Aaron Goodman (photoillustration); PASIEKA/SPL/PHOTO Researchers, Inc. (brain images)

Key Concepts

• Brain structure and metabolic efficiency may underlie individual differences in intelligence, and imaging research is pinpointing which regions are key players.
• Smart brains work in many different ways. Women and men who have the same IQ show different underlying brain architectures.
• The latest research suggests that an individual’s pattern of gray and white matter might underlie his or her specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses.

We all know someone who is not as smart as we are—and someone who is smarter. At the same time, we all know people who are better or worse than we are in a particular area or task, say, remembering facts or performing rapid mental math calculations. These variations in abilities and talents presumably arise from differences among our brains, and many studies have linked certain very specific tasks with cerebral activity in localized areas. Answers about how the brain as a whole integrates activity among areas, however, have proved elusive. Just what does a “smart” brain look like?

Now, for the first time, intelligence researchers are beginning to put together a bigger picture. Imaging studies are uncovering clues to how neural structure and function give rise to individual differences in intelligence. The results so far are confirming a view many experts have had for decades: not all brains work in the same way. People with the same IQ may solve a problem with equal speed and accuracy, using a different combination of brain areas. [For more on IQ and intelligence, see “Rational and Irrational Thought: The Thinking That IQ Tests Miss,” by Keith E. Stanovich]

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