The Generalist Genes Hypothesis of learning abilities and disabilities was originally coined in an article by Plomin & Kovas (2005).
The Generalist Genes Hypothesis suggests that most
genes
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
associated with common
learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...
and abilities are generalist in three ways.
*Firstly, the same genes that influence common learning abilities (e.g., high reading aptitude) are also responsible for common learning disabilities (e.g., reading disability): they are strongly
genetically correlated.
*Secondly, many of the genes associated with one aspect of a learning disability (e.g., vocabulary problems) also influence other aspects of this learning disability (e.g., grammar problems).
*Thirdly, genes that influence one learning disability (e.g., reading disability) are largely the same as those that influence other learning disabilities (e.g., mathematics disability).
The Generalist Genes Hypothesis has important implications for education, cognitive sciences and molecular genetics.
References
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External links
Robert Plomin’s homepageabout Yulia Kovas
Behavioural genetics
Learning disabilities
Human genetics