An integrative architecture for general intelligence and executive function revealed by lesion mapping

Although cognitive neuroscience has made remarkable progress in understanding the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in executive control, the broader functional networks that support high-level cognition and give rise to general intelligence remain to be well characterized. Here, we investigated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain (London, England : 1878) England : 1878), 2012-04, Vol.135 (Pt 4), p.1154-1164
Main Authors: BARBEY, Aron K, COLOM, Roberto, SOLOMON, Jeffrey, KRUEGER, Frank, FORBES, Chad, GRAFMAN, Jordan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Injuries - complications
Brain Injuries - pathology
Brain injury
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex - pathology
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Cognition Disorders - pathology
Cognitive ability
Cortex (frontal)
Cortex (parietal)
Cortex (prefrontal)
Executive function
Executive Function - physiology
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Functional Laterality
Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy
Humans
Integration
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nervous system
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Neuropsychological Tests
Original
Psychometrics
Substantia alba
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:Although cognitive neuroscience has made remarkable progress in understanding the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in executive control, the broader functional networks that support high-level cognition and give rise to general intelligence remain to be well characterized. Here, we investigated the neural substrates of the general factor of intelligence (g) and executive function in 182 patients with focal brain damage using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System were used to derive measures of g and executive function, respectively. Impaired performance on these measures was associated with damage to a distributed network of left lateralized brain areas, including regions of frontal and parietal cortex and white matter association tracts, which bind these areas into a coordinated system. The observed findings support an integrative framework for understanding the architecture of general intelligence and executive function, supporting their reliance upon a shared fronto-parietal network for the integration and control of cognitive representations and making specific recommendations for the application of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System to the study of high-level cognition in health and disease.
ISSN:0006-8950
1460-2156
DOI:10.1093/brain/aws021