Rex E. Jung & Richard J.
Haier talk with ScienceWatch.com and answer a few
questions about this month's Fast Breaking Paper in the
field of Neuroscience & Behavior. The authors have
also sent along an image of their work.
Article Title: The Parieto-Frontal Integration
Theory (P-FIT) of intelligence: Converging neuroimaging
evidence Authors:
Jung, RE;Haier,
RJ
Journal: BEHAV BRAIN SCI
Volume: 30
Issue: 2
Page: 135-+
Year: APR 2007
* Univ New Mexico, Dept Neurol, Albuquerque, NM 87106
USA.
* Univ New Mexico, Dept Neurol, Albuquerque, NM 87106
USA.
* Univ New Mexico, Dept Psychol, Albuquerque, NM 87106
USA.
* MIND Res Network, Albuquerque, NM 87106 USA.
* Univ Calif Irvine, Sch Med, Irvine, CA 92697 USA.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
For many years, research on the nature of intelligence was mostly limited
to psychometric methods. We published the first neuro-imaging study of
intelligence in 1988, and it showed intelligence test scores were
correlated to regional brain function. This demonstrated that intelligence
tests were tapping brain properties at a time when many researchers thought
intelligence tests did not measure anything real or important.
Brain regions by Brodmann area (BA) associated with
better performance on measures of intelligence and
reasoning that define the P-FIT model. Numbers
¼ BAs; dark circles ¼ predominant
left hemisphere associations; light circles
¼ predominant bilateral associations; white
arrow ¼ arcuate
fasciculus.
View/download the accompanying
published paper. PDF
There is now widespread and rapidly growing interest in using imaging
technology to understand how brain structure and function are related to
intelligence. Our BBS paper reviewed the state-of-the-art based on
37 studies and proposed a specific neuro-anatomical model of intelligence
with testable predictions. Many groups now engaged in neuro-intelligence
research cite it as a rationale for hypotheses.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
The brain imaging studies of intelligence we reviewed used various
structural and functional imaging techniques and a variety of intelligence
measures. We synthesized the common results across these disparate studies
and found more consistency than we thought we would.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
Intelligence is one of the most profound aspects of the human brain.
Understanding how intelligence comes from brain properties potentially can
lead to treatments for mental retardation, optimal education strategies for
children, and even methods for enhancing cognition and intelligence. Our
paper sets out a model for such research.
How did you become involved in this research, and were
there any problems along the way?
We both are interested in individual differences and why some people learn
faster, remember more, and reason better than others. Intelligence is a key
factor underlying such differences. Brain imaging is a powerful tool for
linking such differences to brain properties. The major challenge was the
negative view many people held of intelligence tests, but this has changed
dramatically as more imaging research shows that the test scores are
related to the brain.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
Once we understand more about the neural basis of intelligence, we can
develop ways to intervene in key processes whether during brain development
in childhood or later in life when aging and disease disrupt brain
processes. The more effective these interventions become, the more
discussion will be needed about issues concerning access, cost, and
appropriateness, especially if interventions benefit people without brain
injury, disease, or disability.
Rex E. Jung, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Mind Research Network
Assistant Research Professor
Department of Neurosurgery
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Richard J. Haier, Ph.D.
Professor-In-Residence, Emeritus
School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA, USA