Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT Performance in everyday spatial orientation tasks (e.g. map reading and navigation) has been considered functionally separate from performance on more abstract object-based spatial abilities (e.g. mental rotation and visualization). However, evidence remains scarce and unsystematic. With a novel gamified battery, we assessed six tests of spatial orientation in a virtual environment and examined their association with ten object-based spatial tests, as well as their links to general cognitive ability ( g ). We further estimated the role of genetic and environmental factors in underlying variation and covariation in these spatial tests. Participants ( N = 2,660) were part of the Twins Early Development Study, aged 19 to 22. The 6 tests of spatial orientation clustered into a single ‘ Navigation’ factor that was 64% heritable. Examining the structure of spatial ability across all 16 tests, three factors emerged: Navigation, Object Manipulation and Visualization. These, in turn, loaded strongly onto a general factor of Spatial Ability , which was highly heritable (84%). A large portion (45%) of this high heritability was independent of g . The results from this most comprehensive investigation of spatial abilities to date point towards the existence of a common genetic network that supports all spatial abilities.
Source: npj Science of Learning
Language: English
Subfield: Automotive Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,040
Funders: University of Texas at Austin, Wellcome Trust, European Commission, Jacobs Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1093531541, Population Research Center, G2496263360, G2520112572, G2678257554, G2761558319, G2973790809, Cortisol, Socioeconomic Status, and Genetic Influences on Cognitive Development, G3207356259, G393177772, Aggression in Children: Unraveling gene-environment interplay to inform Treatment and InterventiON strateg, G4590952238, G462966129, G463724992, Genetics of Mathematical Cognition and Disabilities, Origins of learning difficulties and behaviour problems: from behavioural genetics to behavioural genomics., G4921234783, G536866722, G5702163051, G5908335742, Colorado Adoption Project/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging [CATSLife2], G615229915, G6654131297, G7624716486, G7716769900, G8272245086, G8658852833, Genetics, school environments and cognitive development, Population Research Center
OpenAlex ID: W3039505794