Russian Scientists Determine the Level of Verbal and Nonverbal Intelligence Using EEG
The scientists have learned to determine how verbal and non-verbal intelligence is developed by an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. SUSU scientists have noted the relationship between the intelligence and the functioning connections in the brain. EEG recording at rest reveals this relationship. The research is published in the journal Brain Science (Q2). This research won a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
The scientists will learn to determine the level of verbal and non-verbal intelligence in the future without passing tests. There is enough electroencephalogram data, which provides accurate information about a person's verbal and nonverbal intelligence. Scientists from South Ural State University are currently working on solving this problem in collaboration with their colleagues from the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education.
The researchers noted that the EEG results demonstrate the functional brain connectivity, and this, in turn, provides information about the verbal (the ability to operate with verbal material) or non-verbal (the ability to deal with visual images and spatial representation) intelligence. Scientists from the Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Studies of Health and Well-Being of the School of Medical Biology and Psychological Institute analyzed such a connection for the first time during the EEG recording at rest. The confirmation of their hypothesis has brought closer the solution of scientific dispute whether there is a relationship between the functional connectivity of the brain and the intelligence level. The Russian Foundation allocated a grant for the scientists to develop the idea.
The two research centers carried out the research; SUSU scientists collected most of the data. The sample consisted of data from 144 students from 18 to 25 years old, studying in various specialties.
– Participants in the study got tested for intelligence then we recorded their electroencephalogram. We analyzed the functional connectivity of the brain using mathematical methods. EEG and confirmed a connection between this aspect and intelligence by comparing the data with the test results, Ph.D., Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Studies of Health and Well-Being Inna Feklicheva said.
The research results bring scientists closer to an objective assessment of human intelligence. Also, researchers are moving towards deciphering the neurophysiological mechanisms of individual intelligence differences. According to Inna Feklicheva, understanding the basics of the functioning and interconnection of various areas of the brain at different times or in a state of calm wakefulness can shed light on one of the fundamental problems and mysteries of humanity—the relationship between the physical (bodily) and mental (mental) in a person.
Now the results are being processed by scientists. In the future, artificial intelligence will do this. Such work is already being carried out jointly with the Department of System Programming of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of SUSU. Now more data is required for the correct operation of the neural network.
Besides, scientists plan to research cognitive longevity. To find out how cognitive functions are maintained over time, the scientists will recruit people aged 45-60 +
The Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Studies of Health and Well-Being is preparing a Ph.D. thesis on emotional intelligence. Emotions are a necessary component of soft skills: scientists have to figure out what individual differences the human brain manifests in this parameter. The young scientists applied for a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
South Ural State University (SUSU) is a university of digital transformations, where innovative research in most of the priority areas of development of science and technology is held. Following the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university focused on large scientific interdisciplinary projects in the digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In the Year of Science and Technology, SUSU takes part in the competition under the Priority-2030 program. The university performs the functions of a regional project office of the Ural interregional world-class scientific and educational center.
More information:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33450902/
Provided by South Ural State University
