Scientists Say Children Get Their Intelligence from Their Mothers, Not Their Fathers

How much do you want to bet that this test was given by a team of all female scientists? 😅 jk! But if this is true, it shows why men should carefully choose their partners when it comes to having children. It's important to make sure that before she gives you children, she has some level of intelligence. 😅

Researchers say that a mother’s genes are important for how smart her children will be, while the father's genes don’t have much effect. This is because the genes that influence intelligence are mostly found on the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes, so they can pass more of these intelligence genes to their children, whereas men only have one X chromosome.

Scientists have also found that some genes inherited from fathers may not work for intelligence at all. There are special genes called “conditioned genes” that only activate depending on whether they come from the mother or the father. Intelligence is one of these genes that needs to come from the mother.

In experiments with mice, those with more maternal genes had bigger heads and brains but smaller bodies. Mice with more paternal genes had smaller brains and larger bodies. Researchers found that different parts of the mouse brains had cells that only carried maternal or paternal genes, controlling things like eating and memory.

Cells with paternal genes were found in areas of the brain that deal with basic needs like food and emotions, but there were no paternal cells in the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for more complex thinking, like reasoning and planning.

To see if these findings apply to humans, researchers in Glasgow studied over 12,000 young people aged 14 to 22 every year since 1994. They discovered that even when considering factors like education and background, a mother’s IQ was the best predictor of her children’s intelligence.

However, genetics aren’t everything—about 40 to 60 percent of intelligence is thought to come from genetic factors, while the rest is influenced by the environment. Mothers also play a big role in this environmental factor, and many studies show that a close emotional bond between mother and child is linked to better intelligence.

One study from the University of Washington found that children who had strong emotional support from their mothers had larger hippocampi, a part of the brain related to memory and learning, by about 10 percent compared to those with less supportive mothers. This strong bond helps children feel safe, encouraging them to explore and solve problems.

Fathers can also play a big role in nurturing, and their traits, like intuition and emotions, are important for helping kids reach their potential. So, fathers should not feel left out!