Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on November 21, 2006
Cerebral Cortex 2007 17(9):2163-2171; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhl125
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relationships between IQ and Regional Cortical Gray Matter Thickness in Healthy Adults
1 Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, 2 Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA, 3 Department of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North-Shore Long Island Jewish Health Systems, Glen Oaks, NY, USA, 4 Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Address correspondence to Dr Katherine L. Narr, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Neuroscience Research Building, Suite 225, 635 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7334, USA. Email: narr{at}loni.ucla.edu.
Prior studies show positive correlations between full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and cerebral gray matter measures. Few imaging studies have addressed whether general intelligence is related to regional variations in brain tissue and the associated influences of sex. Cortical thickness may more closely reflect cytoarchitectural characteristics than gray matter density or volume estimates. To identify possible localized relationships, we examined FSIQ associations with cortical thickness at high spatial resolution across the cortex in healthy young adult (age 17–44 years) men (n = 30) and women (n = 35). Positive relationships were found between FSIQ and intracranial gray and white matter but not cerebrospinal fluid volumes. Significant associations with cortical thickness were evident bilaterally in prefrontal (Brodmann's areas [BAs] 10/11, 47) and posterior temporal cortices (BA 36/37) and proximal regions. Sex influenced regional relationships; women showed correlations in prefrontal and temporal association cortices, whereas men exhibited correlations primarily in temporal–occipital association cortices. In healthy adults, greater intelligence is associated with larger intracranial gray matter and to a lesser extent with white matter. Variations in prefrontal and posterior temporal cortical thickness are particularly linked with intellectual ability. Sex moderates regional relationships that may index dimorphisms in cognitive abilities, overall processing strategies, or differences in structural organization.
Key Words: cerebral cortex • cognition • frontal • intelligence • magnetic resonance imaging • sex
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. E. Bearden, T. G.M. van Erp, R. A. Dutton, A. D. Lee, T. J. Simon, T. D. Cannon, B. S. Emanuel, D. McDonald-McGinn, E. H. Zackai, and P. M. Thompson Alterations in Midline Cortical Thickness and Gyrification Patterns Mapped in Children with 22q11.2 Deletions Cereb Cortex, May 14, 2008; (2008) bhn064v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Luders, K. L. Narr, R. M. Bilder, P. R. Szeszko, M. N. Gurbani, L. Hamilton, A. W. Toga, and C. Gaser Mapping the Relationship between Cortical Convolution and Intelligence: Effects of Gender Cereb Cortex, December 17, 2007; (2007) bhm227v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|