Distributed neural system for emotional intelligence revealed by lesion mapping

Abstract

Cognitive neuroscience has made considerable progress in understanding the neural architecture of human intelligence, identifying a broadly distributed network of frontal and parietal regions that support goal-directed, intelligent behavior. However, the contributions of this network to social and emotional aspects of intellectual function remain to be well characterized. Here we investigated the neural basis of emotional intelligence in 152 patients with focal brain injuries using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. Latent variable modeling was applied to obtain measures of emotional intelligence, general intelligence and personality from the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Inventory, respectively. Regression analyses revealed that latent scores for measures of general intelligence and personality reliably predicted latent scores for emotional intelligence. Lesion mapping results further indicated that these convergent processes depend on a shared network of frontal, temporal and parietal brain regions. The results support an integrative framework for understanding the architecture of executive, social and emotional processes and make specific recommendations for the interpretation and application of the MSCEIT to the study of emotional intelligence in health and disease.

Keywords: emotional intelligence; general intelligence; voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping.

Fig. 1

Summary of lesion mapping and structural equation modeling results (n = 152). The statistical map is thresholded at 5% false discovery rate. In each map of the cortical surface, the left hemisphere is on the reader’s left.

Fig. 2

Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping of emotional intelligence, verbal comprehension and processing speed. Lesion overlap map illustrating common and distinctive brain regions for emotional intelligence (blue), verbal comprehension (yellow) and processing speed (red) (n = 152). Overlap between emotional intelligence and perceptual organization is illustrated in green. Overlap between emotional intelligence and processing speed is illustrated in pink. Overlap between perceptual organization and processing speed is illustrated in orange. Overlap between all conditions is illustrated in white. The statistical map is thresholded at 5% false discovery rate. In each axial slice, the right hemisphere is on the reader’s left.

Fig. 3

Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping of emotional intelligence and conscientiousness. Lesion overlap map illustrating common and distinctive brain regions for emotional intelligence (blue) and conscientiousness (yellow) (n = 152). Overlap between emotional intelligence and conscientiousness is illustrated in green. The statistical map is thresholded at 5% false discovery rate. In each axial slice, the right hemisphere is on the reader’s left.

Fig. 4

Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping of latent (a) and residual (b) emotional intelligence scores (n = 152). The statistical map is thresholded at 5% false discovery rate. In each map of the cortical surface, the left hemisphere is on the reader’s left.

Fig. 5

Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping of emotional intelligence (latent) and emotional intelligence (residual). Lesion overlap map illustrating common and distinctive brain regions for emotional intelligence latent (blue) and emotional intelligence residual (yellow) (n = 152). Overlap between these factors is illustrated in green. The statistical map is thresholded at 5% false discovery rate. In each axial slice, the right hemisphere is on the reader’s left.