The relationship between hand preference, hand performance, and general cognitive ability

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL E.R. NICHOLLS ◽  
HEIDI L. CHAPMAN ◽  
TOBIAS LOETSCHER ◽  
GINA M. GRIMSHAW
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Preference Data ◽  
Hand Performance ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe idea that handedness indicates something about a person’s cognitive ability and personality is a perennial issue. A variety of models have been put forward to explain this relationship and predict a range of outcomes from higher levels of cognitive ability in left-handers or moderate right-handers to lower levels of achievement in left- or mixed-handers. We tested these models using a sample (n = 895) drawn from the BRAINnet database (www.brainnet.net). Participants completed a general cognitive ability (GCA) scale and a test of hand preference/performance. Moderate right-handers, as indexed by their performance measures, had higher GCA scores compared with strong left- or right-handers. The performance measure also showed lower levels of GCA for left-handers compared with right-handers. The hand preference data showed little or no association with cognitive ability—perhaps because this measure clusters individuals toward the extremes of the handedness distribution. While adding support to Annett’s heterozygous advantage model, which predicts a cognitive disadvantage for strong left- or right-handers, the data also confirm recent research showing a GCA disadvantage for left-handers. Although this study demonstrates that handedness is related to cognitive ability, the effects are subtle and might only be identified in large-scale studies with sensitive measures of hand performance. (JINS, 2010, 16, 585–592.)

scholarly journals Identifying Nootropic Drug Targets via Large-Scale Cognitive GWAS and Transcriptomics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Lam ◽  
Chen Chia-Yen ◽  
Xia Yan ◽  
W. David Hill ◽  
Joey W. Trampush ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
Gene Identification ◽  
Summary Statistics ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Nootropic Drug ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Meta Analyses

AbstractBackgroundCognitive traits demonstrate significant genetic correlations with many psychiatric disorders and other health-related traits. Many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders are marked by cognitive deficits. Therefore, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general cognitive ability might suggest potential targets for nootropic drug repurposing. Our previous effort to identify “druggable genes” (i.e., GWAS-identified genes that produce proteins targeted by known small molecules) was modestly powered due to the small cognitive GWAS sample available at the time. Since then, two large cognitive GWAS meta-analyses have reported 148 and 205 genome-wide significant loci, respectively. Additionally, large-scale gene expression databases, derived from post-mortem human brain, have recently been made available for GWAS annotation. Here, we 1) reconcile results from these two cognitive GWAS meta-analyses to further enhance power for locus discovery; 2) employ several complementary transcriptomic methods to identify genes in these loci with variants that are credibly associated with cognition; and 3) further annotate the resulting genes to identify “druggable” targets.MethodsGWAS summary statistics were harmonized and jointly analysed using Multi-Trait Analysis of GWAS [MTAG], which is optimized for handling sample overlaps. Downstream gene identification was carried out using MAGMA, S-PrediXcan/S-TissueXcan Transcriptomic Wide Analysis, and eQTL mapping, as well as more recently developed methods that integrate GWAS and eQTL data via Summary-statistics Mendelian Randomization [SMR] and linkage methods [HEIDI], Available brain-specific eQTL databases included GTEXv7, BrainEAC, CommonMind, ROSMAP, and PsychENCODE. Intersecting credible genes were then annotated against multiple chemoinformatic databases [DGIdb, KI, and a published review on “druggability”].ResultsUsing our meta-analytic data set (N = 373,617) we identified 241 independent cognition-associated loci (29 novel), and 76 genes were identified by 2 or more methods of gene identification. 26 genes were associated with general cognitive ability via SMR, 16 genes via STissueXcan/S-PrediXcan, 47 genes via eQTL mapping, and 68 genes via MAGMA pathway analysis. The use of the HEIDI test permitted the exclusion of candidate genes that may have been artifactually associated to cognition due to linkage, rather than direct causal or indirect pleiotropic effects. Actin and chromatin binding gene sets were identified as novel pathways that could be targeted via drug repurposing. Leveraging on our various transcriptome and pathway analyses, as well as available chemoinformatic databases, we identified 16 putative genes that may suggest drug targets with nootropic properties.DiscussionResults converged on several categories of significant drug targets, including serotonergic and glutamatergic genes, voltage-gated ion channel genes, carbonic anhydrase genes, and phosphodiesterase genes. The current results represent the first efforts to apply a multi-method approach to integrate gene expression and SNP level data to identify credible actionable genes for general cognitive ability.

Corporate Female Leadership Effects Considering PSI20 and IBEX35 Companies' Performance

2019 ◽  
pp. 280-301
Author(s):  
Mara Madaleno ◽  
Elisabete S. Vieira ◽  
João P. C. Teodósio
Keyword(s):  
Board Of Directors ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Accounting Performance ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
Female Presence ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Measures Of Performance

Using a sample of 47 Portuguese and Spanish firms for the period 2010 to 2017, the authors study the relationship between female presence on board and firm's accounting (ROA and ROE) and market-based (MTB and Tobin's Q) performance. They find that women on the board of directors is positively related to firm's performance, as well as the gender of the CFO and the proportion of women on the listed key professionals, when we consider the market measures of performance, not being so consistent for accounting performance measures. Results were sensitive to the performance measure used. The results reinforce the political options of European Commission gender established quotas, revealing that in the Iberian countries these quotas are not being effectively implemented, even if results suggest that women on board in fact exert positive influence over market performance. This also led us to think that financial markets may also react in a positive way when the CFO of the company is a woman instead of a man, despite the sample limitations both in terms of gender and number of firms.

scholarly journals An investigation of Social Class Inequalities in General Cognitive Ability in Two British Birth Cohorts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanne Connelly ◽  
Vernon Gayle
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
British Cohort Study ◽  
Nationally Representative

The ‘Flynn effect’ describes the substantial and long-standing increase in average cognitive ability test scores, which has been observed in numerous psychological studies. Flynn makes an appeal for researchers to move beyond psychology’s standard disciplinary boundaries and to consider sociological contexts, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive inequalities. In this article we respond to this appeal and investigate social class inequalities in general cognitive ability test scores over time. We analyse data from the National Child Development Study (1958) and the British Cohort Study (1970). These two British birth cohorts are suitable nationally representative large-scale data resources for studying inequalities in general cognitive ability.We observe a large parental social class effect, net of parental education and gender in both cohorts. The overall finding is that large social class divisions in cognitive ability can be observed when children are still at primary school, and similar patterns are observed in each cohort. Notably, pupils with fathers at the lower end of the class structure are at a distinct disadvantage. This is a disturbing finding and it is especially important because cognitive ability is known to influence individuals later in the lifecourse.

The Arousal-Performance Relationship: Task Characteristics and Performance Measures in Track and Field Athletics

1988 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Ebbeck ◽  
Maureen R. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Track And Field ◽  
High School Athletes ◽  
Maximal Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
The Relationship

Two issues regarding the arousal-performance relationship in sport were addressed in this study: the relationship between task complexity, optimal arousal, and maximal performance, and the appropriateness of using various measures of performance. Data were collected from high school athletes (n=51) across four track and field meets. State anxiety was obtained prior to each performance and three performance measures were obtained (event results, and quality of performance evaluated by the athlete and by the coach). Results indicated that the three performance measures were not equally related to A-state, suggesting that the relationship between arousal and performance results in a different description depending upon the performance measure that is used. Furthermore, degree of task complexity could not be distinguished across various track and field events. When individual events were used to examine the arousal-performance/task complexity relationship, results revealed that level of A-state needed for maximal performance could not be differentiated for specific events, nor could it be determined for above average, average, or below average performances on any one event.

Relative Roles of Cognitive Ability and Practical Intelligence in the Prediction of Success

2001 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 931-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon E. Taub ◽  
B. Grant Hayes ◽  
Walter R. Cunningham ◽  
Stephen A. Sivo
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
General Factor ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Practical Intelligence ◽  
Academic Psychology ◽  
Predictor Of Success ◽  
The Relationship

Initial investigations into the construct of practical intelligence have identified a new general factor of practical intelligence ( gp), which is believed to be independent of general cognitive ability. This construct, gp, is also believed to be a better predictor of success than cognitive ability, personality, or any combination of variables independent of gp. The existence of this construct and its independence from Spearman's g is, however, under debate. The purpose of the present study is to investigate both the relationship between gp and g and the relative roles of practical intelligence and cognitive ability in the prediction of success. The participants included 197 college students. Each completed both the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Sternberg and Wagner's measure of practical intelligence in academic psychology. The results of structural equation modeling support Sternberg and Wagner's assertion that practical intelligence and general cognitive ability are relatively independent constructs. Results of regression analysis, however, do not support their contention that practical intelligence is related to success after controlling for general cognitive ability. Implications of these results for research and theory on practical intelligence are discussed.

The Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between General and Specific Cognitive Abilities in Twins Age 80 and Older

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Petrill ◽  
Robert Plomin ◽  
Stig Berg ◽  
Boo Johansson ◽  
Nancy L. Pedersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Speed Of Processing ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

In the first twin study of the old-old, individuals 80 years old and older, we examined the relationship between general and specific cognitive abilities from a genetic perspective. That is, we examined the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence major group factors of cognitive abilities, independent of general cognitive ability. As part of the OctoTwin project in Sweden, general and specific cognitive abilities were assessed in 52 monozygotic and 65 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs 80 years old and older using a battery of seven tests that assess verbal, spatial, speed-of-processing, and memory performance. Results suggest that genetic effects associated with general cognitive ability (g) account for the correlation between g and verbal, spatial, and speed-of-processing abilities. No genetic influences were found for these specific cognitive abilities separate from g. In contrast, memory ability appears to be more distinct genetically from g than are other cognitive abilities. Comparison with younger samples suggests that cognitive abilities relating to speed of processing may be genetically dedifferentiated in the old-old.

scholarly journals Quantifying Self-Report Measures' Overestimation of Mobility Scores Postarthroplasty

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (9) ◽  
pp. 1288-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Stratford ◽  
Deborah M. Kennedy ◽  
Monica R. Maly ◽  
Norma J. MacIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty ◽  
Important Change ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Difference ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Background Self-reports of function may systematically overestimate the ability of patients to move around postarthroplasty. Objective The purpose of this study was to estimate the magnitude of systematic differences in Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index physical function subscale (WOMAC-PF) scores before and after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) by referencing the values to Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) distances and Timed “Up & Go” Test (TUG) times. Design This study was a secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study. Methods The LEFS, WOMAC, 6MWT, and TUG were administered to 85 patients prearthroplasty and once at 9 to 13 weeks postarthroplasty. Regression analysis was applied using a robust error term for clustered data. With the self-report measures as dependent variables and performance measures, occasion (prearthroplasty or postarthroplasty), and performance measure-by-occasion as independent variables, 3 propositions were examined: (1) the relationship between self-report and performance measures is identical prearthroplasty and postarthroplasty (ie, regression lines are coincident); (2) the relationship differs between occasions, but is consistent (ie, regression lines are parallel); (3) the relationship is not consistent (ie, the regression lines are not parallel). Results For all analyses, the results supported the second proposition (ie, the relationship differed between occasions, but was consistent). The systematic differences varied by location of arthroplasty, but were similar for both performance tests. For the LEFS, the difference was approximately 11 points for patients who received TKA and 13 points for patients who received THA. For the WOMAC-PF, the difference was approximately 12 points for patients who received TKA and 19 points for patients who received THA. These differences exceed the minimal clinically important change for an individual patient. Limitations The findings are specific to 9 to 13 weeks postarthroplasty. Conclusion Dependence on scores of self-report measures alone, without knowledge of the magnitude of the identified systematic differences, will result in overestimating the ability of patients to move around postarthroplasty.

Game-Framing to Improve Applicant Perceptions of Cognitive Assessments

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Collmus ◽  
Richard N. Landers
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Applicant Reactions ◽  
Cognitive Assessments ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Test Motivation ◽  
Applicant Perceptions ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. General cognitive ability is one of the best predictors of job performance, but applicant reactions are often poor. In two samples, we experimentally tested game-framing, the labeling of an ability test as a “game” without changing its content, as a way to improve applicant reactions. Results were analyzed through the lens of applicant reactions theory. Game-framing was associated with decreases in perceived length, perceived length was positively related to test motivation, and in one sample perceived length mediated the relationship between game-framing and test motivation. The direction of the relationship between motivation and perceived length was observed in both samples and opposite that proposed by reactions theory.

scholarly journals The relationship between school type and academic performance at medical school: a national, multi-cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e016291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kumwenda ◽  
Jennifer A Cleland ◽  
Kim Walker ◽  
Amanda J Lee ◽  
Rachel Greatrix
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Independent Schools ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Student Diversity ◽  
School Type ◽  
Educational Performance ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Relationship

ObjectivesDifferential attainment in school examinations is one of the barriers to increasing student diversity in medicine. However, studies on the predictive validity of prior academic achievement and educational performance at medical school are contradictory, possibly due to single-site studies or studies which focus only on early years’ performance. To address these gaps, we examined the relationship between sociodemographic factors, including school type and average educational performance throughout medical school across a large number of diverse medical programmes.MethodsThis retrospective study analysed data from students who graduated from 33 UK medical schools between 2012 and 2013. We included candidates’ demographics, pre-entry grades (adjusted Universities and Colleges Admissions Service tariff scores) preadmission test scores (UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT)) and used the UK Foundation Programme’s educational performance measure (EPM) decile as an outcome measure. Logistic regression was used to assess the independent relationship between students’ background characteristics and EPM ranking.ResultsStudents from independent schools had significantly higher mean UKCAT scores (2535.1, SD=209.6) than students from state-funded schools (2506.1, SD=224.0, p<0.001). Similarly, students from independent schools came into medical school with significantly higher mean GAMSAT scores (63.9, SD=6.9) than students from state-funded schools (60.8, SD=7.1, p<0.001). However, students from state-funded schools were almost twice as likely (OR=2.01, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.73) to finish in the highest rank of the EPM ranking than those who attended independent schools.ConclusionsThis is the first large-scale study to examine directly the relationship between school type and overall performance at medical school. Our findings provide modest supportive evidence that, when students from independent and state schools enter with similar pre-entry grades, once in medical school, students from state-funded schools are likely to outperform students from independent schools. This evidence contributes to discussions around contextualising medical admission.

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