Cortex and individual differences Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is more important for intelligence: Brain size or neuron density?
Neuron density. Elephants have larger brains; however, humans have 16.3 billion neurons compared to an elephant’s 5.6 billion.
What are the cortical differences in people with Down Syndrome?
Surface area is smaller, but thickness is higher due to a lack of pruning of synaptic connections between neurons.
What is cortical morphology?
A key determinant of cognitive ability and mental health. It involves the coordinated and localised expression of thousands of genes.
DZ twins: genetic contribution to cortical morphology
DZ twins show 30% of typical variation in grey matter density. Variation is in language centers and spatial association cortex.
What are brain structures associated with artistic creativity?
Supplementary motor area. Anterior cingulate.
What brain structures are associated with scientific creativity?
Left middle frontal gyrus.
Left middle occipital gyrus.
What is connectome?
fMRI method that maps neural connections in the brain to characterise network activity.
What is difference in highly creative individuals connectitvity?
They have a high frequency of transitions between dynamic functional connectivity patterns. The transition frequency is positively correlated with creativity.
What is the difference in the cortical density of psychopaths?
Psychopaths have a reduced cortical density in their prefrontal cortex which causes a reduced ability to understand other people’s emotions.
Which areas associated with activity are affected in a psychopaths brain?
Areas associated with Action Control, Pain and Social Cognition
