More Evidence That Intelligence Is Largely Inherited: Researchers Find That Genes Determine Brain’s Processing Speed

 

ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2009) — They say a picture tells a thousand stories, but can it also tell how smart you are? Actually, say UCLA researchers, it can.

 

In a study published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience, UCLA neurology professor Paul Thompson and colleagues used a new type of brain-imaging scanner to show that intelligence is strongly influenced by the quality of the brain’s axons, or wiring that sends signals throughout the brain. The faster the signaling, the faster the brain processes information. And since the integrity of the brain’s wiring is influenced by genes, the genes we inherit play a far greater role in intelligence than was previously thought.

 

Genes appear to influence intelligence by determining how well nerve axons are encased in myelin — the fatty sheath of “insulation” that coats our axons and allows for fast signaling bursts in our brains. The thicker the myelin, the faster the nerve impulses.

 

http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/2009/03/19/more-evidence-that-intelligence-is-largely-inherited-researchers-find-that-genes-determine-brains-processing-speed/

hmm interesting..but idk if i agree. all my family is stupid and didn't finish middle school..but here i am a straight A high school student who got a 15000 scholarship to UCSB

^@Erick: this is about inherent, raw processing power. I know dozens of kids who make very good grades in high school even though they don't "get" everything at first -- they work hard and they do well. It's as simple as that. :shrug: (Ian, we really do need a shrugging emote. That would be amazing. Just sayin'.)

 

Brainpower has nothing to do with smartness, much less intellegence.

 

BTW this belongs in the news section.

I'm sure genetics may account for some brains being more efficient than others, but it doesn't really make anyone naturally smarter or more intelligent out of the womb. Lifestyle, education and willingness to learn are the main driving factors. It's what you learn that makes you intelligent, not just having a certain type of brain.

^@Erick: this is about inherent, raw processing power. I know dozens of kids who make very good grades in high school even though they don't "get" everything at first -- they work hard and they do well. It's as simple as that. :shrug: (Ian, we really do need a shrugging emote. That would be amazing. Just sayin'.)

 

Brainpower has nothing to do with smartness, much less intellegence.

 

BTW this belongs in the news section.

 

wow u know my name? how? haha? and yeah i did think of that. but still i felt like i needed to say that..my dad is smart at what he does but being an Air conditioning and heater repair man. most ppl wouldn't consider that anything special