• Shu Yang, Xingshun Ma, Xiaodi Xia, Zimei Qiao, Miao Huang, Na Wang, Xiaomei Hu, Xiaowei Zhang, Wei Deng, Line Kang, Xiao Li, Guangjun Hao, Junfeng Xi, Huaqing Meng, Tao Li, Xiao Hou, and Yixiao Fu.
• Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
• Neuroscience. 2023 Oct 15; 530: 173180173-180.

AbstractUnderstanding the biological basis of cognitive differences between individuals is the goal in human intelligence research. The surface area of the cortex is considered to be a key determinant of human intelligence. Adolescence is a period of development characterized by physiological, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial changes, which is related to the recombination and optimization of the cerebral cortex, and cognitive ability changes significantly in children and adolescents. This study examined the effects of common genetic and environmental factors between the surface area of the cerebral cortex and intelligence in typical developing adolescents (twins, n = 114, age 12-18 years old). Cortical surface area data were parsed into subregions (i.e., frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal areas) and intelligence into verbal and nonverbal skills. We found a phenotypic correlation between regional surface areas and verbal intelligence. No correlation was observed between regional surface areas and nonverbal intelligence, except for the occipital lobe and the right hemisphere. In the bivariate twin analyses, the differences in phenotypic correlation between regional surface areas and verbal intelligence were not due to unshared environmental effects or measurement error, but to genetic effects. In summary, the current study has broadened the previous genetic investigations of cognitive ability and cortical surface area.Copyright © 2023 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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