title: Associations between cortical thickness and general intelligence in children, adolescents and young adults.
abstract: Neuroimaging research indicates that human intellectual ability is related to brain structure including the thickness of the cerebral cortex. Most studies indicate that general intelligence is positively associated with cortical thickness in areas of association cortex distributed throughout both brain hemispheres. In this study, we performed a cortical thickness mapping analysis on data from 182 healthy typically developing males and females ages 9 to 24 years to identify correlates of general intelligence (g) scores. To determine if these correlates also mediate associations of specific cognitive abilities with cortical thickness, we regressed specific cognitive test scores ongscores and analyzed the residuals with respect to cortical thickness. The effect of age on the association between cortical thickness and intelligence was examined. We found a widely distributed pattern of positive associations between cortical thickness andgscores, as derived from the first unrotated principal factor of a factor analysis of Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) subtest scores. After WASI specific cognitive subtest scores were regressed ongfactor scores, the residual score variances did not correlate significantly with cortical thickness in the full sample with age covaried. When participants were grouped at the age median, significant positive associations of cortical thickness were obtained in the older group forg-residualized scores on Block Design (a measure of visual-motor integrative processing) while significant negative associations of cortical thickness were observed in the younger group forg-residualized Vocabulary scores. These results regarding correlates of general intelligence are concordant with the existing literature, while the findings from younger versus older subgroups have implications for future research on brain structural correlates of specific cognitive abilities, as well as the cognitive domain specificity of behavioral performance correlates of normative gray matter thinning during adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Menary
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muetzel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Vipin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Kelvin O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455 ; Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luciana
keywords: cortical thickness; development; general intelligence; neuroimaging; specific cognitive abilities
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2009;34(4):461-75
references.pmid: 20183711
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Apr 1;30(2):436-43
references.pmid: 16300968
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 1999 Oct;2(10):861-3
references.pmid: 10491603
references.citation: IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2001 Jan;20(1):70-80
references.pmid: 11293693
references.citation: Neuron. 2002 Jan 31;33(3):341-55
references.pmid: 11832223
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1060-75
references.pmid: 15219578
references.citation: Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2011 Jul;1(3):305-12
references.pmid: 22436512
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2004 Sep 22;24(38):8223-31
references.pmid: 15385605
references.citation: Intelligence. 2009 Mar;37(2):145-155
references.pmid: 20161325
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 1;31(3):1359-65
references.pmid: 16513370
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2002 Feb;5(2):83-4
references.pmid: 11818967
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 1999;8(4):272-84
references.pmid: 10619420
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 Jul;21(7):1406-21
references.pmid: 18767918
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2003 Sep;20(1):202-15
references.pmid: 14527581
references.citation: Assessment. 2002 Mar;9(1):17-23
references.pmid: 11911230
references.citation: IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2007 Apr;26(4):518-29
references.pmid: 17427739
references.citation: Brain. 2006 Feb;129(Pt 2):386-98
references.pmid: 16339797
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94
references.pmid: 9931268
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2007 Jan 31;27(5):1184-9
references.pmid: 17267574
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Sep 26;97(20):11050-5
references.pmid: 10984517
references.citation: Neurology. 2002 Jul 23;59(2):169-74
references.pmid: 12136052
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 1;31(3):968-80
references.pmid: 16530430
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 2007 Apr;30(2):135-54; discussion 154-87
references.pmid: 17655784
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 1993 Spring;5(2):162-76
references.pmid: 23972151
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Sep;23(1):425-33
references.pmid: 15325390
references.citation: J Neurosci. 1999 May 15;19(10):4065-72
references.pmid: 10234034
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Jan;14(1):11-22
references.pmid: 14654453
references.citation: Intelligence. 2009 Mar 1;37(2):156-163
references.pmid: 20160919
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2011 Apr 15;55(4):1443-53
references.pmid: 21241809
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Aug 1;32(1):180-94
references.pmid: 16651008
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Jan;150(1):130-4
references.pmid: 8417555
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2007 Sep;17(9):2163-71
references.pmid: 17118969
references.citation: Brain. 1996 Oct;119 ( Pt 5):1763-74
references.pmid: 8931596
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2008 Feb 15;39(4):1918-25
references.pmid: 18060810
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004;23 Suppl 1:S69-84
references.pmid: 15501102
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Oct 8;28(41):10323-9
references.pmid: 18842891
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2011 Apr 15;55(4):1865-77
references.pmid: 21255662
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):195-207
references.pmid: 9931269