Wolfson PhD student Jakob Seidlitz describes link between brain connectivity and IQ

by Fiona Gilsenan

Figure from Seidlitz, J et al. Morphometric Similarity Networks Detect Microscale Cortical Organisation and Predict Inter-Individual Cognitive Variation. Neuron; 21 Dec 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.11.039.
07/01/2018

Wolfson PhD student Jakob Seidlitz is the lead author of a new paper in the journal Neuron that describes a way of mapping the brain - and finding correlations between IQ and 'hubbiness', or connections between higher-order brain regions.

Figure from Seidlitz, J et al. Morphometric Similarity Networks Detect Microscale Cortical Organisation and Predict Inter-Individual Cognitive Variation. Neuron; 21 Dec 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.11.039.

Researchers have been developing a deeper understanding of the 'connectome' of networks in the brain. Now an international team led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, have described models of the connectome by looking at subjects' brains using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. They found that areas of greater connectivity correlate to traits linked to higher IQ, such as problem-solving and language. It seems that a well-connected brain is a higher functioning brain.

Jakob says, "This technique is readily implementable on any MRI data, so with more detailed MRI from higher resolution scanning will come more detailed analysis of brain connectivity."

Read more about the technique and Jakob's research on the Cambridge University Research news site. The paper can be viewed and downloaded here.

Figure from Seidlitz, J et al. Morphometric Similarity Networks Detect Microscale Cortical Organisation and Predict Inter-Individual Cognitive Variation Neuron; 21 Dec 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.11.039.

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