title: Lesion mapping of social problem solving.
abstract: Accumulating neuroscience evidence indicates that human intelligence is supported by a distributed network of frontal and parietal regions that enable complex, goal-directed behaviour. However, the contributions of this network to social aspects of intellectual function remain to be well characterized. Here, we report a human lesion study (n = 144) that investigates the neural bases of social problem solving (measured by the Everyday Problem Solving Inventory) and examine the degree to which individual differences in performance are predicted by a broad spectrum of psychological variables, including psychometric intelligence (measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), emotional intelligence (measured by the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test), and personality traits (measured by the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Personality Inventory). Scores for each variable were obtained, followed by voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that working memory, processing speed, and emotional intelligence predict individual differences in everyday problem solving. A targeted analysis of specific everyday problem solving domains (involving friends, home management, consumerism, work, information management, and family) revealed psychological variables that selectively contribute to each. Lesion mapping results indicated that social problem solving, psychometric intelligence, and emotional intelligence are supported by a shared network of frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, including white matter association tracts that bind these areas into a coordinated system. The results support an integrative framework for understanding social intelligence and make specific recommendations for the application of the Everyday Problem Solving Inventory to the study of social problem solving in health and disease.
authors: 1 Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA 2 Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA 3 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA 4 Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA 5 Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA 6 Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA 7 Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA barbey@illinois.edu jgrafman@ric.org.
authors: Aron K
authors: AK
authors: Barbey
authors: 8 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Fundación CIEN/Fundación Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain.
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Colom
authors: 1 Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA 2 Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
authors: Erick J
authors: EJ
authors: Paul
authors: 9 Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Aileen
authors: A
authors: Chau
authors: 10 Expert Image Analysis LLC, Potomac, MD, USA.
authors: Jeffrey
authors: J
authors: Solomon
authors: 9 Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Jordan H
authors: JH
authors: Grafman
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000473:pathology; D056348:Emotional Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007360:Intelligence; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012940:Social Problems; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D047829:Vietnam Conflict; D014888:Wechsler Scales
keywords: latent variable modelling; social intelligence; voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping