The human brain needs a large amount of energy to function properly, and researchers at the University of Illinois have reported in a new study that the health of brain metabolism in young adults may predict fluid intelligence – the capacity to solve unusual logic-based problems in novel situations.
Study author Ryan Larsen, a research scientist at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, told Bioscience Technology that using magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements are one of several ways to better understand the complicated relationships between energy production and intelligence.
The findings were published online in Cerebral Cortex.
For the study, the team, led by Larsen, University of Illinois Ph.D. candidate Aki Nikolaidis, and Beckman Institute director Arthur Kramer, analyzed data from 71 young adults. The researchers measured the amount of N—acetyl aspartate (NAA), a biochemical marker of neural energy production and efficiency, in the brains using MR spectroscopy. The subjects in the study were given computerized standard tests of fluid intelligence that required problem solving, reasoning and spatial visualization, Larsen said.
The scientists then looked at the relationship between NAA concentrations in different areas of the brain and the results of the fluid intelligence scores.
According to Larsen, the connection between NAA concentration and multiple facets of intelligence has been shown previously, but most of those studies did not use spectroscopic imaging and therefore were limited in the spatial coverage of the brain.
“Our approach used spectroscopic imaging techniques to cover several areas of the brain known to be important for intelligence,” Larsen said.
The current study also wanted to address other inconsistencies in previous research that may not have accounted for all relevant factors, such as brain size, in their analysis of cognition. This study was able to image the brain’s capacity to produce energy and showed concentrations of NAA in the brain in a more detailed way than previous studies.
The team found that distribution of NAA in the frontal and parietal lobes, an area of the brain associated with motor abilities, was specifically linked to fluid intelligence, independent of brain size. Interestingly, it was not linked to other closely related cognitive abilities. Brain metabolism and health, along with brain size, are significant predictors of fluid intelligence, the researchers concluded.
According to the researchers, the findings suggest “that the left motor regions play a key role in visualization and planning” that is needed for spatial cognition and reasoning.
So while overall, brain size is not changeable, Larsen said he is interested in understanding the potential relationships between NAA levels and health interventions, such as aerobic fitness and nutrition, which are things that can be improved and changed.
Larsen said that while literature indicates that NAA is relatively stable over much of the adult lifespan, making it a useful marker of brain health, more research needs to be conducted as to whether or not changes in NAA may occur with lifestyle changes.
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