Exactly how are fluid intelligence, working memory, and executive function related? Cognitive neuroscience approaches to investigating the mechanisms of fluid cognition

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory C. Burgess ◽  
Todd S. Braver ◽  
Jeremy R. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Function Form ◽  
Strong Position

Blair proposes that fluid intelligence, working memory, and executive function form a unitary construct: fluid cognition. Recently, our group has utilized a combined correlational–experimental cognitive neuroscience approach, which we argue is beneficial for investigating relationships among these individual differences in terms of neural mechanisms underlying them. Our data do not completely support Blair's strong position.

Neural Mechanisms of Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity: Observations From Functional Neuroimaging Studies

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takehiro Minamoto ◽  
Hiroyuki Tsubomi ◽  
Naoyuki Osaka
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Intrinsic Connectivity

Working memory capacity (WMC) indicates an individual’s capability of executive attentional control, which is thought to be critical for general fluid intelligence. Individual variability in WMC has been attributed to the function of the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC); however, it is still less clear how the lPFC contributes to individual differences in WMC. Referring to functional neuroimaging studies, we consider three possible neural mechanisms. First, greater task-related activity of the lPFC predicts higher WMC across tasks. Second, a specific task-related functional connectivity also predicts higher WMC. The lPFC consistently forms a part of the connectivity while the coupled region varies depending on tasks. Thus, WMC is reflected by not a fixed but flexible connectivity regulated by the lPFC. Third, distinctive intrinsic connectivity even during resting state is also responsible for individual differences in WMC, with the lPFC seated at a critical hub within the network. These three neural mechanisms differentially contribute to WMC, and therefore, complementarily explain individual differences in WMC.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Trajectories of verbal fluency and executive functions in multilingual and monolingual children and adults: A cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110267
Author(s):  
Roberto Filippi ◽  
Andrea Ceccolini ◽  
Peter Bright
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Cross Sectional

The development of verbal fluency is associated with the maturation of executive function skills, such as the ability to inhibit irrelevant information, shift between tasks and hold information in working memory. Some evidence suggests that multilinguistic upbringing may underpin disadvantages in verbal fluency and lexical retrieval, but can also afford executive function advantages beyond the language system including possible beneficial effects in older age. This study examined the relationship between verbal fluency and executive function in 324 individuals across the lifespan by assessing the developmental trajectories of English monolingual and multilingual children aged 7 to 15 years (N=154) and adults from 18 to 80 years old (N=170). The childhood data indicated patterns of improvement in verbal fluency and executive function skills as a function of age. Multilingual and monolingual children had comparable developmental trajectories in all linguistic and non-linguistic measures used in the study with the exception of planning, for which monolingual children showed a steeper improvement over the studied age range relative to multilingual children. For adults, monolinguals and multilingual participants had comparable performance on all measures with the exception of non-verbal inhibitory control and response times on the Tower of London task: monolinguals showed a steeper decline associated with age. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that verbal fluency was associated with working memory and fluid intelligence in monolingual participants but not in multilinguals. These findings raise the possibility that early acquisition of an additional language may impact on the development of the functional architecture serving high-level human cognition.

scholarly journals Early intervention and the growth of children's fluid intelligence: A cognitive developmental perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth M. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Developmental Perspective ◽  
Effective Intervention ◽  
General Development ◽  
Developmental Theories ◽  
The Mind

From the stance of cognitive developmental theories, claims that general g is an entity of the mind are compatible with notions about domain-general development and age-invariant individual differences. Whether executive function is equated with general g or fluid g, research into the mechanisms by which development occurs is essential to elucidate the kinds of environmental inputs that engender effective intervention.

scholarly journals Home assessment of visual working memory in pre-schoolers reveals associations between behaviour, brain activation and environmental measures.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar ◽  
Eva Rafetseder ◽  
Yee Lee Shing ◽  
Courtney McKay
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
School Children ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Colour Change ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Parietal Cortices

Visual working memory (VWM) is reliably predictive of fluid intelligence and academic achievements. The objective of the current study was to investigate the nature of individual differences in pre-schoolers by examining the relationship between behaviour-brain function underlying VWM processing and parent-reported measures. We used a portable 8 x 8 channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy system to record from the frontal and parietal cortices of 4.5-year-old pre-school children (N=74) as they completed a colour change detection VWM task in their homes. Parents were asked to fill in questionnaires on temperament, academic aspirations, home environment, and life stress. Children were median-split into a low-performing (LP) and a high-performing (HP) group based on the number of items they could successfully remember during the task. LPs increasingly activated the bilateral frontal and parietal cortices with increasing load, whereas HPs showed no difference in activation across the loads. Our findings suggested that LPs recruited more neural resources when their VWM capacity was challenged. We employed mediation analyses to examine the association between the difference in activation between the highest and lowest loads, and variables from the questionnaires. The difference in activation in the right parietal cortex partially mediated the association between parent-reported stressful life events and VWM performance. Specifically, a higher number of stressful events was associated with lower VWM performance. Critically, our findings show that the association between VWM capacity, right parietal activation, and indicators of life stress is important to understand the nature of individual differences in VWM in pre-school children.

Distinct profiles of stimulus specific cortical activity for ignoring distraction during working memory encoding and maintenance, and associations with performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Ashton ◽  
André Gouws ◽  
Marcus Glennon ◽  
THEODORE ZANTO ◽  
Steve Tipper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Short Time

Abstract Our ability to hold information in mind for a short time (working memory) is separately predicted by our ability to ignore two types of distraction: distraction that occurs while we put information into working memory (encoding) and distraction that occurs while we maintain already encoded information within working memory. This suggests that ignoring these different types of distraction involves distinct mechanisms which separately limit performance. Here we used fMRI to measure category-sensitive cortical activity and probe these mechanisms. The results reveal specific neural mechanisms by which relevant information is remembered and irrelevant information is ignored, which contribute to intra-individual differences in WM performance.

Working memory, executive function, and general fluid intelligence are not the same

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard P. Heitz ◽  
Thomas S. Redick ◽  
David Z. Hambrick ◽  
Michael J. Kane ◽  
Andrew R. A. Conway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Normal Functioning ◽  
Controlled Attention ◽  
The Relationship

Blair equates the constructs of working memory (WM), executive function, and general fluid intelligence (gF). We argue that there is good reason not to equate these constructs. We view WM and gF as separable but highly related, and suggest that the mechanism behind the relationship is controlled attention – an ability that is dependent on normal functioning of the prefrontal cortex.

Cognitive Rehabilitation Interventions for Executive Function: Moving from Bench to Bedside in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1212-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Cicerone ◽  
Harvey Levin ◽  
James Malec ◽  
Donald Stuss ◽  
John Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Diffuse Axonal Injury ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Distributed Networks ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Focal Lesions

Executive function mediated by prefrontally driven distributed networks is frequently impaired by traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of diffuse axonal injury and focal lesions. In addition to executive cognitive functions such as planning and working memory, the effects of TBI impact social cognition and motivation processes. To encourage application of cognitive neuroscience methods to studying recovery from TBI, associated reorganization of function, and development of interventions, this article reviews the pathophysiology of TBI, critiques currently employed methods of assessing executive function, and evaluates promising interventions that reflect advances in cognitive neuroscience. Brain imaging to identify neural mechanisms mediating executive dysfunction and response to interventions following TBI is also discussed.

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