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anti-cretin hypothesis
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anti-cretin hypothesis
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Simon Waters
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anti-cretin hypothesis
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24/11/2008 21:33:39 »
I suspect some people with hyperthyroid disorders, or with such disorders in their family, exhibit unusually high intelligence as a result.
It is widely accepted that lack of thyroid hormone during various stages of development leads to low IQ due to developmental problems (historically this is called cretinism, but the term is generally avoided these days as it has been used abusively). Even in mature adults low thyroid function dulls the intellect.
Hyperthyroidism and IQ is less well studied. People with chronic hyperthyroidism are so ill that their mental development or performance may be adversely affected. I suspect that a subset of people are affected positively as far as IQ is concerned, whether by maternal hyperthyroidism in the womb, or by some more direct process (mutations affecting brain deiodinase, or just greater attentiveness and mental energy when the disease is only mild).
To test the hypothesis one would need a (large) group selected for exceptionally high IQ, and see if the family history of hyperthyroid disorders is more common in the high IQ group than the general population.
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DoctorBeaver
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A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.
anti-cretin hypothesis
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Reply #1 on:
25/11/2008 18:52:15 »
A study by Tiejian Wu, Joanne W Flowers, Fred Tudiver, Jim L Wilson and Natavut Punyasavatsut at East Tennessee State university published in 2006 concludes:-
Subclinical hypothyroidism was associated with better performance in some areas of cognitive functions while subclinical hyperthyroidism could be a potential risk factor.
Read it here
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_Stefan_
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anti-cretin hypothesis
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Reply #2 on:
26/11/2008 06:15:37 »
Does this mean anything for the intelligence of the presumably unaffected offspring of parents with hypothyroidism?
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Stefan
"No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish." -David Hume
DoctorBeaver
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A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.
anti-cretin hypothesis
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Reply #3 on:
26/11/2008 10:15:48 »
All I know is what's in that article. It's not my field.
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