Gray et al. (2003) investigated the relationship between general fluid intelligence (gF) and attentional control mechanisms in the brain, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 48 participants. General fluid intelligence refers to the ability to reason and solve new problems. Participants performed a working memory (n-back) task with different levels of interference while their brain activity was measured.
The results showed that individuals with higher gF showed better performance on the task, especially in conditions of high interference, and greater neural activity in brain regions associated with attentional control, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex and the parietal cortex. Statistical analysis indicated that activity in these brain regions mediates the relationship between cognitive capacity (gF) and task performance.
The study also revealed that the difference in gF-related brain activity was more evident in high-interference situations, suggesting that attentional control plays an important role in fluid intelligence. The study’s findings provide direct support for the hypothesis that fluid intelligence is related to attentional control mechanisms in the brain, specifically in regions such as the lateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex.
Reference:
GRAY, Jeremy R.; CHABRIS, Christopher F.; BRAVER, Todd S. Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence. Nature Neuroscience , vol. 6, no. 3, p. 316-322, 2003.
