For the first time, scientists have identified two clusters of genes directly linked to human intelligence.

Called M1 and M3, these so-called “gene networks” appear to determine how smart a person is by controling their memory, attention, processing speed and reasoning.

Crucially, the scientists have also discovered that these two networks — which each contain hundreds of genes — are likely to be under the control of master regulator switches. The researchers from Imperial College London are now keen to identify these switches and explore whether it might be feasible to manipulate them.

The research is at a very early stage, but the scientists would ultimately like to investigate whether it is possible to use this knowledge of gene networks to boost cognitive function.

Dr. Michael Johnson, lead author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, said, “We know that genetics plays a major role in intelligence but until now haven’t known which genes are relevant.

“This research highlights some of genes involved in human intelligence, and how they interact with each other. What’s exciting about this is that the genes we have found are likely to share a common regulation, which means that potentially we can manipulate a whole set of genes whose activity is linked to human intelligence.

“Our research suggests that it might be possible to work with these genes to modify intelligence, but that is only a theoretical possibility at the moment — we have just taken a first step along that road.”

Remarkably, researchers found that some of the genes that influence human intelligence in healthy people were the same genes that cause impaired cognitive ability and epilepsy when mutated.

This research could help provide insights into better treatments for neurodevelopmental diseases such as epilepsy, and ameliorate or treat the cognitive impairments associated with these devastating diseases.

科学家们首次发现，大脑中存在两个与人类智力直接相关的基因集群。

这两个“基因网络”分别为M1和M3。它们通过控制人的记忆力、注意力、反应速度和推理能力，来决定一个人到底有多聪明。

关键是，科学家们还发现，有主控“开关”专门负责控制这两个基因群

（每个基因群包含成百上千种基因）。

来自伦敦帝国学院的研究人员渴望找到以上的“开关”，看看能不能对它们加以控制。

该研究尚在起步阶段，不过科学家们一定会深入研究下去，并通过研究这些基因群帮助提高人类认知功能。

论文第一作者、来自伦敦帝国学院医学系的迈克尔· 约翰逊博士说：“我们都知道遗传基因对智力影响很大，但至今都不知道到底与哪些基因有关。”

“研究发现了一些跟人类智力有关的基因，以及它们之间的相互作用。令人兴奋的是，我们发现的这些基因很可能有一个共同的控制机制，这意味着我们可以操纵一整套与人类智力有关的基因活动。”

“研究表明，或许可以通过改变这些基因来提升智力。但目前这只是一种理论上的可能 — 我们在这条研究之路上才迈出第一步。”

值得注意的是，研究人员发现，正常人大脑中影响智力高低的某些基因和发生突变会导致认知能力受损或引发癫痫的基因是相同的。该研究能为更好地治疗癫痫等神经疾病提供新见解，并改善或彻底治疗与这些疾病相关的认知障碍。

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【控制】kòngzhì manipulate control the action of

    【改善】gǎishàn ameliorate make better, improve