Why do smart people live longer?
Scientists have discovered genes associated with intelligence and longevity at the same time
Sergey Vasiliev, Naked Science
The largest study of its kind has helped to find dozens of new genetic variants that determine longevity and intelligence.
According to a team of 65 authors, the Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) conducted by them was the largest study of its kind. It covered a sample of more than 107 thousand people for whom neurophysiological testing of cognitive abilities was conducted. We also used detailed genetic data on more than 300 thousand people, distributed according to the level of education, which is considered an acceptable indicator of the average level of cognitive abilities in the group. The results of this large-scale work are presented in an article published by the journal Cell Reports (Large-Scale Cognitive GWAS Meta-Analysis Reveals Tissue-Specific Neural Expression and Potential Nootropic Drug Targets).
Scientists were able to identify 70 unrelated genetic loci, the state of which correlates with the level of cognitive abilities. These genes are actively expressed in all studied areas of the brain, especially in neurons. Among them, the authors identify genes whose products are involved in neurogenesis and regulation of synapses, as well as ion channel genes that serve as targets for the action of pharmacological drugs cinnarizine and promising LY97241.
Finally, scientists point to a correlation between the state of some of the genes found and various diseases, from psychiatric to autoimmune. Many of the alleles associated with high cognitive abilities also turned out to be characteristic of people with a long life expectancy.
"Since the number of genes we can find directly depends on the available sample size, new studies with additional participants will surely provide even more data on which genes and what role they play in shaping our cognitive abilities," says Todd Lencz, who led this great work, in a press release from the Feinstein Institute researchers identify new genes associated with cognitive ability.
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