New Genes Linked to Brain Size, Intelligence

Project ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) has been created for the largest brain study. There are 200 scientists from myriad of institutions involved in this project. Project ENIGMA was created to search for two things; one was to find genes that can increase your chances of having a single disease that your children can inherit and also looked for genes that cause tissue atrophy and reduce brain size. Apparently reduced brain size results in hereditary disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In the project, researchers got different brain scans of different people from around the world basically. They took all the scans and found patterns in genetic variation and the scans also showed how the changes in the genes can alter the brain. Also the researchers measured brain sizes and its memory centers in many MRI scans. The researchers looked for genetic variations related to brain size and they discovered a gene, HMGA, that show differences in people’s intelligence related to their brain size.  This new discovery can help them figure out the genes that promote the disorders and might even help find treatments.

After reading this article I actually was amazed as to how DNA and genes is such an intense subject. I really liked this article especially when they found out that brain size and intelligence relate to each other.