scholarly journals A chronometric model of the relationship between frontal midline theta functional connectivity and human intelligence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Dirk Hagemann ◽  
Christoph Löffler ◽  
Jan Rummel ◽  
Stefan Arnau
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Adaptive Modulation ◽  
Human Intelligence ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Control Processes

Individual differences in cognitive control have been suggested to act as a domain-general bottleneck constraining performance in a variety of cognitive ability measures including but not limited to fluid intelligence, working memory capacity, and processing speed. However, due to psychometric problems associated with the measurement of individual differences in cognitive control, it has been challenging to empirically test the assumption that individual differences in cognitive control underlie individual differences in cognitive abilities. In the present study, we addressed these issues by analyzing the chronometry of intelligence-related differences in mid-frontal global theta connectivity, which has been shown to reflect cognitive control functions. We demonstrate in a sample of 98 adults, who completed a cognitive control task while their EEG was recorded, that individual differences in mid-frontal global theta connectivity during stages of higher-order information-processing explained 65 percent of the variance in fluid intelligence. In comparison, task-evoked theta connectivity during earlier stages of information processing was not related to fluid intelligence. These results suggest that more intelligent individuals benefit from an adaptive modulation of theta-band synchronization during the time-course of information processing. Moreover, they emphasize the role of interregional goal-directed information-processing for cognitive control processes in human intelligence and support theoretical accounts of intelligence which propose that individual differences in cognitive control processes give rise to individual differences in cognitive abilities.

scholarly journals On the interrelation of 1/f neural noise and norepinephrine system activity during motor response inhibition

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1633-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maik Pertermann ◽  
Moritz Mückschel ◽  
Nico Adelhöfer ◽  
Tjalf Ziemssen ◽  
Christian Beste
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Pupil Diameter ◽  
Human Information Processing ◽  
System Activity ◽  
Neural Noise ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
Norepinephrine System

Several lines of evidence suggest that there is a close interrelation between the degree of noise in neural circuits and the activity of the norepinephrine (NE) system, yet the precise nexus between these aspects is far from being understood during human information processing and cognitive control in particular. We examine this nexus during response inhibition in n = 47 healthy participants. Using high-density EEG recordings, we estimate neural noise by calculating “1/ f noise” of those data and integrate these EEG parameters with pupil diameter data as an established indirect index of NE system activity. We show that neural noise is reduced when cognitive control processes to inhibit a prepotent/automated response are exerted. These neural noise variations were confined to the theta frequency band, which has also been shown to play a central role during response inhibition and cognitive control. There were strong positive correlations between the 1 /f neural noise parameter and the pupil diameter data within the first 250 ms after the Nogo stimulus presentation at centro-parietal electrode sites. No such correlations were evident during automated responding on Go trials. Source localization analyses using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography show that inferior parietal areas are activated in this time period in Nogo trials. The data suggest an interrelation of NE system activity and neural noise within early stages of information processing associated with inferior parietal areas when cognitive control processes are required. The data provide the first direct evidence for the nexus between NE system activity and the modulation of neural noise during inhibitory control in humans. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study showing that there is a nexus between norepinephrine system activity and the modulation of neural noise or scale-free neural activity during inhibitory control in humans. It does so by integrating pupil diameter data with analysis of EEG neural noise.

scholarly journals Theory of Mind Measurements and Mechanisms: An Investigation of Construct Validity and Cognitive Processes in Theory of Mind Tasks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ester Navarro Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
Important Challenge

Understanding the perspectives of others is a critical skill. Theory of mind (ToM) is an essential ability for social competence and communication, and it is necessary for understanding behaviors that differ from our own (Premack and Woodruff, 1978). Although all individuals possess a ToM to varying degrees, bilinguals are especially adept to perspective-taking. Research has reported that bilinguals outperform monolinguals in ToM tasks (e.g., Goetz, 2003; Rubio-Fernandez & Glucksberg, 2012). However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. Studying individual differences in ToM performance between bilinguals and monolinguals can help explain these mechanisms. Yet this promising area of research faces an important challenge: the lack of psychometric research on ToM measurement. Recent research suggests that tests that measure the ToM construct might not be as reliable as previously thought (Warnell & Redcay, 2019). This hinders the interpretation of experimental and correlational findings and puts into question the validity of the ToM construct. This dissertation addresses these two questions empirically to improve our understanding of what constitutes ToM. Study 1 examines the structure of ToM, crystallized intelligence (Gc), and fluid intelligence (Gf) to understand (a) whether ToM constitutes a construct separate from other cognitive abilities and (b) to explore whether tasks of ToM present adequate construct validity. For this, three confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted. The results demonstrated that a model with three latent factors (ToM, Gf and Gc) did not adequately fit the data and was not significantly different from a model with only two latent factors (ToM-Gf and Gc). In addition, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) showed that two of the ToM tasks loaded onto a Gf factor whereas one of the tasks loaded onto a third factor by itself. Finally, an exploratory network analysis (NMA) was conducted to observe relationships among the tasks. The results showed that the ToM tasks were no more related to each other than to some tasks of Gf and Gc, and that ToM tasks did not form a consistent cluster. Overall, the results of Study 1 suggest that ToM tasks are likely not measuring a monolithic ToM construct. Study 2 examines individual differences in metalinguistic awareness, executive function, and bilingualism as predictors of ToM. The results showed that all variables significantly predicted ToM, but bilingualism was not a significant moderator of ToM. Overall, the findings suggest that in this sample there was no difference in the processes used to predict ToM based on being bilingual or monolingual. Implications for measurement and individual differences in ToM are discussed.

scholarly journals Differential and Experimental Approaches to Studying Intelligence in Humans and Non-Human Animals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander P. Burgoyne ◽  
Jason S. Tsukahara ◽  
Christopher Draheim ◽  
Randall W Engle
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Albino Rat ◽  
General Ability

Why do some individuals learn more quickly than others, or perform better in complex cognitive tasks? In this article, we describe how differential and experimental research methods can be used to study intelligence in humans and non-human animals. More than one hundred years ago, Spearman (1904) discovered a general factor underpinning performance across cognitive domains in humans. Shortly thereafter, Thorndike (1935) discovered positive correlations between cognitive performance measures in the albino rat. Today, research continues to shed light on the underpinnings of the positive manifold observed among ability measures. In this review, we focus on the relationship between cognitive performance and attention control: the domain-general ability to maintain focus on task-relevant information while preventing attentional capture by task-irrelevant thoughts and events. Recent work from our lab has revealed that individual differences in attention control can largely explain the positive associations between broad cognitive abilities such as working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. In research on mice, attention control has been closely linked to a general ability factor reflecting route learning and problem solving. Taken together, both lines of research suggest that individual differences in attention control underpin performance in a variety of complex cognitive tasks, helping to explain why measures of cognitive ability correlate positively. Efforts to find confirmatory and disconfirmatory evidence across species stands to improve not only our understanding of attention control, but cognition in general.

scholarly journals Pupil dilation predicts individual success in emotion regulation and dietary self-control

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Maier ◽  
Marcus Grueschow
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Pupil Diameter ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Norepinephrine System ◽  
Individual Success

AbstractMultiple theories have proposed that increasing central arousal through the brain’s locus coeruleus – norepinephrine system may facilitate cognitive control and memory. However, for emotion research this hypothesis poses a puzzle, because conventionally, successful emotion regulation is associated with a decrease in arousal.Pupil diameter is a proxy to infer upon the central arousal state. We employed an emotion regulation paradigm with a combination of design features that allowed us to dissociate regulation- from stimulus-associated arousal in the pupil diameter time course of healthy adults. A pupil diameter increase during regulation predicted individual differences in emotion regulation success beyond task difficulty. Moreover, the extent of this individual arousal boost predicted performance in another self-control task, dietary health challenges. Participants who harnessed more regulation-associated arousal during emotion regulation were also more successful in choosing healthier foods. These results suggest that a common arousal-based facilitation mechanism may support an individual’s self-control across domains.

scholarly journals Individual differences in working memory capacity, attention control, fluid intelligence, and pupillary measures of arousal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kyle Robison ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Fluid ◽  
Thought Probes

The present study examined individual differences in three cognitive abilities: attention control (AC), working memory capacity (WMC), and fluid intelligence (gF) as they relate the tendency to experience task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) and the regulation of arousal. Cognitive abilities were measured with a battery of nine laboratory tasks, TUTs were measured via thought probes inserted into two tasks, and arousal regulation was measured via pupillometry. Recent theorizing (Robison & Unsworth, 2017a) suggests that one reason why some people experience relatively frequent TUTs and relatively poor cognitive performance - especially AC and WMC - is that they exhibit dysregulated arousal. Here, we examined how arousal regulation might predict both AC and WMC, but also higher-order cognitive abilities like gF. Further, we examine direct and indirect associations with these abilities via a mediating influence of TUT. Participants who reported more TUTs also tended to exhibit poorer AC, lower WMC, and lower gF. Arousal dysregulation correlated with more TUTs and lower AC. However there was no direct correlation between arousal regulation and WMC, nor between arousal regulation and gF. Rather, the associations between arousal regulation, WMC, and gF were indirect via TUT. We discuss the implications of the results in light of the arousal regulation theory of individual differences and directions for future research.

What Influences Successful Communication? An Examination of Cognitive Load and Individual Differences

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ester Navarro ◽  
Brooke N Macnamara ◽  
Sam Glucksberg ◽  
Andrew R. A. Conway
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Audience Design ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Communication Errors

The underlying cognitive mechanisms explaining why speakers sometimes make communication errors are not well understood. Some scholars have theorized that audience design engages automatic processes when a listener is present; others argue that it relies on effortful resources, regardless of listener presence. We hypothesized that (a) working memory is engaged during communicative audience design and (b) the extent to which working memory is engaged relies on individual differences in cognitive abilities and concurrent amount of resources available. In Experiment 1, participants completed a referential task under high, low, or no cognitive load with a present listener, whose perspective differed from the speaker’s. Speakers made few referential errors under no and low load, but errors increased when cognitive load was highest. In Experiment 2, the listener was absent. Speakers made few referential errors under no and low load, but errors increased when cognitive load was highest, suggesting that audience design is still effortful under high cognitive load, regardless of the presence of a listener. Experiment 3 tested whether cognitive abilities predicted communication performance. Participants with higher fluid intelligence and working memory capacity made fewer communication errors. Our findings suggest that communication relies on available cognitive resources, and therefore errors occur as a function of factors like cognitive load, and individual differences.

scholarly journals Predicting Academic Achievement with Cognitive Abilities: Cross-Sectional Study across School Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tikhomirova ◽  
Artem Malykh ◽  
Sergey Malykh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement across schooling from the first to the eleventh grade was analyzed. Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, number sense, and fluid intelligence were considered predictors of general academic achievement, which was derived from grades in mathematics, language, and biology. This cross-sectional study involved 1560 pupils who were in grades 1–11 at general education schools and were aged from 6.8 to 19.1 years (50.4% were boys). Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, and number sense were measured using the Choice Reaction Time, Corsi Block-Tapping, and Number Sense computerized tests, respectively. Fluid intelligence was measured using the paper-and-pencil version of the Standard Progressive Matrices test. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were carried out. It was shown that it is possible to describe the structure of the relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement for all levels of schooling with a single model. In this model, information processing speed is the key predictor of fluid intelligence, working memory, and number sense, which in turn contribute to individual differences in academic success. Additionally, the specificity of the relationship between individual indicators of cognitive abilities and academic achievement at each level of schooling was revealed.

scholarly journals Working Memory Delay Activity Predicts Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 853-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nash Unsworth ◽  
Keisuke Fukuda ◽  
Edward Awh ◽  
Edward K. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Contralateral Delay Activity

A great deal of prior research has examined the relation between estimates of working memory and cognitive abilities. Yet, the neural mechanisms that account for these relations are still not very well understood. The current study explored whether individual differences in working memory delay activity would be a significant predictor of cognitive abilities. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of capacity, attention control, long-term memory, working memory span, and fluid intelligence, and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. During two working memory change detection tasks, we acquired EEG data and examined the contralateral delay activity. The results demonstrated that the contralateral delay activity was significantly related to cognitive abilities, and importantly these relations were because of individual differences in both capacity and attention control. These results suggest that individual differences in working memory delay activity predict individual differences in a broad range of cognitive abilities, and this is because of both differences in the number of items that can be maintained and the ability to control access to working memory.

scholarly journals The Factor Structure of Cognitive Abilities Related to (Ir)Rationality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Sobkow ◽  
Angelika Olszewska ◽  
Miroslav Sirota
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Math Attitudes ◽  
Rational Thought ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

General and specific cognitive abilities predict normatively (ir)rational thought. However, substantial overlap exists between individual measures of these cognitive abilities (i.e., numeracy, cognitive reflection, intelligence). The present research had two main aims: 1) to investigate the generalizability of the effects of Verbal CRT (a novel measure of cognitive reflection that is less confounded with numeracy and math attitudes than traditional CRT) outside US/UK samples, and 2) to test the factor structure of cognitive abilities. In Studies 1a and 1b, we adapted and tested the validity and psychometric properties of Polish versions of tasks and scales. Next, using a large and diverse sample of Polish adults, we tested five models of the factor structure of cognitive abilities (Study 2). The most parsimonious and best-fitted model contained three latent variables: Verbal CRT, Numeracy (composed of the items from the Berlin Numeracy Test, and classical – numerical – CRT), and Fluid intelligence. We argue that researchers investigating individual differences in rationality should focus on understanding mechanisms underlying specific – rationality-related – cognitive abilities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document