Functional Gene Group Analysis Indicates No Role for Heterotrimeric G Proteins in Cognitive Ability

Previous functional gene group analyses implicated common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in heterotrimeric G protein coding genes as being associated with differences in human intelligence. Here, we sought to replicate this finding using five independent cohorts of older adults including cur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hill, W. David, de Leeuw, Christiaan, Davies, Gail, Liewald, David Cherry McLachlan, Payton, Anthony, Craig, Leone C. A., Whalley, Lawrence J., Horan, Mike, Ollier, William, Starr, John M., Pendleton, Neil, Posthuma, Danielle, Bates, Timothy C., Deary, Ian J.
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science 2014
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953514/
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Summary:Previous functional gene group analyses implicated common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in heterotrimeric G protein coding genes as being associated with differences in human intelligence. Here, we sought to replicate this finding using five independent cohorts of older adults including current IQ and childhood IQ, and using both gene- and SNP-based analytic strategies. No significant associations were found between variation in heterotrimeric G protein genes and intelligence in any cohort at either of the two time points. These results indicate that, whereas G protein systems are important in cognition, common genetic variation in these genes is unlikely to be a substantial influence on human intelligence differences.