Human face recognition ability is specific and highly heritable

TLDR

Genetic studies of higher‑level perception and cognition have lagged behind those of basic sensory transduction. The study proposes that focusing on face recognition, a well‑defined cognitive ability, could yield new genetic insights. Twin analysis shows face recognition is highly heritable (MZ 0.70 vs DZ 0.29) and largely independent of other visual or verbal recognition, indicating a distinct, genetically driven cognitive ability.

Abstract

Compared with notable successes in the genetics of basic sensory transduction, progress on the genetics of higher level perception and cognition has been limited. We propose that investigating specific cognitive abilities with well-defined neural substrates, such as face recognition, may yield additional insights. In a twin study of face recognition, we found that the correlation of scores between monozygotic twins (0.70) was more than double the dizygotic twin correlation (0.29), evidence for a high genetic contribution to face recognition ability. Low correlations between face recognition scores and visual and verbal recognition scores indicate that both face recognition ability itself and its genetic basis are largely attributable to face-specific mechanisms. The present results therefore identify an unusual phenomenon: a highly specific cognitive ability that is highly heritable. Our results establish a clear genetic basis for face recognition, opening this intensively studied and socially advantageous cognitive trait to genetic investigation.