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The largest genetic study of cognition to date has been published, involving nearly half a million people of European ancestry. This provides a new understanding of the genetic factors that shape cognitive differences and can help us better understand certain health conditions, including neurodevelopmental conditions.

Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Center and their collaborators built on previous studies by statistically estimating problem-solving test scores for UK Biobank participants who never completed the test.

This reduced the bias that comes from analyzing only the people who chose to take the test and increased the number of people included from around 270,000 to more than 455,000.

This study, published today (Oct. 5) in Nature Genetics, found that adding the estimated scores increased the number of common DNA changes associated with differences in test scores from 390 to 550, a 40% increase.

The gain was even larger for rare genetic variants. The number of genes in which rare genetic changes are linked to differences in cognitive ability rose from five to 26. These include 14 that were already known to play a role in neurodevelopmental conditions.

It was well established before this study that genes influence cognitive ability, alongside environmental factors. This study helps identify some of the genes involved to help us better understand these factors and their impact.

K. Among other things, the participants were asked to complete a problem-solving test called the verbal numerical reasoning test.

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