Psychometric intelligence correlates with interindividual different rates of lipid peroxidation

The review outlines a theory concerning the neurochemical basis of interindividual differences in human intelligence. From the work of Lehrl and Frank it can be concluded that Spearman's general factor of intelligence is a phenomenon of short-term memory capacity, i.e. a phenomenon of reversible short-term changes in synaptic membrane permeability. The empirical correlations between glutathione peroxidase activity, a genetically polymorphous enzyme, and IQ, and between the relative lipofuscin content of the brain and the ontogenetic development of fluid intelligence, have the background that peroxidation of phospholipids and its cleavage products are the regulating factors of membrane permeability. Furthermore, the glutathione status plays via lipid peroxidation, activating adenylate cyclase and inhibiting the sodium pump and acetylcholinesterase, an essential role in the regulation of energy supply and reducing power of cortical cells. In inbred strains of mice inherited learning speed, serum peroxide levels, and the parameters of the acetylcholine system are closely correlated.