Project summary

Nuffield Foundation Award EDO/44110. Authors: Alexandra Starr, Florence Oxley & Sophie von Stumm (PI).

How do our genes and experiences shape the way we think and learn?

DNA strand illustration

Background

Our ability to think and learn – our cognitive ability – plays an important role in all aspects of our lives, at school, at work, and at home. Differences in cognitive ability between people are first seen in early childhood and grow throughout our lives. These differences arise from the interplay between our genes and our day-to-day experiences. No two people have exactly the same genes and experiences, so no two people are exactly the same.

Genes and environmental experiences jointly shape who we are in two ways. Our individual genetic makeup can affect how we respond to things that happen around us and influence the decisions we make about what we do in the world. This is gene-environment correlation. Our experiences can work together with our genetics, making us more or less likely to develop certain traits (eg enjoying reading). This is gene-environment interaction.

Our aims

Previous research has identified gene-environment correlations in cognitive development. We set out to find gene-environment interactions, and to learn what genetic and environmental factors are involved. Knowing more about this could advance research in psychology and education, and could contribute to improving life chances for all.

What did we do?

Using data from 13,000 UK families with twins, we explored which genetic and environmental factors were linked to cognitive ability (ie gene-environment correlation). We also looked for differences in cognitive ability that could not be explained by genetics or experience alone (ie evidence of gene-environment interaction).

What did we find?

We found robust evidence of gene-environment correlation, identified 39 types of environmental experiences influencing cognitive development (eg home environment, exposure to pollution etc), and established that children actively take part in choosing and shaping their own experiences of the world. We did not find strong evidence of gene-environment interaction. This is likely due to the way that our studies were designed. Gene-environment interactions have complex, subtle influences on cognitive development. Because of this, we grouped together genetic differences versus environmental experiences to better observe their effects. However, this may mean that we did not capture interactions involving single genes or single types of experience. Alternatively, a much larger group of people may need to be studied for robust gene-environment interactions to be identified.

What does this mean?

Cognitive development is influenced by many genetic variants together. We have shown that, likewise, many types of environmental experience also come together to influence cognitive development. Some of these genetic and environmental factors will also affect development in other areas, like social-emotional traits. We have gathered knowledge that may, in future, inform how we approach interventions to support development, and how we identify those who may benefit most from support. Our project has underscored the value of behaviour genetic research on development, and identified directions and recommendations for future research in this area.

Read the full report - Gene-environment interplay in early life cognitive development (final report) (PDF , 1,702kb)