A hierarchical watershed model of fluid intelligence in childhood and adolescence

Fuhrmann, Delia, Simpson-Kent, Ivan L., Bathelt, Joe and Kievit, Rogier A. and CALM Team (2020) A hierarchical watershed model of fluid intelligence in childhood and adolescence. Cerebral Cortex, 30 (1). pp. 339-352. ISSN 1047-3211

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Abstract

Fluid intelligence is the capacity to solve novel problems in the absence of task-specific knowledge and is highly predictive of outcomes like educational attainment and psychopathology. Here, we modeled the neurocognitive architecture of fluid intelligence in two cohorts: the Centre for Attention, Leaning and Memory sample (CALM) (N = 551, aged 5-17 years) and the Enhanced Nathan Kline Institute - Rockland Sample (NKI-RS) (N = 335, aged 6-17 years). We used multivariate structural equation modeling to test a preregistered watershed model of fluid intelligence. This model predicts that white matter contributes to intermediate cognitive phenotypes, like working memory and processing speed, which, in turn, contribute to fluid intelligence. We found that this model performed well for both samples and explained large amounts of variance in fluid intelligence (R2CALM = 51.2%, R2NKI-RS = 78.3%). The relationship between cognitive abilities and white matter differed with age, showing a dip in strength around ages 7-12 years. This age effect may reflect a reorganization of the neurocognitive architecture around pre- and early puberty. Overall, these findings highlight that intelligence is part of a complex hierarchical system of partially independent effects.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: UK Medical Research Council (MRC) (D.F. and J.B.); Cambridge Trust (I.L.S.-K.); Sir Henry Wellcome Trust (107392/Z/15/Z to R.A.K.); MRC Programme Grant (MC-A060-5PR60 to R.A.K.) Funding Information: The Centre for Attention Learning and Memory (CALM) research clinic is based at and supported by funding from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU), University of Cambridge. The Principal Investigators are Joni Holmes (Head of CALM), Susan Gathercole (Chair of CALM Management Committee), Duncan Astle, Tom Manly, and Rogier Kievit. Data collection is assisted by a team of researchers and PhD students at the CBU that includes Sarah Bishop, Annie Bryant, Sally Butterfield, Fanchea Daily, Laura Forde, Erin Hawkins, Sinead O’Brien, Cliodhna O’Leary, Joseph Rennie, and Mengya Zhang. The authors wish to thank the many professionals working in children’s services in the South East and East of England for their support and to the children and their families for giving up their time to visit the clinic. We would also like to thank all NKI-RS participants and researchers. We are grateful to Amber Ruigrok for helpful suggestions regarding pubertal development. Conflict of Interest: None declared.
Uncontrolled Keywords: fractional anisotropy,processing speed,structural equation modeling,watershed model,working memory,cognitive neuroscience,cellular and molecular neuroscience ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2800/2805
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 20 Jul 2022 09:30
Last Modified: 03 Nov 2022 16:36
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/86709
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz091

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