The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component

Oliver S. P. Davis (Lead / Corresponding author), Gavin Band, Matti Pirinen, Claire M. A. Haworth, Emma L. Meaburn, Yulia Kovas, Nicole Harlaar, Sophia J. Docherty, Ken B. Hanscombe, Maciej Trzaskowski, Charles J. C. Curtis, Amy Strange, Colin Freeman, Céline Bellenguez, Zhan Su, Richard Pearson, Damjan Vukcevic, Cordelia Langford, Panos Deloukas, Sarah HuntEmma Gray, Serge Dronov, Simon C. Potter, Avazeh Tashakkori-Ghanbaria, Sarah Edkins, Suzannah J. Bumpstead, Jenefer M. Blackwell, Elvira Bramon, Matthew A. Brown, Juan P. Casas, Aiden Corvin, Audrey Duncanson, Janusz A Z Jankowski, Hugh S. Markus, Christopher G. Mathew, Colin N. A. Palmer, Anna Rautanen, Stephen J. Sawcer, Richard C. Trembath, Ananth C. Viswanathan, Nicholas W. Wood, Ines Barroso, Leena Peltonen, Philip S. Dale, Stephen A. Petrill, Leonard S. Schalkwyk, Ian W Craig, Cathryn M. Lewis, Thomas S. Price, Peter Donnelly, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    75 Citations (Scopus)
    186 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children's ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child's cognitive abilities at age twelve.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number4204
    Number of pages6
    JournalNature Communications
    Volume5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 8 Jul 2014

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this