Intelligence is the capability to acquire, understand and use understanding and skills in order to adapt to brand-new circumstances and resolve problems. It is a complex characteristic that is affected by both ecological and genetic aspects and can manifest in a range of ways, such as logical thinking, analytical, creativity, and learning.
Scientists have actually been working for many years to understand the relationship in between brain structure, practical connection, and intelligence. A current research study supplies the most detailed understanding to date of how various regions of the brain and neural networks add to a persons analytical ability in a range of contexts, a quality called basic intelligence.
The researchers recently published their findings in the journal Human Brain Mapping.
The research study, led by Aron Barbey, a teacher of psychology, bioengineering, and neuroscience at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and very first author Evan Anderson, a scientist for Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. working at the Air Force Research Laboratory, utilized the method of “connectome-based predictive modeling” to evaluate five theories on how the brain causes intelligence.
U. of I. professor Aron Barbey, pictured, and co-author Evan Anderson discovered that taking into consideration the features of the whole brain– rather than focusing on private areas or networks– enables the most accurate predictions of intelligence. Credit: Fred Zwicky
” To understand the remarkable cognitive abilities that underlie intelligence, neuroscientists look to their biological foundations in the brain,” Barbey said. “Modern theories attempt to describe how our capability for analytical is allowed by the brains information-processing architecture.”
Study lead author Evan Anderson. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer
A biological understanding of these cognitive capabilities requires “defining how private distinctions in intelligence and problem-solving capability associate with the underlying architecture and neural mechanisms of brain networks,” Anderson stated.
Historically, theories of intelligence focused on localized brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, which plays an essential role in cognitive procedures such as preparation, problem-solving, and decision-making. More recent theories highlight specific brain networks, while others take a look at how various networks engage and overlap with one another, Barbey stated. He and Anderson checked these developed theories against their own “network neuroscience theory,” which presumes that intelligence emerges from the worldwide architecture of the brain, including both strong and weak connections.
” Strong connections involve highly connected centers of information-processing that are established when we discover the world and end up being skilled at solving familiar issues,” Anderson stated. “Weak connections have less neural linkages however allow versatility and adaptive problem-solving.” Together, these connections “supply the network architecture that is essential for solving the varied problems we experience in life.”
To check their concepts, the team recruited a demographically diverse swimming pool of 297 undergraduate trainees, initially asking each individual to undergo a comprehensive battery of tests designed to determine problem-solving skills and flexibility in different contexts. These and similarly diverse tests are routinely utilized to measure general intelligence, Barbey stated.
The scientists next collected resting-state functional MRI scans of each participant.
” One of the really interesting properties of the human brain is how it embodies a rich constellation of networks that are active even when we are at rest,” Barbey said. “These networks create the biological facilities of the mind and are believed to be intrinsic residential or commercial properties of the brain.”
These include the frontoparietal network, which enables cognitive control and goal-directed decision-making; the dorsal attention network, which assists in visual and spatial awareness; and the salience network, which directs attention to the most pertinent stimuli. Previous studies have revealed that the activity of these and other networks when an individual is awake but not participated in a task or focusing on external events “reliably anticipates our cognitive skills and capabilities,” Barbey stated.
With the cognitive tests and fMRI information, the scientists were able to assess which theories best forecasted how individuals performed on the intelligence tests.
” We can systematically investigate how well a theory predicts general intelligence based upon the connectivity of brain regions or networks that theory requires,” Anderson stated. “This method allowed us to straight compare evidence for the neuroscience predictions made by present theories.”
The scientists discovered that taking into account the functions of the entire brain produced the most accurate predictions of an individuals analytical ability and flexibility. This applied even when representing the number of brain regions included in the analysis.
The other theories likewise were predictive of intelligence, the researchers stated, but the network neuroscience theory outperformed those limited to localized brain areas or networks in a number of respects.
The findings reveal that “international information processing” in the brain is basic to how well an individual conquers cognitive obstacles, Barbey stated.
” Rather than originate from a specific area or network, intelligence appears to emerge from the international architecture of the brain and to show the effectiveness and versatility of systemwide network function,” he said.
Recommendation: “Investigating cognitive neuroscience theories of human intelligence: A connectome-based predictive modeling technique” by Evan D. Anderson and Aron K. Barbey, 20 December 2022, Human Brain Mapping.DOI: 10.1002/ hbm.26164.
The study was moneyed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, and the Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Activity.
Historically, theories of intelligence focused on localized brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key function in cognitive procedures such as preparation, problem-solving, and decision-making. More recent theories highlight specific brain networks, while others analyze how various networks overlap and connect with one another, Barbey stated. He and Anderson tested these established theories against their own “network neuroscience theory,” which posits that intelligence emerges from the worldwide architecture of the brain, including both weak and strong connections.
” Strong connections involve highly connected hubs of information-processing that are developed when we learn about the world and become adept at fixing familiar problems,” Anderson stated. Together, these connections “provide the network architecture that is essential for solving the varied issues we encounter in life.”