Autism Genes and Higher Intelligence

Introduction

Researchers have found new evidence linking genetic factors associated with autism to better cognitive ability in people who do not have the condition.

Main Item

Cognition

Cognition is defined as the set of all mental abilities and processes related to knowledge: attention, memory and working memory, judgment and evaluation, reasoning and "computation", problem solving and decision making, comprehension and production of language, etc. Human cognition is conscious and unconscious, concrete or abstract, as well as intuitive (like knowledge of a language) and conceptual (like a model of a language). Cognitive processes use existing knowledge and generate new knowledge.

Intelligence

Intelligence is defined in many different ways such as in terms of one's capacity for logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, emotional knowledge, memory, planning, creativity and problem solving. It can also be more generally described as the ability to perceive and/or retain knowledge or information and apply it to itself or other instances of knowledge or information creating referable understanding models of any size, density, or complexity, due to any conscious or subconscious imposed will or instruction to do so.

Relationship Between Autism and Intelligence

The relationship between autism and intelligence is not clear, researchers say. Although up to 70 percent of individuals with autism have an intellectual disability, some people with the disorder have relatively well-preserved, or even higher than average, non-verbal intelligence, the team says.

Autism is a developmental disability that can cause significant language and speech difficulties. Non-verbal intelligence enables people to solve complex problems using visual and hands-on reasoning skills requiring little or no use of language.

Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Queensland analyzed almost 10,000 people recruited from the general population of Scotland. Individuals were tested for general cognitive ability and had their DNA analyzed.

The team found that even among people who never develop autism, carrying genetic traits associated with the disorder is, on average, linked to scoring slightly better on cognitive tests.

Researchers found further evidence of a link between autism-associated genes and intelligence when they carried out the same tests on 921 adolescents who were part of the Brisbane Adolescent Twin Study.

The study is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The research was funded by:

• Tthe Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates
• Scottish Funding Council
• The Wellcome Trust
• The Medical Research Council and Age UK

Dr Toni-Kim Clarke, of the University of Edinburgh's Division of Psychiatry, who led the study, said:

"Our findings show that genetic variation which increases risk for autism is associated with better cognitive ability in non-autistic individuals. As we begin to understand how genetic variants associated with autism impact brain function, we may begin to further understand the nature of autistic intelligence."

Professor Nick Martin, of the Queensland Institute for Medical Research, said:

"Links between autism and better cognitive function have been suspected and are widely implied by the well-known "Silicon Valley syndrome" and films such as "Rain Man" as well as in popular literature. This study suggests genes for autism may actually confer, on average, a small intellectual advantage in those who carry them, provided they are not affected by autism."

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by University of Edinburgh, and published on 2015/03/11 (Edit Update: 2020/10/01), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, University of Edinburgh can be contacted at Corin Campbell - corin.campbell@ed.ac.uk. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

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