The genetic etiology of cognition is also supported by PRS studies which associate a higher polygenic burden with greater cognitive decline between the ages of 11 and 70 and a general lower cognitive ability at the age of 70 (McIntosh et al., 2013). In the Philadelphia neurodevelopmental cohort, investigators also found schizophrenia PRS associations for speed of emotion identification, an aspect of social cognition (Germine et al., 2016). Earlier studies utilizing genetic risk scores did not find associations with cognitive domains (Yeo et al., 2014) or IQ in schizophrenia (Van Scheltinga et al., 2013), though the lack of association could be explained by smaller sample sizes.
