Prenatal exposure to sex hormone linked with genius
March 13th, 2011 - 2:40 pm ICT by IANSToronto, March 13 (IANS) High IQ in some people may be linked to exposure of sex hormone in the womb, says a new study.
University of Alberta researcher Marty Mrazik, professor in educational psychology, and a colleague from Rider University in the US, linked giftedness — an IQ of 130 or higher — to prenatal exposure of higher levels of testosterone.
“There seems to be some evidence that excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone facilitates increased connections in the brain, especially in the right prefrontal cortex,” said Mrazik.
“That’s why we see some intellectually gifted people with distinct personality characteristics that you don’t see in the normal population,” the journal Roeper Review reports.
Mrazik’s notion came from observations made during clinical assessments of gifted individuals. He and his colleague observed some specific traits among the subjects, according to an Alberta statement.
“It gave us some interesting ideas that there could be more to this notion of genius being predetermined from a biological perspective, than maybe people gave it credit for,” said Mrazik.
“It seemed that the bulk of evidence from new technologies (such as Functional MRI scans) tell us that there’s a little bit more going on than a genetic versus environmental interaction,” Mrazik added.
- Genius linked to prenatal exposure of higher levels of testosterone - Mar 12, 2011
- Technophobia 'sprouts up while we are still in the womb' - Oct 14, 2010
- Prenatal pesticide exposure lowers kids' IQ - Apr 22, 2011
- Genes' sensitivity to testosterone linked to aggression in adults - Dec 08, 2010
- Male twin sibling ups mental rotation performance in females - Sep 08, 2010
- Tobacco smoking negatively affects teens' brains - Mar 03, 2011
- Fear of new technology begins in womb - Oct 14, 2010
- Cell phone use in pregnancy affects foetus' brain - Mar 16, 2012
- Why smoking in pregnancy ups baby's sudden death risk - Nov 11, 2010
- Alpha males take greater risks in relationships: Study - Nov 10, 2010
- Women exposed to PFCs have obese babies - Sep 02, 2012
- Early humans more promiscuous than modern-day people - Nov 04, 2010
- Alpha males take greater initiative in love, sports - Nov 10, 2010
- Prenatal pesticide exposure, childhood cough are linked - Sep 06, 2012
- New study sheds light on cognitive recovery after brain damage - Nov 04, 2010
Tags: biological perspective, clinical assessments, colleague, distinct personality, educational psychology, genius, gifted individuals, high iq, mri scans, personality characteristics, prefrontal cortex, prenatal exposure, researcher, rider university, roeper review, sex hormone, testosterone, toronto march, university of alberta, womb