Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28358535›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental psychology2017

A longitudinal twin study of general cognitive ability over four decades.

Michael J Lyons, Matthew S Panizzon, Weijian Liu, Ruth McKenzie, Noah J Bluestone, Michael D Grant, Carol E Franz, Eero P Vuoksimaa, Rosemary Toomey, Kristen C Jacobson and 3 more

Abstract readTwin Study
In one paragraph

Article in Developmental psychology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
40citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Stability of general cognitive ability from infancy to adulthood: A combined twin and genomic investigation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
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  9. Association ofAlpha psychiatry · 2025
    Article
  10. Cortical Surface Area Profile Mediates Effects of Childhood Disadvantage on Later-Life General Cognitive Ability.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024
    Article
  11. Elevated C-Reactive Protein in Older Men With Chronic Pain: Association With Plasma Amyloid Levels and Hippocampal Volume.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
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  12. Article
  13. Rostral-middle locus coeruleus integrity and subjective cognitive decline in early old age.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Michael J LyonsDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Matthew S PanizzonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.
Weijian LiuDepartment of Biostatistics, Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
Ruth McKenzieDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Noah J BluestoneDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Michael D GrantDepartment of Psychology, Ohio University.
Carol E FranzDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.
Eero P VuoksimaaDepartment of Public Health, University of Helsinki.
Rosemary ToomeyDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Kristen C JacobsonDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago.
Chandra A ReynoldsChandra A. Reynolds, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.
William S KremenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.ORCID 0000-0002-8629-5609
Hong XianDepartment of Biostatistics, Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

Funding

The VETSA Longitudinal Twin Study of Cognition and Aging (VETSA 4)R01AG050595 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI ELMAN, JEREMY A, FRANZ, CAROL ELAINE · 2015 to 2024
$28.0M
The VETSA Longitudinal MRI Twin Study of AgingR01AG022381 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI KREMEN, WILLIAM S. · 2003 to 2019
$22.3M
The VETSA Longitudinal Twin Study of Cognition and AgingR01AG018384 · NIA · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · PI LYONS, MICHAEL J. · 2002 to 2012
$9.8M
The VETSA longitudinal twin study of cognition and agingR01AG018386 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI KREMEN, WILLIAM S. · 2002 to 2012
$9.7M
The VETSA Longitudinal Twin Study of Cortisol and AgingR01AG022982 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI KREMEN, WILLIAM S. · 2004 to 2007
$2.6M
Testosterone-Androgen Receptor Genetics: Role in Cognitive and Biological AgingK08AG047903 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI PANIZZON, MATTHEW S · 2014 to 2017
$452k
Archiving the Vietnam Era Twin Studies of Aging (VETSA): New Uses for Old DataR03AG046413 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI FRANZ, CAROL ELAINE · 2013 to 2014
$247k
NIA NIH HHS K08 AG047903NIA NIH HHS R01 AG018384NIA NIH HHS R01 AG018386NIA NIH HHS R01 AG022381NIA NIH HHS R01 AG022982NIA NIH HHS R01 AG050595NIA NIH HHS R03 AG046413
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this longitudinal study we examined the stability of general cognitive ability (GCA), as well as heterogeneity and genetic and environmental influences underlying individual differences in change. We investigated GCA from young adulthood through late midlife in 1,288 Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging participants at ages ∼20, ∼56, and ∼62 years. The correlations among the 3 occasions ranged from .73 to .85, reflecting substantial stability. The heritability was significant on each of the 3 occasions and ranged from .59 to .66. The influence of the shared environment was not significant at any of the ages. The genetic correlations across the 3 occasions ranged from .95 to .99 and did not differ significantly from 1.0. The nonshared environmental correlations ranged from .21 to .47. Latent growth curve analysis was applied to characterize trajectories over the 42-year period. Slope was significantly different from 0 and indicated that there was modest change over time. There was a significant genetic influence on initial level of GCA (h2 = .67), but not change (h2 = .23). Genetic factors primarily contribute to stability, while change reflects the influence of nonshared environmental influences. There was a significant negative correlation between initial level of GCA and change (r = -.31). Latent class growth analysis identified 4 trajectories. In general, the 4 groups followed parallel trajectories and were differentiated mainly by differences in AFQT performance level at the time of military induction. (PsycINFO Database Record

Indexed as

Gene-Environment InteractionIndividualityAdultAge FactorsCognitionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedModels, GeneticSurveys and QuestionnairesTwins, DizygoticTwins, MonozygoticYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID28358535
PMCPMC5474938

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.