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
. 2025 Mar;15(3):e70386.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.70386.

Exploring Graph Theory Mechanisms of Fluid Intelligence in the DLPFC: Insights From Resting-State fNIRS Across Various Time Windows

Yuemeng Wang  1   2 , Zhencai Chen  1   2   3 , Ziqi Cai  1   2 , Wenqun Ao  1   2 , Qi Li  1   2 , Ming Xu  1   2 , Suyun Zhou  1   2   3
Affiliations

Exploring Graph Theory Mechanisms of Fluid Intelligence in the DLPFC: Insights From Resting-State fNIRS Across Various Time Windows

Yuemeng Wang et al. Brain Behav. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Brain imaging technologies can measure fluid intelligence (gF) levels more directly, objectively, and dynamically, compared to traditional questionnaire scales. To clarify the temporal mechanisms of graph theory in measuring gF, this study investigated the relationship between graph theoretical indicators in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and gF levels under various time windows.

Methods: Using 30-min resting-state fNIRS (rs-fNIRS) data and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices from 116 healthy participants, the relationship between individual gF levels and DLPFC brain signals was analyzed using average degree (AD) and global efficiency (Eglob).

Results: AD and Eglob in the resting-state DLPFC were significantly negatively correlated with the RAPM score. Considering the effectiveness and efficiency of gF measurement, a 2-min data collection might suffice, while for Eglob, more than 15-min collection was more effective.

Conclusion: These findings help clarify brain indicators and demonstrate the effectiveness of rs-fNIRS in intelligence measurement, providing a theoretical and practical basis for portable and objective gF assessment .

Keywords: DLPFC; fluid intelligence; resting‐state fNIRS; time‐windowed graph theory.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Optode and channel montage of the DLPFC. L and R represent the left and right hemispheres, respectively. This glass brain was generated using BrainNet Viewer (Xia et al. 2013).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Resting‐state DLPFC channel FC correlation matrices averaged across 116 participants under different time windows: (a) the averaged FC matrix for the 1‐min time window; (b) the averaged FC matrix for the 30‐min time window; (c) the mean values of AD and Eglob across various time windows; (d) the values of AD and Eglob in each time window correlate with those of 30‐min recording.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The relationship between graph theoretical indicators within 30‐min time window (AD and Eglob) and RAPM score. (a) Partial correlation between AD and RAPM score; (b) partial correlation between Eglob (using a threshold of 0.3 for Eglob binarization) and RAPM score.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
The effectiveness of graph‐theoretical indicators across various time windows: RAPM score correlations with AD and Eglob indicators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Andellini, M. , Cannatà V., Gazzellini S., Bernardi B., and Napolitano A.. 2015. “Test‐Retest Reliability of Graph Metrics of Resting State MRI Functional Brain Networks: A Review.” Journal of Neuroscience Methods 253: 183–192. - PubMed
    1. Balardin, J. B. , Zimeo Morais G. A., Furucho R. A., et al. 2017. “Imaging Brain Function With Functional Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy in Unconstrained Environments.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 11: 258. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bijsterbosch, J. , Harrison S., Duff E., Alfaro‐Almagro F., Woolrich M., and Smith S.. 2017. “Investigations Into Within‐ and Between‐Subject Resting‐State Amplitude Variations.” Neuroimage 159: 57–69. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Birn, R. M. , Molloy E. K., Patriat R., et al. 2013. “The Effect of Scan Length on the Reliability of Resting‐State fMRI Connectivity Estimates.” Neuroimage 83: 550–558. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cattell, R. B. 1971. Abilities: Their Structure, Growth, and Action. Houghton Mifflin.

LinkOut - more resources