What doesn't kill you makes you dumber - Strengthening the link between infectious disease, intelligence and personality
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.10...8/embor.2012.13
Philip Hunter, EMBO Reports (2012)13:193-196 https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2012.13
The idea that infectious disease during childhood affects the developing brain to impact intelligence has been around for decades. Recent evidence from more rigorous studies, which have controlled carefully for other factors such as nutrition and education, has strengthened the case. If these new epidemiological and molecular studies really do confirm a clear link between childhood infection and intelligence, the consequences for health policy and development assistance could be profound. The results could mandate an increased focus not only on eradicating or controlling infectious diseases, but also on reducing their impact on children in the absence of cures or vaccines.