Cognitive processing speed and accuracy are intrinsically different in genetic architecture and brain phenotypes

• Published in: Nature communications 2024-09, Vol.15 (1), p.7786-11, Article 7786
• Main Authors: Li, Mingyang, Dang, Xixi, Chen, Yiwei, Chen, Zhifan, Xu, Xinyi, Zhao, Zhiyong, Wu, Dan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 45/43; 631/208/1515; 631/378/2649/1579; 631/477/2811; Accuracy; Adolescent; Adolescents; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - growth & development; Brain architecture; Child; Cognition - physiology; Cognitive ability; Cognitive development; Depressive Disorder, Major - genetics; Female; Genome-Wide Association Study; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Information processing; Intellectual development; Male; Medical imaging; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; multidisciplinary; Neurobiology; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neuroimaging; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Processing Speed; Reaction Time - genetics; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Substantia alba
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52222-8

Since the birth of cognitive science, researchers have used reaction time and accuracy to measure cognitive ability. Although recognition of these two measures is often based on empirical observations, the underlying consensus is that most cognitive behaviors may be along two fundamental dimensions: cognitive processing speed (CPS) and cognitive processing accuracy (CPA). In this study, we used genomic-wide association studies (GWAS) data from 14 cognitive traits to show the presence of those two factors and revealed the specific neurobiological basis underlying them. We identified that CPS and CPA had distinct brain phenotypes (e.g. white matter microstructure), neurobiological bases (e.g. postsynaptic membrane), and developmental periods (i.e. late infancy). Moreover, those two factors showed differential associations with other health-related traits such as screen exposure and sleep status, and a significant causal relationship with psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Utilizing an independent cohort from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, we also uncovered the distinct contributions of those two factors on the cognitive development of young adolescents. These findings reveal two fundamental factors underlying various cognitive abilities, elucidate the distinct brain structural fingerprint and genetic architecture of CPS and CPA, and hint at the complex interrelationship between cognitive ability, lifestyle, and mental health. Here, the authors investigate the genetic architecture and neuroimaging signatures of cognitive processing speed and accuracy, two fundamental dimensions underlying cognitive abilities. They also identify links between these two factors and lifestyle, mental health and cognitive development.