rs117911120 (SERPINB10): Adolescent Cognitive GWAS

Key takeaways

• rs117911120 appeared in a genome-wide study of adolescent cognitive traits but did not reach conventional statistical significance in a sample of 4,611 adolescents
• Genetics as a group explain roughly 30% of working memory differences and 19% of processing speed differences among adolescents in this cohort
• No single variant was pinpointed as a significant driver of working memory, processing speed, or inhibitory control in this study
• Working memory showed genetic overlap with general intelligence and academic attainment at the population level
• Evidence for this specific variant is preliminary and comes from a single cohort without reported independent replication

What the research says A genome-wide association study (GWAS, a scan of hundreds of thousands of genetic variants across the genome to find ones linked to a trait) examined working memory (WM, the ability to hold and mentally manipulate information), inhibitory control (IC, the ability to resist impulses), and processing speed (PS, how quickly a person responds to stimuli) in 4,611 adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC); no loci reached genome-wide significance (the conventional threshold of p < 5 x 10^-8), so rs117911120 did not clear that bar. At the aggregate level, common genetic variants collectively explained approximately 30% of latent WM variance and 19% of PS variance in this cohort, while no significant collective genetic contribution was detected for IC. The study further identified significant genetic correlations (a statistical measure of shared inherited architecture between traits at the population level, distinct from a direct variant-to-trait link) between WM and both general intelligence and academic attainment, and a more modest genetic overlap between PS and intelligence.

Reported associations

• Working memory (latent factor combining multiple tasks): Studied as a primary trait in 4,611 ALSPAC adolescents; no individual variant including rs117911120 reached genome-wide significance; common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, single-letter differences in DNA) collectively explained approximately 30% of variance
• Processing speed: Studied in the same cohort; no individual variant reached genome-wide significance; common SNPs collectively explained approximately 19% of variance
• Inhibitory control: Studied in the same cohort; no significant common genetic contribution was detected for this trait
• General intelligence and academic attainment: Significant genetic correlations with WM were identified at the aggregate level, indicating overlapping inherited architecture across these traits in the population; a more modest overlap was found between PS and intelligence

Evidence quality The sole study contributing evidence in this entry enrolled 4,611 adolescents from a single UK birth cohort (ALSPAC), substantially smaller than the 50,000 or more participants typically required to reliably detect individual SNP effects on cognitive traits with high confidence. No locus reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 x 10^-8). No replication of any finding in an independent sample is reported in the available text. The authors examined genetic overlap with ADHD in addition to intelligence and academic attainment, though full results for that comparison were not available in the provided excerpt. The aggregate-level genetic correlations add biological context about shared architecture across cognitive traits but do not confirm any specific variant association. Evidence for rs117911120 as a trait-associated variant is therefore preliminary and should be interpreted with caution.

Lifestyle considerations No lifestyle considerations on file for this variant.