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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 5, 2026

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

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Published on: May 3, 2012

The multiple-demand system but not the language system supports fluid intelligence.

Alex Woolgar^1,2, John Duncan^3,4, Facundo Manes^5,2

¹Perception in Action Research Centre, Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University (16 University Avenue, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia).

Nature Human Behaviour

|October 18, 2019

Summary

Fluid intelligence is linked to the brain's multiple-demand (MD) system, not language regions. Damage to the MD system predicts fluid intelligence deficits, supporting its critical role in complex cognition.

Keywords:

Fluid intelligence brain injury cognitive control frontal language multiple-demand neuropsychology parietal

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroimaging

Background:

The multiple-demand (MD) system, a network of frontoparietal regions, is associated with fluid intelligence.
Frontoparietal cortices are functionally heterogeneous, comprising both domain-general and language-selective areas.
Damage to frontoparietal regions can impair fluid intelligence, but the specific contributions of MD versus language systems remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distinct roles of the multiple-demand (MD) system and language-selective regions in fluid intelligence.
To determine whether damage to MD or language areas is more predictive of fluid intelligence deficits.

Main Methods:

Utilized large fMRI datasets to create probabilistic maps of the MD and language systems.
Quantified lesion volume within these systems for 80 patients with brain damage.
Correlated lesion volumes in MD and language systems with measures of fluid intelligence and verbal fluency.

Main Results:

MD-weighted lesion volume significantly predicted fluid intelligence deficits.
Language-weighted lesion volume did not predict fluid intelligence deficits.
The opposite pattern was observed for verbal fluency, with language-weighted lesion volume being predictive.

Conclusions:

Fluid intelligence is specifically associated with the integrity of the multiple-demand (MD) system.
These findings challenge theories positing language as the core of complex thought.
The study highlights the distinct neural underpinnings of fluid intelligence and language processing.