![]() ![]() Then, they looked into whether these variables were associated with intelligence scores based on IQ assessment. examined certain characteristics of the neurons inside these tissues, and recorded their electrical activity. ![]() The group had the remarkable opportunity to study samples of live temporal cortex removed during surgeries of cancer and epilepsy patients. ![]() Now, in eLife, Natalia Goriounova of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and colleagues report that the microscopic anatomy of neurons and their physiological characteristics are linked to individual differences in IQ scores ( Figure 1 Goriounova et al., 2018). While these findings contribute to our understanding of how brains are built to make complex calculations, it had never been possible to test whether the fine structure of neurons is correlated with variation in human intellect. Furthermore, comparisons across mammalian species suggest that executive cognitive performance may correlate with brain size or with the sheer number of neurons in the cerebral cortex ( MacLean et al., 2014 Herculano-Houzel, 2017). In humans, some studies have shown that total brain size is correlated with the level of intelligence other work has revealed that intellect is related to having better connections between specific brain regions, such as the prefrontal and parietal cortices ( McDaniel, 2005 Hearne et al., 2016). Many hypotheses have been advanced to tie neural features to individual differences in test results. IQ tests are used to quantify intelligence by assessing an individual’s responses to timed questions in verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning and working memory. They have also explored the characteristics of the human brain that contribute to individual differences in performance on such tasks. For decades, scientists have been working out ways to quantify our ability to take in knowledge and apply it to new situations – in other words, our intelligence. These tasks may appear simple to you now, but they are actually quite demanding because they require a high level of brain processing power. You probably remember being at school as a child and learning how to do arithmetic, to read and comprehend stories, and to solve puzzles. ![]()
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