Cognition Disconnected: The Influence of Domain-General Cognition (g) in Lesion-Deficit Mapping

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neurology

Background:

• Lesion-deficit mapping is crucial for understanding cognitive functions.
• The impact of domain-general cognition (g) on this mapping is understudied.
• General cognitive abilities may confound efforts to link specific functions to distinct brain regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of domain-general cognition (g) on lesion-deficit mapping.
• To determine if accounting for g improves the identification of neuroanatomical correlates of specific cognitive functions.
• To assess the impact of g on the spatial inter-correlation of lesion-deficit maps.

Main Methods:

• Utilized structural equation modeling, lesion-behavior mapping (LBM), structural (sLNM), and functional (fLNM) lesion network mapping.
• Modeled latent variables for visuospatial ability, processing speed, language, and memory in 473 patients with focal brain damage.
• Analyzed lesion-deficit maps with and without g-associated variance.

Main Results:

• Lesion-deficit maps for specific cognitive abilities showed significantly less spatial inter-correlation after partitioning out g (p=0.010 for LBM; p=0.003 for sLNM; p=0.003 for fLNM).
• Distinct neuroanatomical substrates for cognitive domains became apparent only after accounting for g.
• Partitioning g clarified the separation between domain-specific and general cognitive lesion maps.

Conclusions:

• Domain-general cognitive variance can significantly impact conclusions drawn from lesion-deficit mapping.
• Accounting for g is essential for accurately dissociating neural correlates of cognitive functions.
• This approach enhances the precision of identifying distinct neuroanatomy for specific cognitive domains.