Genetic Mechanisms of Cognitive Development

The results of large-scale meta-analyses of GWAS and genetic association studies demonstrated the role of allelic variants of a large number of genes in the development of cognitive abilities. Many of the identified genes are expressed in the brain and are involved in the pathogenesis of nervous system diseases. It has been shown that the summarized genetic effect for various cognitive abilities is no more than 50%. For certain genes, such as BDNF , DRD2 , FNBP1L , PDE1C , PDE4B , and PDE4D , related to the regulation of neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity, associations with specific cognitive abilities were revealed. We assume the prospect of using the obtained results for the targeted effect in order to improve human cognitive abilities. This review describes DNA methylation, histone acetylation, expression of specific noncoding RNAs during brain functioning, and the development of individual differences in cognitive abilities. The revealed epigenetic mechanisms suggest the methods of reversible correction of cognitive functioning both in nonclinical forms and pathological states.