Journal article
Is the prefrontal cortex important for fluid intelligence? A neuropsychological study using Matrix Reasoning
Clinical neuropsychologist, Vol.22(2), pp.242-261
03/2008
DOI: 10.1080/13854040701218410
PMCID: PMC2562905
PMID: 17853146
Abstract
Patients with prefrontal damage and severe defects in decision making and emotional regulation often have a remarkable absence of intellectual impairment, as measured by conventional IQ tests such as the WAIS/WAIS-R. This enigma might be explained by shortcomings in the tests, which tend to emphasize measures of "crystallized" (e.g., vocabulary, fund of information) more than "fluid" (e.g., novel problem solving) intelligence. The WAIS-III added the Matrix Reasoning subtest to enhance measurement of fluid reasoning. In a set of four studies, we investigated Matrix Reasoning performances in 80 patients with damage to various sectors of the prefrontal cortex, and contrasted these with the performances of 80 demographically matched patients with damage outside the frontal lobes. The results failed to support the hypothesis that prefrontal damage would disproportionately impair fluid intelligence, and every prefrontal subgroup we studied (dorsolateral, ventromedial, dorsolateral + ventromedial) had Matrix Reasoning scores (as well as IQ scores more generally) that were indistinguishable from those of the brain-damaged comparison groups. Our findings do not support a connection between fluid intelligence and the frontal lobes, although a viable alternative interpretation is that the Matrix Reasoning subtest lacks construct validity as a measure of fluid intelligence.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Is the prefrontal cortex important for fluid intelligence? A neuropsychological study using Matrix Reasoning
- Creators
- Daniel Tranel - Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. daniel-tranel@uiowa.eduKenneth ManzelSteven W Anderson
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Clinical neuropsychologist, Vol.22(2), pp.242-261
- DOI
- 10.1080/13854040701218410
- PMID
- 17853146
- PMCID
- PMC2562905
- NLM abbreviation
- Clin Neuropsychol
- ISSN
- 1385-4046
- eISSN
- 1744-4144
- Publisher
- Psychology Press; England
- Grant note
- R01 DA022549 / NIDA NIH HHS P01 NS019632 / NINDS NIH HHS R01 DA022549-02 / NIDA NIH HHS NS19632 / NINDS NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/2008
- Academic Unit
- Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984002411102771
Metrics
28 Record Views