Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
09:57
How to Measure Cortical Folding from MR Images: a Step-by-Step Tutorial to Compute Local Gyrification Index
Published on: January 2, 2012
28.4K
Minimal Relationship between Local Gyrification and General Cognitive Ability in Humans
Samuel R Mathias1,2, Emma E M Knowles1,2, Josephine Mollon1,2
1Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|February 11, 2020
Summary
The link between brain gyrification (LGI) and general cognitive ability (g) is statistically significant but extremely weak. This suggests gyrification
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Human Genetics
Background:
- Previous research indicates a potential link between gyrification, a measure of cortical folding, and human cognitive abilities.
- The precise strength and neurobiological implications of the relationship between local gyrification (LGI) and general cognitive ability (g) remain insufficiently understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the phenotypic and genetic correlations between local gyrification (LGI) and general cognitive ability (g) in large samples of related individuals.
- To quantify the effect size of the association between LGI and g and assess its neurobiological significance.
Main Methods:
- Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to calculate the local gyrification index (LGI) across thousands of cortical surface points.
- General cognitive ability (g) was assessed using standardized cognitive tests.
- Phenotypic and genetic correlations between LGI and g were analyzed in two samples of related individuals (N=2882).
Main Results:
- Phenotypic and genetic LGI-g correlations were positive and statistically significant in numerous cortical regions, replicating prior findings.
- However, all observed LGI-g correlations were exceptionally weak (median phenotypic correlations of 0.05 and 0.10).
- Correlations remained weak even after adjusting for intracranial volume and cortical surface area, with LGI explaining less than 11% of the variance in g.
Conclusions:
- The association between local gyrification and general cognitive ability is too weak to significantly advance our understanding of the neurobiology of intelligence.
- This study underscores the importance of considering effect sizes over statistical significance in large-scale neuroimaging research to avoid overstating findings.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Language and Cognition
643
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
643
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
424
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...
424
01:10Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
3.2K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
3.2K
01:17Cognitivism
2.6K
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
2.6K
01:28Lateralization
889
Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.
889
01:15Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System
6.0K
The limbic system, often called the "emotional brain," is a complex set of structures located deep within the brain. The intricate network of the limbic system supports a wide range of psychological functions, from emotional regulation to memory formation and sensory processing. This functional brain region encompasses specific parts of the diencephalon and the cerebrum, integrating the higher mental functions of the cerebral cortex with the primitive emotional responses of the deep brain...
6.0K