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The greatest correlation was seen in the prefrontal cortex, which mediates planning and complex reasoning. "Intelligent children have a prolonged period of thickening in the prefrontal cortex. We wonder if this gives them an extended period to develop the complex circuitry to support high-level thought," says Shaw.
John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at MIT, says the long-term duration of the study allowed scientists to uncover patterns not observable in previous studies, such as the delayed developmental trajectory for people who go on to score high on IQ. "If you tested just at age 7 or 14, you would have come to opposite conclusions," he says.
"It would be interesting to see how those trajectories evolve in kids with dyslexia or other learning disorders," Gabrieli adds. "Perhaps you could identify children at risk for learning disorders much earlier than we now do."
Shaw's team recently finished a similar study of children with ADHD, in which researchers looked for the brain changes that accompany spontaneous remission of the learning disorder. Shaw says the database of normal brain development helped interpret those findings, which they expect to release in a few months.
Richard Haier, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, who studies IQ, says the findings also raise the question: "What influences the development of this brain area to give some people a thicker cortex than others? Is it based on genetics or some interactions or experience that a young person has that may foster a thicker cortex?"
Shaw and his colleagues now plan to search for genetic variants that are linked to the pattern of cortical development, and hence IQ. Many studies have demonstrated that IQ has a strong genetic component, yet it's still unclear how those genetic differences manifest in the brain.
While this area of research has been contentious -- critics worry that knowing genetic determinants of IQ could lead to a deterministic attitude toward education -- experts say that IQ is most likely linked to a complex interaction of genetics and environment.
Shaw says it's still too soon to tell how much of the growth pattern is due to genetics and how much to the environment, or both. His team plans to investigate this question in future studies.
Tracking and understanding the complex connections within the brain may finally reveal the neural secret of cognitive ability.
Guest (amir.kamdar@tdsecurities.com)
Guest (Jon Meads)
You can't determine a person's intelligence with a single measure. There are a lot of different types of intelligence. Some people are very smart with mathematics and very dumb with social interaction. And, it's more than a matter of where the intelligence is focused. A lot has to do with the ability to perceive and recognize. And emotional factors can affect one's smarts. I hope future studies take into account all the facets and aspects of intelligence and the full variety of factors that can influence it.
Cheers,
jon
Guest (melissa k.)
Here, here!! There IS a real difference among intelligence(s)...some are great at producing beautiful music which is related to their intelligence...but it is easy to see that all of us aren't great at parties...an intelligence that would indeed be based in the interpersonal intelligence. We are all gifted in some way, but their are so many environmental factors involved in whether or not these "intelligence(s)" become noticeably part of what makes us particularly smart, and in which way.
Guest (ahinsch@cookaust.com.au)
However is what is observed the cause or affect?
There is much more to life and fulfillment than just "intelligence" without appropriate application of that trait. However with the research on development and how dendritic connections are made in learning and experience I am curious as to whether the results are the cause of the observed "intelligence" or are as a result of the inate learning and environmental experiences of the individual?
Guest (BG.)
There always seems to be a great deal of defensiveness on the part of people who would rather not believe that IQ has a basis in reality. These dramatic results are only the latest to show distinct physiological and anatomical difference between those who score high on IQ tests and those who don't. That's not to say "IQ is all that matters." Nobody's saying that. It's equally absurd to whistle in the dark and act as if IQ is irrelevant; it's not. A high IQ is a nice things to have, and while it doesn't mean you'll also have musical or social skills as well, it most certainly doesn't mean you won't either -- in fact there's a positive correlation among all those traits.
The key question is: Are there things we can do to help children's brains develop to their fullest (although not necessarily equal) potentials?
Guest (joyce)
ability to percieve and recognize
i work with childrn with diabilities and the ability to percieve and recognize consequences thus intelligence in good judgement can be taught, easier to teach the younger child cause and affect- but there has to be the added discipline of the parent thus the child (and don't be afraid to raise the standards even a learning disabled child) with self discpline modeled by the parents will raise to the occassion.....you are absolutely right about intelligence not being 1 demensional...everything needs to be factored in and the envirnment and diet has impacts.
later,
joyce
Guest (Vamshi)
Its an intersting article, n its good to theirs alot of reserch going on "Why we think the way we think", which i always try to solve. And it is very Good that MIT is very much intersted in all these, MIT is a front runner in Technology n Engineering, is also into the Bio part of these, thats nice job.
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Guest (mraskind@schwablearning.org)
Interesting article
Marshall - This isn't exactly relevant to our work but it is interesting.
Kristin
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