Scientists from Shaanxi Normal University found several genetic variants associated with subtraction, spatial reasoning and division skills. Research published in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior.
The study included 1146 primary school students from China. Their DNA was analyzed to find point mutations associated with mathematical ability. In total, DNA consists of four different nucleotides that can be represented by letters. Point mutations are the replacement of one letter with another – and scientists have been looking for them.
Mathematical skills were divided into 11 categories. The scientists identified seven single-nucleotide genetic variants that correlated strongly with math and reasoning abilities.
Thus, variants in the LINGO2 gene were associated with the ability to infer variants, variants in OAS1 with spatial thinking, and variants in HECTD1 with cleavage.
“The results of our study suggest that different mathematical abilities may have different genetic underpinnings,” said the study’s authors.