Beautiful minds Whatis the human brain capable of, and what sets the most extraordinary brains apart? Helen Phillips investigates High 1Q INTELLIGENCE Isa slippery concept to define, so not suprisingly it has been tricky to pin itdown in the brain, Several studies claim tolink brain size, weight, volume or head circumference to intelligence, but naclearor consistent pattern has emerged. For example, Sandra Witelson from MeMaster University in Ontario, Canada, studied the post-mortem brainsof100 people who in tif had had variety of 1Qtest scores. She found that ‘while there were some positive correlations between hemisphere volumeand score, the relationships varied with sex, handedness and type of test (Brain, vol 29, p 386). For example verbal intelligence was positively correlated with cerebral volume in women nd in right EVENthe average human brainis, remarkable. In adultsit has perhaps ‘oobillion neurons, each connected toitsneighbours by sac0 synapsesorso. Abraincanmakeand breaks million new ‘connections each second. I'can store {information for more than century if you live that long. automatically cataloguing, re filingand editing as needed, I-can reconstruct ie of sensors that sample vibration, electromagnetic radiation, chemiealsaneé pressure, and prioritise in milliseconds what might be of Interestorconcern Itcoordinatesat least oursurroundings usinga 1 handed men. And in women, visuospatial Intelligence was positively Linked with volume, but less strongly than verhal skills Certainly size isnot thewhole story Women’sbrainsare smaller than men’s, even when corrected for body size, yet there Is na consistent differencein men and women’s IQs. Indeed, the Guess World Records listed woman, Marilyn vos Savant, as having the hnighest K) betweer 1986 and1989, Since then, Incidentally, the category hasnot been Included, parily because IQ isso hard to ‘measure at these extreme limits —vos Savant’s score varied from 1860228, depending on the test used, the conditions and the day. Ii size does not explain all, dacs brain activity give any clues? in 2000, teamed by John Duncan of the MRC Cognition and rain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, UK, identified \what might be called the brain’s"G spot’. the area associated with general intelligence, which Is what 19 tests rethought to measure (Science, vol 289, 457). PET scans showed that puzzles and tasks that provide agood measure (of general intelligence ory” seem not :0 recruit vast areas ofthe brain as you might ‘expect, but pradice activity ina very specific rogionof the fateral frontal cortex. in tasks that don't measure g very well, activity ismare diffuse, Its not clear exactly what ths finding ‘means or what this region does, but irhints 640 musclesand looks after the essentials of energy generation, reproduction and survival with litllethought, freeing ourminésto socialise, ponder the meaning of aur existence and learn from our experiencesand those of people who we may never evenhave met Yet some brains ae that litte bit more remarkable than others. Why do the most sifted and talented brains stand out from the crowed Is there anything physical or physiological that sets themapart? Here we {ake a look atsome outstanding grey matter, and ask what brains are like at the outer limits of humanachievement, ‘that efficiency, connectivity and focused activity may be more important than size Intelligence may alsa be connected te ‘working memory, located in the middle and Inferior rontal gysus. a region near the brain's G spor. Lis sometimes possible totrain ‘working memory with practice, and doing so say benefit 10, especialy fuid intelligence the ability tosolvenew problems. However, this may just bea short cur to better IQ test scores rather than an indication of brain structures that confer intelligence More recently, Philip Shave from the National Institute of Mental Health in Baltimore, Maryland, found a developmental difference linked to 10. His tearm studied more than 300 children aged7 to 18, divided into _groups with IQs that were average (up 10108), high (up to120) and superior (above 120) {Warure, vol 440.676). Looking at the cerebralcortex, they found no differences in the overall thickness attained by ages8 However, children in the average group had reached peak thickness by age8, followed: by a thinning down through adolescence, whereas inthe superior group, the cortex wasthinner atage7 but continued thickening until or 1zbeforethinningagain. thehigh group lay ln between, Shaw concludes that intelligence isadynamie process, related toa particularly high levelof plasticity duringtheseyears. > ‘cine 2008 | NewScentst 29| A flair for language AD FAZAH claims to speak, read and write 59 languages ~ 10a the tip of his tongue, and the others he reckons could be brushed up in a week. Hes Lebanese, though his father was horn in Colombia and he in Liberia, He moved to Lebanion asa baby, and growing up neara port, met and tried to canverse with sailors ‘of many nationalities. Fazah began learning French and English at school and decided at the age of 1 that he wanted to speak allthe world’s languages So, overa three-year period during which he never left Lebanon, he studied more than so languages, several at atime, taking about three months tomasier each, Fazal had once wanted towork forthe United Nations and has been approached by several intelligence agencies, but now he prefers the quiet life, working asa language teacher in Brazil What i the secret of such amazing linguistic talents? Fazah doesn’ claim to be special, hough he says his memory is"like photographic camera’ and he admits toa ood deal of study. Anyone can speaka foreign language, he thinks, You need to spend 30 minutes each day listening carefully tothe sounds ofa nativespeaker, another 30 minutes studying the grammarand then 15, ‘minutes reciting the sounds ~avery important step, Recently he mastered a Caribbean creole in usta week, speaking well ‘enough to be interviewed on lacalT, Fazah himself has never been near a brain scanineror taken part many formal studies of histalents. Research on other polyglots however, suggest there i no simple answer to what makes abrain linguistically gifted. The only consensus is that early exposure isa big, advantage. Ifyou don't form memories of language spectfic sounds during the first year of life, the ability to recognise them may all but vanish, and learning becomes much more difficult (Nature Neweasctenee, vol1, 351}. Exposure to different grammars by the age of 7also seems to leave open a window that ‘makes it easier to learn later. On the other hand, acqulting vocabulary, say the experts, is simply down to memory and hard graft. a Newscentit done 208 Scientific | genius ONE of the greates: scientific minds ofall time tended up in 240 pieces, packed intoa couple of jars, and was carted asound for years im the trunkot Princeton pathologist Harvey ‘Thomas’ car. Finstein’s brain, at he time of hisautopsy in 1955 {just 7 hours after his death), was reported by Thomas to appear ‘unremarkable —itwas litle shrunken with and slightly smaller than average. / Nevertheless, Thomas carefully photographed and dissected i, and kept it preserved is n until sclence had new ways to scrutinise this amazing grey matter. intheearly 1980s, neurologist Marian Diamond from the University of Calif Berkeley, analysed some slides contain sections of Einstein’sbratn taken from the prefrontal and parietal lobes, These areas are part of the “association” cortex, which, 's involved with higher thought. Comparing the slides with similar tissue from 1 control brains, she found that Einstein's brain contained a greater than normal ratio of glial cells oneurons. Glial cells were until ecently thought tobesupport cells for theneurons, important in providing energy andl resources but not much more. They are now known 10 be involved in neural processing and signal transmission too, The absolute numbers were hard to measure, because of theway the issue ‘was preserved and sectioned, but instein brain appeared to have double the normal umber of glial cellsin the left parietal region.Diamond compared her findingstoa case report of mathematician whosebrain was damaged in thissamne region so that he became tunable to draw oF write formulae, or touse a slide rule, Someeminent mathematicians say abstract concep feel almost real, tothe point that it isasif they exist in the brain and canbe manipulated like real objects. Perhaps this. “Einstein’s brain was 15 per cent wider than average, making it more spherical” zegion, which Isknown to be important for visuospatial cognition, ts key. Thereare other possibilities, however. Finstefn claimed to be yslexicand tohavea poor memory for ‘words. Damage tothis region can cause Ayslexia, so maybe hislow neuron to ghia ratlo was.acause or result of his verbal ifficulties rather than his reasoning skills, Another study in the mid-i990s locked at wee escent. com Long-stayers _ASTUOFpublshedin August doses an autopsy ‘othe bramnof 115-yearoldendige “Henny” van Ade! Schipes auch woman who wa the vworlSoldst woman ther death (Newabialogy of Aging, 0129, 1127). Remacably, the autopsy revealed ite vesulrdarnge,akost no bui-up ofthe pots inkedio degenerative diseases such as Aldheime’, ang cell counts that seemednormal 4 for anaverage 60 1080 year ol, Thelongevity of human cognition may extend far beyond most peopl’ natural lifespan, concide Wifieden Dunnen and histeam fam the University Medial ‘entre Groningen ne Netherlands Ageing nevitabiy brings changes tothe human bran Theres some dcinein the blod vessels sencing andi the quantity of mye, the faty ‘material that insulates the nerve libres. the bain reduces stun volume, the goovesalove is surface wien andthete'a sigh expansonof the the outer millimetre of cortical tissue from Einstein's right prefrontal lobe, a region that is associated with working memory, planning, regulation of intelectual function, and motor ‘coordination. Britt Anderson from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, reported, that the numher and size of netons here appeared normal, but thatthe cortex was thinner than (2 millimetres ‘compared with 2.6 millimetres in five control brains) making Einstein's cortical neurons. more densely packed than usual. Anderson speculates that closer packing may speed up communication hetween neurons. "Then in 1998, Witelson studied Einstein's ‘brain again, this time from photos, and appeared unremarkable except forthe parietal lobes. Here the brain was 1s percent wider than average. giving ita more spherical shape. Inaddition, two major grooves in this area were joined into one large furrow, which suggests the local circuitry was particularly highly integrated, Witelson speculates. What's more, while normab brains are asymmetrical, ‘ats caled vets Age also bings.aredxction inthe speedat which nerve sigastraveland there isa general deaeaseincootdinaton between diferent regons, whi could expla why a gessors memary canseem evermore challenged However, while memory may start to decline as, «eal 25 04205 0130s, acorn to psycholgis, experience and general nowledge compensate unt atleast our 50 60s. What moe, unto imaging showsthatften performance ncogntive ‘tasks is maintained, at least tosome extent, ‘case teoderbain compensates for any ‘eductionin activin specic regions by recuting ‘ore eas o work on the problem, Sermereseacheshavesuggested that dementias amostinetablein an aged bran. That views being challenged as more and more ‘prghitycontenarans have been found tohave ‘quite healthy minds and brains. There aren simple ‘dpe ar along mental ie somes fats fr ‘The longevity of human cognition may extend far beyond a natural lifespan” ‘dementirunin fale, thers are spontaneous ‘oF build up overa etme - but high blood pressure, ‘obesity and heat problemsallinctease the rkot ‘stoke and dementia, while exercise and mental _2ctvty sem toreduce But cleat of beans ‘an show remarkable staying power Einstein's parietal lobes were symmetrical ‘Thisall lends weight 1 the idea that hie brain structure may have been unusual in some Key areas that are important for spatial and reasoning skills, ‘Whatabout other scientists? Manuet Casanova from the University of Louisville Kentucky, studied post-mortem brain tissue from threeeminent scientists and found that ‘here were interesting patterns in the arrangement of cortical neurons (Autism, vol n, p57). The smallest processing module ‘of neurons inthe cortex iscalled a ‘inicolumn -a vertical arrangement of cells that seem to workasa team. The scientists! :inicolumns were smaller than those of controls, with less space between cells, ‘meaning there were more processing units within any given cortical area, Computer ‘modelling suggests that smaller processing units may allow for better signal detuction and ‘more focused attention. Small minicolumns are also seen in people with autism and Asperger'ssyndeome, says Casanova, » “voeteber2058| NeScerti|31Extraordinary talents He GLOBALLY there are around 100 “prodigious savant”, who show one cemarkableskil in complete Isolation to their other mental functions. Savants either have autism or have suffered brain damageat bitth orlaterin life, and their general intelligence, excepting their remarkable skill is poorer than average. Some iave photographic memories of complex “Savant-like skills may fesult from shutting down higher-order cognition” scenes and can draw or sculpt unbelievably accurate representations. Others can calculate ‘numbers, squares, primes orcalendar dates, Some can remember entire booksand some ‘can rattle offa pianoconcertoafter a single hearing, Yet others can draw perfect ciles. What leadsto such islands of intelligence? ‘There are many theories. Savantsalways, have amazing recall in somesphere or other, ‘hough the neuropsyctological basis ofthis {snot clear, Some researchers claim that practice, which isclearly obsessive and focused in some savants, could explain their skills, Others believe that developmental errors in the rain leave afew rare people with ‘an incredible focus on detail, while losing the more general view This might be because of damage, or pethapsan unusual pattern af connectivity in the left hemisphere, which sees the big picture, with overcompensation hy the moredetail-conscious right Certainly, Injury to theleft hemisphere can lead to symptoms of autism, and MRI scans of people with autism suggest differences in white ‘matter, with hypereonnectivity in some regions but fewer connections overall However, research by Allan Snyder from the Centre for the Mind in Sydney, Australia tras convinced him that savant like skills ie within usall. He believes they result froma shutiing down of some of the higher-order, “rule-based” cognition, which usually makes thinking more efficient and generalisable “These higher cortical functions normally turn largeamounts ofbasie subconscious information into useful conscious concepts Snyder has used transcranial magnetic stimulation ~a blast of magnette pulses that tersporarily and harmlessly interrupts /higher brain functions ~to inactivate a small azea of the cortex in volunteers, who he then asks (o draw, proof-read or perform difficult calculations, He claims that this Improves these skilis in ordinary people, Snyder is corree:, theouter limitsof some ofour memory and information-processing capacities may only be revealed when parts of the brain are inactivated aus brain ees ike wt xepna let, rom alten sent gens Somsoresry corer | Moree | Septic | tony on ep hese ens The bra “spa sac sce th eel gee Fat penta be ‘ones he tne ‘ise bn Patel be e's amine 3p ‘soa gle route I wot pee mde in mee e " sy re . ati ave nse wh sinalatan edt to engey eed psy in iiod fone an ye tarcnan seat sisnocnay pape Sena gh 32 Nene endoner a Athletic | minds THE bois of athletes are clealy special - the resultof good genes and ltsafard gatt—but ‘what about the brains?is there any grey matter advantage that helpshe kes of sain Bolt and Michael Phelps to outperform thei vals? ‘many sports requite specific patterns of siereotypical body movements, and these certanly eave thei mark onthe rain. Inthe somatosensory rte, which monitors signal trom diferent parts of the body, and the neighbauting moter ortex, wich ‘controls movernents, areas cortesponingto the ‘mos regulary used body parts expand with use. {Good hand-eye coordination can also be traced toaspeciicparto the bain. Testsinthe abusing prisms that ater hand-eye relationships by shiting iagesto the ightor lft or tuning them upside ‘down, reveal that some people adapt more quickly thames, those with move dynamic hand-eye coortination show greater activity ina region called PEG in the parietal cortex - which contains mapsof space and of ou bodies -on the opposite side to the movement some people mayalso have bans that allow ‘them to keep on going witen lesser cmpetitors ‘ive up. The sensation oftiedness we get from sporting activity seems tobe generated natin the nysces butin the bran, through a signaling molecule called intetteukn-6, Perhaps this signa, natutally weaker of easlr to ignore m some brains. 50, ths night be why some athetes can push their bodies beyone the limits that most people ate able toendure,: Memory marvels FORanyone who goes through life forgetting ‘wherethey eft their keys, the outer limits of human memory are cruly mind-blowing, Take A}who snr 4osand can remember every day of her life since her teens. OrKim Peek, the real-life inspiration forthe film Rain Man, ‘who has memorised at least 7600 booksand countless ip cadesand telephone area codes. then there’ Ben Pridmore, anaccountant Irom Derby, UK, who has just smashed three ‘worid records for remembering 930 binary digits in minutes, 89 digits ins minutes «and 364 playing cards in 10 minutes. Recalllike Al's may indicate that the normal process of memory pruning has gone awry, Autobiographical memories are held temporarily in the hippocampus and then ‘those that are not reinforced or recalled are gradually thrown away and the rest are shifted nto longer-term stores in other brain regions. However, many experts believe that differences in memory owe nothing to innate structures or special neurophysiology and everything to skillsthat are developed Memory marvelsoften use ried and tested techniques, suchas mnemonies, rhymes or } visualisation to help stampmemories into their grey matter. Others may use obsessive rehearsal -this can happen strategically oras a result of mental lnessor brain damage. A ood memory requires effort and attention not special grey matter “A good memory requires effort and attention not special grey matter” a newest comn Supersenses WHILE most of ushave three typesof colour receptors inour eves, some people have four. ‘his gives them an extra dimension totheir colour perception. All hese so-called {etrachromats re women, because the genes involved are on the X chromosomes, One person studied was an interior decorator, ane ‘was sensitive to colours within the range most people would see as just helge~so perhaps this supersense isn’t always an advantage ‘Then thereare super tastets, whose enhanced taste comes fram having more than ‘theaverage numberof tastebuds. Andacute hearing iscommon to most youngadults, who can hea® frequencies up t0 20,000 hert2 a8 compared with 8000 in the elderly. However, ‘there is nothing special about the brains of ssupersensors. The human sensory cortex seems to be able to handle whatever information the sense organs can throw at it-the limits are down tothe information coming in, not the grey matter that handles. But theres one way that the brain itself seemsto stretch the boundaries ofthe sensors ina condition known as synaesthesia, Here ‘he sensory experiences merge,asone sensation recruitsothers. Some people experience colours when they hear certain soundsor see wordsand numbers, Others hear sounds with touch sensations, or experience shapes with tastes. One theory for ‘why this happensisheightened connectivity between different sensory areas ip thebrain Neuron, vol a8, p S00}, Up to1in23 people are synaesthesic and it runs in families indicating genetic ‘component. However, our everyday use of mixed sensory metaphors such as “sharp tastes” or “soft sounds” indicates that thisis one extraordinary mental ability that we may allexperience to some extent at least, @ en teen ote arene seers ‘ter 2008 | Nesoertit 38