Stability of general cognitive ability from infancy to adulthood: A combined twin and genomic investigation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gustavson, Daniel E.; Borriello, Giulia A.; Karhadkar, Mohini A.; Rhee, Soo Hyun; Corley, Robin P.; Rhea, Sally-Ann; DiLalla, Lisabeth F.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Friedman, Naomi P.; Reynolds, Chandra A.
• 署名单位: University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder; University System of Ohio; Kent State University; Kent State University Salem; Kent State University Kent; Southern Illinois University System; Southern Illinois University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-14774
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2426531122
• 发表日期: 2025-05-27
• 关键词: longitudinal twin; recognition memory; early-childhood; age 11; intelligence; metaanalysis; performance; predictors; attention; birth

摘要

Measures of general cognitive ability (GCA) are highly stable from adolescence onward, particularly at the level of genetic influences. In contrast, measurement of GCA in early life (before 3 y old) is less reliable and less is known about the stability of GCA across this period, including its relation to adult GCA. Using data from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin study (N = 1,098), we examined the stability of GCA measures across 5 time-points (years 1 to 2, 3, 7, 16, and 29), including how an array of cognitive measures given at 7 and 9 mo relate to later GCA. We then examined the genetic and environmental stability of GCA across the first 30 y of life using complementary methods: twin analyses and polygenic scores (PGSs). Two infant cognition measures, object novelty and tester-rated task orientation, predicted GCA in adulthood (r = 0.16 and 0.18, respectively). Correlational analyses were consistent with a pattern of increasing stability across development for GCA measures between year 1 to 2 and adulthood (r = 0.39 to 0.85). Subsequent twin analyses revealed that 22% of variance in adulthood GCA was captured by genetic influences on GCA from year 3 or earlier, with an additional 10% explained by shared environmental influences on GCA at year 1 to 2. PGSs for adulthood GCA and educational attainment predicted GCA from 1 to 2 y onward (beta s = 0.09 to 0.44) but not infant cognition. Findings suggest that genetic and environmental influences on GCA demonstrate considerable stability as early as age 3 y, but that measures of infant cognition are less predictive of later cognitive ability.