[Paleopsych] UCIrvine: Human intelligence determined by volume and location of gray matter tissue in brain

[Premise Checker]

Human intelligence determined by volume and location of gray matter
tissue in brain
http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1187 [q.v.]

[I'm adopting the convention of adding q.v. (quod vide, Latin for "which 
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University of California, Irvine - A Top-10 Public University
Wednesday, July 21, 2004

    Single `intelligence center' in brain unlikely, UCI study also finds
    Irvine, Calif. , July 19, 2004

    General human intelligence appears to be based on the volume of gray
    matter tissue in certain regions of the brain, UC Irvine College of
    Medicine researchers have found in the most comprehensive structural
    brain-scan study of intelligence to date.

    The study also discovered that because these regions related to
    intelligence are located throughout the brain, a single "intelligence
    center," such as the frontal lobe, is unlikely.

    Dr. Richard Haier, professor of psychology in the Department of
    Pediatrics and long-time human intelligence researcher, and colleagues
    at UCI and the University of New Mexico used MRI to obtain structural
    images of the brain in 47 normal adults who also took standard
    intelligence quotient tests. The researchers used a technique called
    voxel-based morphometry to determine gray matter volume throughout the
    brain which they correlated to IQ scores. Study results appear on the
    online version of NeuroImage.

    Previous research had shown that larger brains are weakly related to
    higher IQ, but this study is the first to demonstrate that gray matter
    in specific regions in the brain is more related to IQ than is overall
    size. Multiple brain areas are related to IQ, the UCI and UNM
    researchers have found, and various combinations of these areas can
    similarly account for IQ scores. Therefore, it is likely that a
    person's mental strengths and weaknesses depend in large part on the
    individual pattern of gray matter across his or her brain.

    "This may be why one person is quite good at mathematics and not so
    good at spelling, and another person, with the same IQ, has the
    opposite pattern of abilities," Haier said.
    While gray matter amounts are vital to intelligence levels, the
    researchers were surprised to find that only about 6 percent of all
    the gray matter in the brain appears related to IQ.

    "There is a constant cascade of information being processed in the
    entire brain, but intelligence seems related to an efficient use of
    relatively few structures, where the more gray matter the better,"
    Haier said. "In addition, these structures that are important for
    intelligence are also implicated in memory, attention and language."

    The findings also suggest that the brain areas where gray matter is
    related to IQ show some differences between young-adult and
    middle-aged subjects. In middle age, more of the frontal and parietal
    lobes are related to IQ; less frontal and more temporal areas are
    related to IQ in the younger adults.

    The research does not address why some people have more gray matter in
    some brain areas than other people, although previous research has
    shown the regional distribution of gray matter in humans is highly
    heritable. Haier and his colleagues are currently evaluating the MRI
    data to see if there are gender differences in IQ patterns.

    Haier's colleagues in the study include Dr. Michael T. Alkire and
    Kevin Head of UCI and Drs. Rex E. Jung and Ronald A. Yeo of the
    University of New Mexico. The National Institute of Child Health and
    Human Development supported the study.

    About the University of California, Irvine: The University of
    California, Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to
    research, scholarship and community. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the
    fastest-growing University of California campuses, with approximately
    24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,300 faculty
    members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI
    contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion.

    [38]Areas in brain activated by IQ testing Areas in brain activated by
    IQ testing
    Related Links

    [39]Department of Pediatrics
    Contact

    Tom Vasich
    (949) 824-6455
    tmvasich at uci.edu

References

   38. javascript:openWin('image.asp?section=press_release%E2%84%91_name=Haier_intelligencefigure_lg.jpg')
   39. http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/pediatrics/index.html?top.html&menu.html&home.html