ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

›› 2011, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (9): 1267-1280.

• 元分析 • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Genetic Basis of Individual Differences in Reading Ability: A Mata-analysis of Twins Studies

WANG Song;LI Jing-Guang;LIU Jia   

  1. National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
  • Received:2011-04-26 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:2011-09-15 Published:2011-09-15
  • Contact: LI Jing-Guang

Abstract: The origin of individual differences in reading ability is one of the most popular questions studied in the field of behavioral genetics. Here we used a meta-analysis on eighty empirical twin studies in reading ability to examine its genetic basis. Three new and fundamental findings have been observed. First, genetic factors have a moderate influence on general reading ability, reading-related processes (e.g., word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension), and pre-reading cognitive skills (e.g., phonological processing, orthographic coding, rapid naming, and print knowledge). Second, components of the reading process are modulated by both general and specific genetic factors. Finally, the genetic overlap between reading ability and general cognitive ability and the genetic overlap between reading ability and mathematic ability are also moderate. Taken together, our meta-analysis indicates that twin studies play a critical role in exploring the genetic basis of individual differences in reading ability, complementary to studies based on rapidly growing molecular genetics.

Key words: reading ability, individual differences, twin studies, behavioral genetics