Proxy For Cognitive Ability Research Articles

Shared genetic architectures of educational attainment in East Asian and European populations

Educational attainment (EduYears), a heritable trait often used as a proxy for cognitive ability, is associated with various health and social outcomes. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on EduYears have been focused on samples of European (EUR) genetic ancestries. Here we present the first large-scale GWAS of EduYears in people of East Asian (EAS) ancestry (n = 176,400) and conduct a cross-ancestry meta-analysis with EduYears GWAS in people of EUR ancestry (n = 766,345). EduYears showed a high genetic correlation and power-adjusted transferability ratio between EAS and EUR. We also found similar functional enrichment, gene expression enrichment and cross-trait genetic correlations between two populations. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping identified refined credible sets with a higher posterior inclusion probability than single population fine-mapping. Polygenic prediction analysis in four independent EAS and EUR cohorts demonstrated transferability between populations. Our study supports the need for further research on diverse ancestries to increase our understanding of the genetic basis of educational attainment.

Using repeatability of performance within and across contexts to validate measures of behavioral flexibility.

Research into animal cognitive abilities is increasing quickly and often uses methods where behavioral performance on a task is assumed to represent variation in the underlying cognitive trait. However, because these methods rely on behavioral responses as a proxy for cognitive ability, it is important to validate that the task structure does, in fact, target the cognitive trait of interest rather than non-target cognitive, personality, or motivational traits (construct validity). Although it can be difficult, or impossible, to definitively assign performance to one cognitive trait, one way to validate that task structure is more likely to elicit performance based on the target cognitive trait is to assess the temporal and contextual repeatability of performance. In other words, individual performance is likely to represent an inherent trait when it is consistent across time and across similar or different tasks that theoretically test the same trait. Here, we assessed the temporal and contextual repeatability of performance on tasks intended to test the cognitive trait behavioral flexibility in great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus). For temporal repeatability, we quantified the number of trials to form a color preference after each of multiple color reversals on a serial reversal learning task. For contextual repeatability, we then compared performance on the serial color reversal task to the latency to switch among solutions on each of two different multi-access boxes. We found that the number of trials to form a preference in reversal learning was repeatable across serial color reversals and the latency to switch a preference was repeatable across color reversal learning and the multi-access box contexts. This supports the idea that the reversal learning task structure elicits performance reflective of an inherent trait, and that reversal learning and solution switching on multi-access boxes similarly reflect the inherent trait of behavioral flexibility.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA?

This study attempts to determine if the association between admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we use the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the associations between cognitive ability, socially identified-race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, and non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to see if we can trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the 19th and early 20th century by taking advantage of early census distinctions by blood and also by using age-heaping based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we find that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups (_r_s =.05 to.47; _r_weighted-average =.10). In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not among Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and that this holds when we subset data by age, sex, and literacy-status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA?

This study attempts to determine if the association between admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we use the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the associations between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, and non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to see if we can trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the 19th and early 20th century by taking advantage of early census distinctions by blood and also by using age-heaping based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we find that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not among Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and that this holds when we subset data by age, sex, and literacy-status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA?

This study attempts to determine if the association between admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we use the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the associations between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, and non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to see if we can trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the 19th and early 20th century by taking advantage of early census distinctions by blood and also by using age-heaping based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we find that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not among Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and that this holds when we subset data by age, sex, and literacy-status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA

This study attempted to determine if the association between genetic admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we used the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the association between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the early 19th and early 20th century among African American, American Indian, and Puerto Rican groups by using age-heaping-based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we found that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and this holds when we subset by age, sex, and literacy status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA

This study attempted to determine if the association between genetic admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we used the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the association between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the early 19th and early 20th century among African American, American Indian, and Puerto Rican groups by using age-heaping-based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we found that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and this holds when we subset by age, sex, and literacy status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA

This study attempted to determine if the association between genetic admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we used the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the association between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the early 19th and early 20th century among African American, American Indian, and Puerto Rican groups by using age-heaping-based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we found that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy and this holds when we subset by age, sex, and literacy status. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Deep roots of admixture-related cognitive differences in the USA

This study attempted to determine if the association between genetic admixture and cognitive ability among African, European, and Amerindian descent groups in the USA holds across a large time period. First, we used the large and nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) sample to examine the association between cognitive ability and parental-reported race, genetically-predicted color, and genetic ancestry among Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and American Indians in the 21st century. Second, we use the 1850 to 1930 US censuses to trace ancestry-associated cognitive differences back to the early 19th and early 20th century among African American, American Indian, and Puerto Rican groups by using age-heaping-based numeracy as a proxy for cognitive ability. In the ABCD sample, we found that European ancestry is positively associated with cognitive ability within race/ethnic groups. In the census data, among African Americans and American Indians but not Puerto Ricans, we find that greater apparent European admixture is associated with higher numeracy, and this holds when we subset by age, sex, and literacy status. Therefore, we established that admixture is associated with cognitive ability in the 21st century as it was in the 19th and early 20th century. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Assessing the utility of electronic measures as a proxy for cognitive ability

AbstractLarge‐scale genomic studies have identified over 100 genes associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, important phenotypic variables are captured inconsistently. In many cases, the resources required for comprehensive characterization hinder the feasibility of collecting critical information, such as intellectual ability. Thus, electronic collection of important phenotypes would greatly facilitate large‐scale data collection efforts. This study assessed the utility of two electronic assessments as a proxy of cognitive ability relative to clinician‐administered cognitive assessments. Ninety‐two participants completed the study, including individuals with ASD (probands, n = 19), parents of probands (n = 46), and siblings without ASD (n = 27). Participants were administered the electronic‐Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (e‐PPVT‐4), an electronic visual reasoning (VR) test, and a clinician‐administered Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI‐II). Probands also completed a full, in‐person, cognitive assessment and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 2nd Edition. Correlations between scores on electronic and clinician‐administered measures were examined. Classification accuracy of individual scores based on 95% confidence intervals and score range (below average, average, above average) were also assessed. Moderate to strong correlations were identified between both electronic measures and the clinician‐administered WASI‐II (ρ = 0.606–0.712). Mean difference between standard scores ranged from 10.7 to 14.8 for the cohort. Classification accuracy based on WASI‐II 95% confidence interval was consistently low (27.5%–47.3%). Classification accuracy by score range (below average, average, above average) was variable, ranging from 33% to 86% for probands. All participants unable to complete the electronic assessments met DSM‐5 criteria for intellectual disability. e‐PPVT‐4 and VR scores were strongly correlated with scores on the WASI‐II full‐scale IQ (ρ = 0.630, 0.712), indicating utility of these measures at the group level in large‐scale genomic studies. However, the poor precision of measurement across both measures suggests that the e‐PPVT‐4 and VR are not useful alternatives to in‐person testing for the purpose of clinical assessment of an individual's IQ score.Lay SummaryLarge‐scale studies designed to identify genes associated with autism have been successful in identifying over 100 genes. However, important clinical information about participants with autism and their family members is often missed—including cognitive functioning. Cognitive testing requires in‐person administration by a trained clinician and therefore can be burdensome and often reduces feasibility of diverse samples. Here, we assessed whether electronic assessments could take the place of in‐person cognitive testing. We found that at the group level, for large‐scale studies, electronic measures added valuable information; however, they were not accurate enough to be used on an individual level (i.e., to offer feedback about an individual's predicted IQ score).

Childhood Head Growth and Educational Attainment in an Indian Cohort

There is minimal information about the association of head growth at different stages of childhood with cognitive ability. To determine the relationship of newborn head size and head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence with attained education, a proxy for cognitive ability. Prospective birth cohort study. Married women living in South Delhi between 1969 and 1973. The New Delhi Birth Cohort study followed up 8030 newborns born in 1969-1973 with head circumference, weight and height measurements at birth and 6-12 monthly until adulthood. Of these, 1526 men and women were followed up at the age of 26-32 years. Association between years of schooling, as an indicator of cognitive ability, and newborn head circumference and conditional measures of head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence. In unadjusted analyses, newborn head size was positively associated with years of education [(b (95% CI)=0.30 (0.14 to 0.47) years per SD head circumference], as was head growth from birth to 6 months [b (95% CI)=0.44 (0.28 to 0.60) years per SD conditional head growth], 6 months to 2 years [b (95% CI)=0.31 (0.15 to 0.47) years per SD conditional head growth] and 2 to 11 years [b (95% CI)=0.20 (0.03 to 0.36) years per SD conditional head growth]. There were similar findings for height and body mass index (BMI). In the adjusted model containing all growth measures, gestational age, and socio-economic status (SES) at birth as predictors, only SES was positively associated with educational attainment. Educational attainment in this population is positively associated with socioeconomic status and its influence on inter-related early life (fetal, infant and childhood) factors like nutritional status and brain growth.

Does brain size affect mate choice? An experimental examination in pygmy halfbeaks.

Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions in an animal’s lifetime. Female mate choice is often guided by the presence or intensity of male sexual ornaments, which must be integrated and compared among potential mates. Individuals with greater cognitive abilities may be better at evaluating and comparing sexual ornaments, even when the difference in ornaments is small. While brain size is often used as a proxy for cognitive ability, its effect on mate choice has rarely been investigated. Here, we investigate the effect of brain size on mate preferences in the pygmy halfbeak Dermogenys collettei, a small freshwater fish that forms mixed-sex shoals where mating takes place. Pygmy halfbeaks are ideal models as their semi-transparent heads allow for external brain measurements. After validating the use of external measurements as a proxy for internal brain size, we presented females with large or small brains (relative to body length) with two males that had either a large or small difference in sexual ornamentation (measured by the total area of red coloration). Unexpectedly, neither total relative brain size nor relative telencephalon size affected any measured aspect of mate preference. However, the difference in male sexual ornamentation did affect preference, with females preferring males with a smaller area of red coloration when the difference in ornaments was large. This study highlights the complexities of mate choice and the importance of considering a range of stimuli when examining mate preferences.

Risk Perceptions in Fisheries and Non-Bayesian Learning Process

This study examines the rationality of safety beliefs and the correlation between risk perception and actual level of job-related physical risk using data from the Maine’s American lobster fishery. To avoid measurement errors, I applied the instrumental variables to estimate risk perception and the compensation for the captain. Using educational achievement as a proxy for cognitive ability, I find no evidence supporting a correlation between risk perception and cognitive ability. While captains incorporate information on actual commercial fishing accidents to form their probabilistic judgments, I find evidence that learning process is non-linear in lobster fishery and does not follow an expected Bayesian linear framework. Also, the results suggest that the adjustment process slows down as the new information arrives. I could not confirm that fishermen use normalization strategy to minimize risk perception as a psychological method of coping with the threat.

Educational attainment polygenic scores are associated with cortical total surface area and regions important for language and memory

It is well established that higher cognitive ability is associated with larger brain size. However, individual variation in intelligence exists despite brain size and recent studies have shown that a simple unifactorial view of the neurobiology underpinning cognitive ability is probably unrealistic. Educational attainment (EA) is often used as a proxy for cognitive ability since it is easily measured, resulting in large sample sizes and, consequently, sufficient statistical power to detect small associations. This study investigates the association between three global (total surface area (TSA), intra-cranial volume (ICV) and average cortical thickness) and 34 regional cortical measures with educational attainment using a polygenic scoring (PGS) approach. Analyses were conducted on two independent target samples of young twin adults with neuroimaging data, from Australia (N ​= ​1097) and the USA (N ​= ​723), and found that higher EA-PGS were significantly associated with larger global brain size measures, ICV and TSA (R2 ​= ​0.006 and 0.016 respectively, p ​< ​0.001) but not average thickness. At the regional level, we identified seven cortical regions—in the frontal and temporal lobes—that showed variation in surface area and average cortical thickness over-and-above the global effect. These regions have been robustly implicated in language, memory, visual recognition and cognitive processing. Additionally, we demonstrate that these identified brain regions partly mediate the association between EA-PGS and cognitive test performance. Altogether, these findings advance our understanding of the neurobiology that underpins educational attainment and cognitive ability, providing focus points for future research.

Yes, correct context is indeed the key: An answer to Haave-Audet et al. 2019.

We published a study recently testing the link between brain size and behavioural plasticity using brain size selected guppy (Poecilia reticulata) lines (2019, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 32, 218-226). Only large-brained fish showed habituation to a new, but actually harmless environment perceived as risky, by increasing movement activity over the 20-day observation period. We concluded that "Our results suggest that brain size likely explains some of the variation in behavioural plasticity found at the intraspecific level". In a commentary published in the same journal, Haave-Audet et al. challenged the main message of our study, stating that (a) relative brain size is not a suitable proxy for cognitive ability and (b) habituation measured by us is likely not adaptive and costly. In our response, we first show that a decade's work has proven repeatedly that relative brain size is indeed positively linked to cognitive performance in our model system. Second, we discuss how switching from stressed to unstressed behaviour in stressful situations without real risk is likely adaptive. Finally, we point out that the main cost of behavioural plasticity in our case is the development and maintenance of the neural system needed for information processing, and not the expression of plasticity. We hope that our discussion with Haave-Audet et al. helps clarifying some central issues in this emerging research field.

Criticality in the Brain: Evidence and Implications for Neuromorphic Computing.

We have discovered an unexpected correlation between the operational temperature of the brain and cognitive abilities across a wide variety of animal species. This correlation is extracted from available data in the literature of the temperature range Δ T at which an animal's brain can operate and its encephalization quotient EQ, which can be used as a proxy for cognitive ability. In particular, we found a power-law dependence between Δ T and EQ. These data support the theory that the brain behaves as a critical system where temperature is one of the critical parameters, tuning the performance of the neural network.

Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study

Causes of the association between cognitive ability and health remain unknown, but may reflect a shared genetic aetiology. This study examines the causal genetic associations between cognitive ability and physical health. We carried out two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses using the inverse-variance weighted method to test for causality between later life cognitive ability, educational attainment (as a proxy for cognitive ability in youth), BMI, height, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes using data from six independent GWAS consortia and the UK Biobank sample (N = 112 151). BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes showed negative associations with cognitive ability; height was positively associated with cognitive ability. The analyses provided no evidence for casual associations from health to cognitive ability. In the other direction, higher educational attainment predicted lower BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and taller stature. The analyses indicated no causal association from educational attainment to physical health. The lack of evidence for causal associations between cognitive ability, educational attainment, and physical health could be explained by weak instrumental variables, poorly measured outcomes, or the small number of disease cases.

Measuring the Social Status of Education Programmes: Applying a New Measurement to Dual Vocational Education and Training in Switzerland

This paper proposes a new approach to measuring changes in the social status of education programmes, a type of social status that the literature has greatly neglected so far. We focus on the dual Vocational Education and Training (dual VET) system in Switzerland, which has recently received substantial attention across Europe. We argue that, holding everything else constant, a change in the relative ability of students in an education programme, in relation to the cohort, reflects a change in the social status of that programme. Using PISA scores as a proxy for cognitive ability, we apply this approach to test whether growing knowledge of the education system increases the social status of dual VET in Switzerland. Our results, which focus on immigrant students, confirm that the social status of dual VET increases with these students length of stay in Switzerland, thus reflecting their learning process about the Swiss education system.

Explaining individual differences in scholastic behaviour and achievement

This paper presents results from the first wave of a longitudinal study examining the effects of various psychosocial variables on scholastic achievement and behaviour at school. The main aim is to investigate the nature and strength of the effects of major individual difference dimensions on important outcome variables at school level, including academic performance, truancy, and antisocial behaviour. Data were collected from a sample of 901 pupils on verbal ability (as a proxy for cognitive ability), personality traits, and a number of behavioural indices, including academic performance at 14 and 16 years, number of authorized and unauthorized absences, and exclusions from school due to antisocial conduct. During the first stage of the study, seven schools participated in all three phases. Teachers administered a questionnaire battery in class according to a detailed protocol. Additional data were collected from school archives. Analysis of the data through multi-group (male and female pupils) structural equation modelling indicated a very strong effect of verbal ability on academic performance. Extraversion and psychoticism were negatively related to academic performance, although their effects were weak and moderated by gender. Verbal ability, extraversion, and psychoticism predicted absenteeism, truancy, and exclusions from school due to disruptive conduct. The latter three were negatively associated with academic performance. The findings indicate that major individual difference dimensions like verbal ability and personality traits, have a strong influence on important outcome variables at school level, including academic performance, truancy, and antisocial behaviour. Without fully acknowledging the crucial role of individual differences in shaping behaviour and achievement at school, the timely identification of pupils at risk, and the development of effective intervention schemes will be difficult.

Education, Ability, and Civic Engagement in the Contemporary United States

Participation in civic activities is widely recognized as the necessary foundation for any democratic government. Education has long been identified as a key determining factor of such civic engagement. Occasionally, this traditional finding has been called into question. Some scholars have hypothesized, while others firmly asserted, that cognitive ability fills the role usually attributed to education. This hypothesis implies that intelligence determines participation and, consequently, good citizenship. Thus, an inquiry into the relationships among education, cognitive ability, and civic participation raises important questions about citizenship in a democracy. By examining data from the 1976 American National Election Study (ANES), the 1974–1990 General Social Surveys (GSS), and the 1957–1975 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), I test the hypothesis that education is only a proxy for cognitive ability. I find that analysis using the ANES, which includes a very poor ability measure, produces inconclusive evidence. Yet analysis of data that include better measures of ability, the GSS and the WLS, rejects this hypothesis. In conclusion, the assertion of ability's dominance in determining civic participation is empirically untenable.