http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110311153549.htmCould Giftedness Be Linked to Prenatal Exposure of Higher Levels of Hormones?
Science Daily
March 12, 2011
A longstanding debate as to whether genius is a byproduct of good genes or good environment has an upstart challenger that may take the discussion in an entirely new direction. University of Alberta researcher Marty Mrazik says being bright may be due to an excess level of a natural hormone.
Mrazik, a professor in the Faculty of Education's educational psychology department, and a colleague from Rider University in the U.S., have published a paper in Roeper Review linking giftedness (having an IQ score of 130 or higher) to prenatal exposure of higher levels of testosterone. Mrazik hypothesizes that, in the same way that physical and cognitive deficiencies can be developed in utero, so, too, could similar exposure to this naturally occurring chemical result in giftedness.
"There seems to be some evidence that excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone facilitates increased connections in the brain, especially in the right prefrontal cortex," said Mrazik. "That's why we see some intellectually gifted people with distinct personality characteristics that you don't see in the normal population."
Mrazik's notion came from observations made during clinical assessments of gifted individuals. He and his fellow researcher observed some specific traits among the subjects. This finding stimulated a conversation on the role of early development in setting the foundation for giftedness.
<rest of article at link>
I wonder if this paper explains why more males than females are more highly gifted in math
http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol11no1_feature.html , given that testosterone is the principal male sex hormone.
I think the paper being referenced is
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a927174008~frm=titlelink
The Neurobiological Foundations of Giftedness
Roeper Review
Volume 32, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 224 - 234
Authors: Martin Mrazik; Stefan C. Dombrowski
Abstract
Case studies of extremely gifted individuals often reveal unique patterns of intellectual precocity and associated abnormalities in development and behavior. This article begins with a review of current neurophysiological and neuroanatomical findings related to the gifted population. The bulk of scientific inquiries provide evidence of unique patterns of right prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal activation implicated in gifted intelligence, although additional studies suggest enhanced neural processing and cerebral bilateralism. Geschwind, Behan, and Galaburda (GBG) first hypothesized the possible neurodevelopmental factors that account for unique brain development. This article explores more recent findings taken from the prenatal exposure literature and offers a proposed model for explaining aberrant developmental forces that may be at work in precocious individuals.
