Do Facial Features Show If One is Smart? Scientists Say No After Studying 76 Genes

A team of interdisciplinary scientists from KU Leuven and Stanford University has identified 76 genes that affect the variation of the brain and facial structures.

However, scientists found no genetic link between the face and the cognitive ability of a person. That means that the study's findings debunk several pseudoscientific beliefs that intelligence could be assessed using facial features.

Study senior author Professor Joanna Wysocka from the Laboratory for Imaging Genetics at KU Leuven said that previous studies have already hinted at a genetic link between the shape of the face and brain but it was based on model organisms and clinical knowledge of rare conditions.

The study, entitled "Shared heritability of human face and brain shape" published in Nature Genetics, describes the genetic link between the shape of the face and brain of a person much more broadly than previous studies.

Identifying 76 Genes Predictive of Brain and Facial Structure

The researchers used the same method that Peter Claes and his colleagues used in identifying genes that determine face shape to also study the genes that affect brain shape.

"In these previous studies, we analyzed 3D images of faces and linked several data points on these faces to genetic information to find correlations," Claes said.

Using the data from the UK Biobank, a database of around 20,0000 individuals' MRI brain scans, the researchers measured the brains and focused on their folded external surface. Then they link the data from the image analyses to the available genetic information wherein they identified 472 genomic locations that could affect the shape of the brain.

Medical Xpress reported that 351 of these genetic locations have never been known before but researchers found that as many as 76 genes that predict the brain shape are linked to the face shape, linking the two a convincing one.

Furthermore, Stanford's press release reported that the researchers found evidence of genetic signals that influence both brain and face shape enriched in the regions of genomes that are responsible for regulating gene activity during embryogenesis.

Researchers noted that this makes sense as the genes that affect the shape of the brain and face are coordinated.

No Genetic Link on Cognitive Ability

Study first author Dr. Sahin Naqvi from the Stanford University School of Medicine said that they found a clear genetic link between the brain and face shape but this does not yield a connection to a person's behavioral and cognitive ability.

The team noted that no technology today could predict someone's behavior based on their facial features and the findings confirm that pseudoscientific claims of such a relationship between the face shape and cognitive ability hold no truth.

For instance, aggression cannot be predicted based on faces using artificial intelligence as they are not only unethical but also do not have any scientific foundation.

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