetic modeling was performed on a healthy adult twin sample consisting of 106 twin pairs and 30 of their siblings, IQ data was obtained from 132 subjects. Our results demonstrate that of all subcortical volumes measured, only thalamus volume is significantly correlated with intellectual functioning. Importantly, the association found between thalamus volume and intellectual ability is significantly influenced by a common genetic factor. This genetic factor is also implicated in cerebral brain volume. The thalamus, with its widespread cortical connections, may thus play a key role in human intelligence. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2632–2642, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Imaging structural and functional brain development in early childhood
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- Authors
- Bohlken, M. M., Brouwer, R. M., Mandl, R. C. W., van Haren, N. E. M., Brans, R. G. H., van Baal, G. C. M., de Geus, E. J. C., Boomsma, D. I., Kahn, R. S., & Hulshoff Pol, H. E.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
- Department of Psychiatry UMC Utrecht The Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology VU University The Netherlands
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Venue
- Human Brain Mapping
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-09-13
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 2632-2642
- ISSN
- 1065-9471 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-0193
- PMC
- PMC6869799
- OpenAlex
- W2140954769
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 6.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Human Brain Mapping (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- thalamus, subcortical volume, intellectual ability, IQ, genetic association, heritability, caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, common genetic factors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Models, Genetic, Organ Size, Sex Characteristics, Thalamus, Siblings
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