The Misunderstood Gene
09/09/10 13:03 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Thu, 09/09/2010 - 13:03.
"Intelligence" is not really a single trait but the manifestation of a series of complex behaviours that arise from both multi-gene influences and the environment. The term "intelligence" itself is difficult to define. Some describe it from a purely anthropocentric perspective, others extend this to encompass creatures like chimps, dogs and dolphins, and a few are willing to consider it in the context of computers.
My own embracing definition of intelligence is, "the inherent capability of a system to monitor, process and respond to a changing environment in a way that permits it to survive and advance." I envision three type of intelligence in living organisms: social intelligence, cellular intelligence and molecular intelligence. The latter refers to the complex networks of signalling proteins that operate in living cells.
I believe Dr. Bishop is referring to cellular intelligence, which is largely mediated by the complex interactions of neurons in an animal. While genes clearly play general roles in the formation of brain structure, neuronal growth, survival and synaptic connections, it is the environmental inputs that account for the bulk of the connectivity between neurons. Around a third of our neurons near the time of birth are eventually lost in the first year or two when they are insufficiently innervated. Social intelligence, which arises from group interactions, has an especially important role to play in the lengthy education of a person from birth to about 25 years of age when the brain is finally mature.
Dr. Bishop is indeed very correct when she questions whether genetic profiling certainly with our current level of understanding can give any accurate measure of intelligence or any other gifts such as music or artistic ability. Genetic profiling companies that advertise that they can identify inborn talents & personality traits from genome sequencing or SNP analyses are plainly deceiving the public. The scientific community should be vigilant and outspoken against such deceptive practices that in the end will harm the credibility of this type of profiling for legitimate applications such as specific disease prediction.
Link to the original blog post.
"Intelligence" is not really a single trait but the manifestation of a series of complex behaviours that arise from both multi-gene influences and the environment. The term "intelligence" itself is difficult to define. Some describe it from a purely anthropocentric perspective, others extend this to encompass creatures like chimps, dogs and dolphins, and a few are willing to consider it in the context of computers.
My own embracing definition of intelligence is, "the inherent capability of a system to monitor, process and respond to a changing environment in a way that permits it to survive and advance." I envision three type of intelligence in living organisms: social intelligence, cellular intelligence and molecular intelligence. The latter refers to the complex networks of signalling proteins that operate in living cells.
I believe Dr. Bishop is referring to cellular intelligence, which is largely mediated by the complex interactions of neurons in an animal. While genes clearly play general roles in the formation of brain structure, neuronal growth, survival and synaptic connections, it is the environmental inputs that account for the bulk of the connectivity between neurons. Around a third of our neurons near the time of birth are eventually lost in the first year or two when they are insufficiently innervated. Social intelligence, which arises from group interactions, has an especially important role to play in the lengthy education of a person from birth to about 25 years of age when the brain is finally mature.
Dr. Bishop is indeed very correct when she questions whether genetic profiling certainly with our current level of understanding can give any accurate measure of intelligence or any other gifts such as music or artistic ability. Genetic profiling companies that advertise that they can identify inborn talents & personality traits from genome sequencing or SNP analyses are plainly deceiving the public. The scientific community should be vigilant and outspoken against such deceptive practices that in the end will harm the credibility of this type of profiling for legitimate applications such as specific disease prediction.
Link to the original blog post.