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Genç E, Metzen D, Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Voelkle MC, Arning L, Streit F, Nguyen HP, Güntürkün O, Ocklenburg S, Kumsta R. Structural architecture and brain network efficiency link polygenic scores to intelligence. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:3359-3376. [PMID: 37013679 PMCID: PMC10171514 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Intelligence is highly heritable. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that thousands of alleles contribute to variation in intelligence with small effect sizes. Polygenic scores (PGS), which combine these effects into one genetic summary measure, are increasingly used to investigate polygenic effects in independent samples. Whereas PGS explain a considerable amount of variance in intelligence, it is largely unknown how brain structure and function mediate this relationship. Here, we show that individuals with higher PGS for educational attainment and intelligence had higher scores on cognitive tests, larger surface area, and more efficient fiber connectivity derived by graph theory. Fiber network efficiency as well as the surface of brain areas partly located in parieto-frontal regions were found to mediate the relationship between PGS and cognitive performance. These findings are a crucial step forward in decoding the neurogenetic underpinnings of intelligence, as they identify specific regional networks that link polygenic predisposition to intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Dorothea Metzen
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
| | - Caroline Schlüter
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Manuel C Voelkle
- Psychological Research Methods Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Larissa Arning
- Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Genetic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Laboratory for Stress and Gene-Environment Interplay, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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Huang Y, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Mai X. Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Left Primary Motor Cortex on Verbal Intelligence. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:888590. [PMID: 35693542 PMCID: PMC9177941 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.888590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that changes in gray matter density and volume in the left primary motor cortex are significantly associated with changes in individuals’ verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ), but not with their performance intelligence quotient (PIQ). In the present study, we examined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left primary motor cortex on performance in intelligence tests. We chose four subtests (two each for VIQ and PIQ) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Chinese Revised version and randomized participants into anodal, cathodal, and sham groups. We found that anodal stimulation significantly improved performance in verbal intelligence subtests compared to cathodal and sham stimulation, while performance intelligence subtest scores did not change in any stimulation condition. These findings suggest that the excitation level of the left primary motor cortex has a unique effect on verbal intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Huang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Yinling Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Yizhe Zhang
- Psychological Counseling Center, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoqin Mai
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaoqin Mai,
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Ströckens F, Neves K, Kirchem S, Schwab C, Herculano-Houzel S, Güntürkün O. High associative neuron numbers could drive cognitive performance in corvid species. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:1588-1605. [PMID: 34997767 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Corvids possess cognitive skills, matching those of non-human primates. However, how these species with their small brains achieve such feats remains elusive. Recent studies suggest that cognitive capabilities could be based on the total numbers of telencephalic neurons. Here we extend this hypothesis further and posit that especially high neuron counts in associative pallial areas drive flexible, complex cognition. If true, avian species like corvids should specifically accumulate neurons in the avian associative areas meso- and nidopallium. To test the hypothesis, we analyzed the neuronal composition of telencephalic areas in corvids and non-corvids (chicken, pigeons, and ostriches - the species with the largest bird brain). The overall number of pallial neurons in corvids was much higher than in chicken and pigeons and comparable to those of ostriches. However, neuron numbers in the associative mesopallium and nidopallium were twice as high in corvids and, in correlation with these associative areas, the corvid subpallium also contained high neuron numbers. These findings support our hypothesis that large absolute numbers of associative pallial neurons contribute to cognitive flexibility and complexity and are key to explain why crows are smart. Since meso/nidopallial and subpallial areas scale jointly, it is conceivable that associative pallio-striatal loops play a similar role in executive decision-making as described in primates. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Ströckens
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany.,C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany
| | - Kleber Neves
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CEP 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sina Kirchem
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany
| | - Christine Schwab
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Suzana Herculano-Houzel
- Department of Psychology, Department of Biological Sciences, Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany
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What Influences Attitudes and Confidence in Teaching Physics and Technology Topics? An Investigation in Kindergarten and Primary-School Trainee Teachers. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su14010087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the correlations of general knowledge, vocational interests, and personality with trainee teachers’ attitudes and perceived capabilities in teaching physics and technology topics in kindergarten and primary school. A quantitative survey was composed using the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire, the general knowledge test BOWIT, the general interest structure test AIST-R, and the 10-item Big Five Inventory. The sample consisted of 196 female trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, and the results showed that only a few trainee teachers favoured teaching physics and technology topics. The bivariate analyses indicated that investigative and realistic interests were highly correlated with their confidence in teaching physics and technology topics, followed by significant relationships with possessing general knowledge in science and technology. The relationships with personality, especially neuroticism and extraversion, were also evident, but they were not as strong. The results were further differentiated in various subgroups (i.e., a group who favoured teaching physics and technology topics versus a group who did not, as well as a group with the typical interest profile of kindergarten and primary-school teachers versus a group with a social and investigative interest profile), which provided additional insights.
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Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Friedrich P, Jung RE, Güntürkün O, Genç E. Interindividual differences in matrix reasoning are linked to functional connectivity between brain regions nominated by Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory. INTELLIGENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2021.101545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2022]
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Cortisol and Testosterone in Leadership Practice. PSYCH 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/psych3020013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This study sought to discover whether and how biological parameters can predict leadership behavior in the following leadership-related tasks: a face-to-face negotiation (Study 1), an individual problem-solving case (Study 2), and a group-based problem-solving case (Study 3). We replicated previous work by Mehta, Mor, Yap and Prasad in testing the dual-hormone hypothesis related to testosterone increase and cortisol decrease (Study 1), but our findings do not provide evidence to support the dual-hormone hypothesis. In Study 2, we found that high openness was a significant predictor in the individual problem-solving case. The results from Study 3 indicated that higher openness was related to a better score on the group exercise. Our findings did not support the dual-hormone model, and we did not find support for the seller-specific effect reported in Mehta et al. The original study included 64 participants with complete hormone data, while our replicational study involved 114 participants with complete hormone data.
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Genç E, Schlüter C, Fraenz C, Arning L, Metzen D, Nguyen HP, Voelkle MC, Streit F, Güntürkün O, Kumsta R, Ocklenburg S. Polygenic Scores for Cognitive Abilities and Their Association with Different Aspects of General Intelligence-A Deep Phenotyping Approach. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:4145-4156. [PMID: 33954905 PMCID: PMC8280022 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02398-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Intelligence is a highly polygenic trait and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of DNA variants contributing with small effects. Polygenic scores (PGS) can aggregate those effects for trait prediction in independent samples. As large-scale light-phenotyping GWAS operationalized intelligence as performance in rather superficial tests, the question arises which intelligence facets are actually captured. We used deep-phenotyping to investigate the molecular determinants of individual differences in cognitive ability. We, therefore, studied the association between PGS of intelligence (IQ-PGS), cognitive performance (CP-PGS), and educational attainment (EA-PGS) with a wide range of intelligence facets in a sample of 557 healthy adults. IQ-PGS, CP-PGS, and EA-PGS had the highest incremental R2s for general (2.71%; 4.27%; 2.06%), verbal (3.30%; 4.64%; 1.61%), and numerical intelligence (3.06%; 3.24%; 1.26%) and the weakest for non-verbal intelligence (0.89%; 1.47%; 0.70%) and memory (0.80%; 1.06%; 0.67%). These results indicate that PGS derived from light-phenotyping GWAS do not reflect different facets of intelligence equally well, and thus should not be interpreted as genetic indicators of intelligence per se. The findings refine our understanding of how PGS are related to other traits or life outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Neuroimaging and Interindividual Differences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany.
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Caroline Schlüter
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Neuroimaging and Interindividual Differences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Larissa Arning
- Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dorothea Metzen
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Manuel C Voelkle
- Department of Psychological Research Methods, Institute of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Yan T, Liu T, Ai J, Shi Z, Zhang J, Pei G, Wu J. Task-induced activation transmitted by structural connectivity is associated with behavioral performance. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1437-1452. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02249-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Foy JG, Foy MR. Dynamic Changes in EEG Power Spectral Densities During NIH-Toolbox Flanker, Dimensional Change Card Sort Test and Episodic Memory Tests in Young Adults. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:158. [PMID: 32508607 PMCID: PMC7248326 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Much is known about electroencephalograph (EEG) patterns during sleep, but until recently, it was difficult to study EEG patterns during conscious, awake behavior. Technological advances such as powerful wireless EEG systems have led to a renewed interest in EEG as a clinical and research tool for studying real-time changes in the brain. We report here the first normative study of EEG activity while healthy young adults completed a series of cognitive tests recently published by the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIH-TCB), a commonly-used standardized measure of cognition primarily used in clinical populations. In this preliminary study using a wireless EEG system, we examined power spectral density (PSD) in four EEG frequency bands. During baseline and cognitive testing, PSD activity for the lower frequency bands (theta and alpha) was greater, relative to the higher frequency bands (beta and gamma), suggesting participants were relaxed and mentally alert. Alpha, beta and gamma activity was increased during a memory test compared to two other, less demanding executive function tests. Gamma activity was also inversely correlated with performance on the memory test, consistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis which proposes that better cognitive performance may link with lower cortical energy consumption. In summary, our study suggests that cognitive performance is related to the dynamics of EEG activity in a normative young adult population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith G. Foy
- Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Back MD. Editorial: A Brief Wish List for Personality Research. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/per.2236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mitja D. Back
- Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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