The causal influence of brain size on human intelligence: Evidence from within-family phenotypic associations and GWAS modeling.

ABSTRACT: There exists a moderate correlation between MRI-measured brain size and the general factor of IQ performance (g), but the question of whether the association reflects a theoretically important causal relationship or spurious confounding remains somewhat open. Previous small studies (n < 100) looking for the persistence of this correlation within families failed to find a tendency for the sibling with the larger brain to obtain a higher test score. We studied the within-family relationship between brain volume and intelligence in the much larger sample provided by the Human Connectome Project (n = 1,022) and found a highly significant correlation (disattenuated ρ = 0.18, p < .001). We replicated this result in the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Resea

SUBMITTER: Lee JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7440690 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature