what sort of genes have you found that change the way people think

Question: what sort of genes have you found that change the way people think
- Keywords:
  brain,
  genes,
  genetics,
  inherit,
  inheritance,
  mind,
  thinking,
  thought
Asked by tabiuw to Andy on 14 Jun 2011.
- Andy MacLeod answered on 14 Jun 2011:
  
  Hi tabiuw
  
  We normally get two copies of every gene: one from mum and one from dad. But sometimes the copying mechanism isn’t exact, so genes can be deleted (so we have 0 or 1 copy) or duplicated (so we have more than 2). I’ve been looking at lots of different genes, counting the number of each one that each person in our experiment has, and comparing that count to the results of their intelligence test scores. Most of the genes I’ve looked at didn’t have any effect, but I’ve found a couple that look promising. They’ve previously been found in patients with schizophrenia and autism, so it might explain why people with those diseases tend to have lower than average intelligence.

Question: what sort of genes have you found that change the way people think