Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov 26;10(1):20722.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76528-x.

White matter microarchitecture and structural network integrity correlate with children intelligence quotient

Ilaria Suprano  1 , Gabriel Kocevar  1 , Claudio Stamile  1 , Salem Hannoun  2 , Pierre Fourneret  3 , Olivier Revol  3 , Fanny Nusbaum  4 , Dominique Sappey-Marinier  5   6
Affiliations

White matter microarchitecture and structural network integrity correlate with children intelligence quotient

Ilaria Suprano et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The neural substrate of high intelligence performances remains not well understood. Based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) which provides microstructural information of white matter fibers, we proposed in this work to investigate the relationship between structural brain connectivity and intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Fifty-seven children (8-12 y.o.) underwent a MRI examination, including conventional T1-weighted and DTI sequences, and neuropsychological testing using the fourth edition of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), providing an estimation of the Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) based on four subscales: verbal comprehension index (VCI), perceptual reasoning index (PRI), working memory index (WMI), and processing speed index (PSI). Correlations between the IQ scores and both graphs and diffusivity metrics were explored. First, we found significant correlations between the increased integrity of WM fiber-bundles and high intelligence scores. Second, the graph theory analysis showed that integration and segregation graph metrics were positively and negatively correlated with WISC-IV scores, respectively. These results were mainly driven by significant correlations between FSIQ, VCI, and PRI and graph metrics in the temporal and parietal lobes. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that intelligence performances are related to the integrity of WM fiber-bundles as well as the density and homogeneity of WM brain networks.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Significant positive correlations obtained between the graph density of the whole brain networks and the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), the verbal comprehension index (VCI), the perceptual reasoning index (PRI), and the working memory index (WMI).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Significant correlations obtained between the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and the local graph metrics in the left precuneus and the left middle temporal networks. Image drawn with Connectome Workbench toolbox v1.3.2 (https://humanconnectome.org/software/connectome-workbench).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Significant correlations obtained between the verbal comprehension index (VCI) and the local graph metrics in the left superior and middle temporal networks. Image drawn with Connectome Workbench toolbox v1.3.2 (https://humanconnectome.org/software/connectome-workbench).
Figure 4
Figure 4
A significant positive correlation obtained between the perceptual reasoning index (PRI) and degree metric in the right caudate. Image drawn with Connectome Workbench toolbox v1.3.2 (https://humanconnectome.org/software/connectome-workbench).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jung RE, Haier RJ. The Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT) of intelligence: converging neuroimaging evidence. Behav. Brain Sci. 2007;30:135–154. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X07001185. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Basten U, Hilger K, Fiebach CJ. Where smart brains are different: a quantitative meta-analysis of functional and structural brain imaging studies on intelligence. Intelligence. 2015 doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2015.04.009. - DOI
    1. Schmithorst VJJ, et al. Cognitive functions correlate with white matter architecture in a normal pediatric population: a diffusion tensor MRI study. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2005;26:139–147. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20149. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Navas-Sánchez FJ, et al. White matter microstructure correlates of mathematical giftedness and intelligence quotient. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2014;35:2619–2631. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22355. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tamnes CK, et al. Intellectual abilities and white matter microstructure in development: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2010;31:1609–1625. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20962. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types