Gene Links to Memory, Brain Size Found in Global Effort, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Study

An international effort to understand the genetic building blocks of the human brain and its functions found patterns of DNA that may be linked to memory and intelligence. The research for the first time tracked genes that affect the size of infants’ heads, and the volume of the cranium and the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped organ crucial for memory. More than 200 researchers at 100 medical centers worldwide were involved in creating a database of 21,151 people that helped lead to findings from a series of four studies.