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Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
Biological Influences on Intelligence01:30

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter more...
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Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is also...
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness01:19

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...
Intelligence01:27

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The term "intelligence" is complex because it refers to both behavior and individuals, and its interpretation varies across cultures. European Americans tend to link intelligence with reasoning and cognitive skills, while in Kenya, it is tied to responsible participation in family and social life. In Uganda, intelligence is seen as the ability to know the right actions and carry them out effectively, while the Iatmul people of Papua New Guinea associate it with the capacity to remember detailed...
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology01:20

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice
09:15

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Published on: February 4, 2015

Selective attention, working memory, and animal intelligence.

Louis D Matzel1, Stefan Kolata

  • 1Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. matzel@rci.rutgers.edu

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|July 18, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Working memory capacity, crucial for cognitive tasks, is linked to intelligence. Research in mice reveals an analogous trait to human general intelligence (g), supporting evolutionary conservation of cognitive abilities.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Comparative Psychology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Individual differences in intelligence correlate with working memory storage and processing.
  • A trait analogous to human general intelligence (g) has been identified in mice.
  • Laboratory animal models offer unique opportunities to study cognitive mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence linking working memory to intelligence.
  • To highlight the mouse analog of general intelligence (g).
  • To explore the evolutionary conservation of cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

  • Review of human cognitive data and neuroimaging studies.
  • Description of studies on a mouse analog of general intelligence (g).
  • Analysis of genetic heterogeneity and working memory manipulation in mice.

Main Results:

  • Working memory components (storage, processing) co-vary with cognitive task performance in humans and mice.
  • Selective attention manipulation in mice causally impacts cognitive abilities.
  • Human neuroimaging implicates prefrontal cortex in selective attention and intelligence.

Conclusions:

  • Working memory and intelligence share conserved neural mechanisms across species.
  • Animal models provide valuable insights into the biological basis of intelligence.
  • Understanding these mechanisms may lead to interventions for cognitive enhancement.