Intelligence: is it largely inherited from the mother? 2026

It is a topic that is repeated in many families. Well... Who do we inherit intelligence from, mom or dad? High. Before we go ahead and answer this question, we should consider another question: What determines a person's intelligence?

There are many studies that defend that our intellect is conditioned by the genetic code. However, it could also be true that IQ may not depend exclusively on the pairs of chromosomes we all have.

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Although intelligence is a fairly complex characteristic, to describe it we can take as reference a definition that dates back to 1997 and is supported by 52 experts:

But what causes individual differences in these skills such as reasoning or solving certain problems? The truth is that knowing exactly has always been a real challenge and the object of many investigations.

For example, as reported by the British media The Independent, for a team of scientists from the University of Glasgow, genetic inheritance shapes people's abilities. And to make matters worse, it is the mother's genetics that is primarily responsible for determining the intelligence of the children.

The study was carried out by the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, Scotland. For a time, 12,686 young people between 14 and 22 years old were interviewed, analyzing different variables such as skin color or socioeconomic level.

After completing it, it was concluded that the best indicator of each subject's intelligence was their mother's IQ. However, there are some scientific studies that disagree with this theory because they claim that there are other factors that could also determine where intelligence is inherited.

And some even point out that between 45% and 55% of intelligence could be described in genes and that the rest, approximately half, could be developed depending on different family, social and personal conditions. Studies such as the one published in Genetic Reference magazine talk about the fact that the environment is one of the true determining factors for whether or not we can achieve our cognitive potential.

The truth is that it seems logical to think that both genetics and the environment influence a person's intelligence, but it is difficult to determine the weight of each one.

Previous studies

Before the study by the Scottish scientists, previous analyzes had already been carried out on this matter. These are some of the best known, but that does not mean that their arguments have to be taken as universal truth:

To do this, they worked with mouse embryos that they genetically modified so that some only reproduced the genes of the mother and others those of the father. The mice that had more maternal genes developed a very large brain and had tiny bodies. On the other hand, those who had a greater amount of parental benefits had a small head compared to a hyperdeveloped body.

According to these researchers, there are brain areas that have more maternal areas and others with more paternal cells. They stated that the cells with more paternal genes are grouped in the area of ​​the brain that has to do with nutrition, strength and sexual behavior. And those that have a maternal origin accumulate in the area of ​​the brain that is responsible for language, thinking, memory and intelligence.

It should be noted that even reaching these results, there are no parts of the brain where the abilities that each person has are located separately, nor is it considered that brain size is linked to intelligence. A very clear example: Einstein's brain was smaller than normal.

Factors that develop intelligence

Other research shows that mothers play an essential role in the development of their children's intelligence and they do so every day and through stimulation. We talk about attachment. According to these analyses, children who develop a good attachment to their mothers are more consistent and more tolerant of frustration.

At the University of Washington they also observed that mothers' love and secure attachment is associated with the growth of some parts of the brain, among others, the hippocampus. Closely linked to memory, learning and the stress response.

Furthermore, in contrast to some thoughts we have talked about, there is no specific area where intelligence can be located, and we should take into account other factors that could intervene in stimulating it. Factors such as an environment full of incentives, the cultural level of the parents or one's own emotional stability. Without forgetting about nutrition, since a rich and adequate diet can play a very important role in the intellectual development of the child.

What can parents do?

What we must take away from all this is that parents, rather than paying too much attention to their children's IQ, what they should do is contribute to their development and acquisition of skills. To do this, the ideal would be to develop some aspects that will really influence your intelligence:

We could consider, therefore, that intelligence is largely inherited from the mother, yes. But also from the father. At the same time, it is determined by environmental factors and can be stimulated with effort and mental exercise. The goal? Adequate cognitive progress. That is to say, what is clear is that wherever it comes from, parents have it very much in their power to contribute to the proper development of the intelligence of their little ones.