The brain as a distributed intelligent processing system: an EEG study

Background

Various neuroimaging studies, both structural and functional, have providedsupport for the proposal that a distributed brain network is likely to bethe neural basis of intelligence. The theory of Distributed IntelligentProcessing Systems (DIPS), first developed in the field of ArtificialIntelligence, was proposed to adequately model distributed neuralintelligent processing. In addition, the neural efficiencyhypothesis suggests that individuals with higher intelligencedisplay more focused cortical activation during cognitive performance,resulting in lower total brain activation when compared with individuals whohave lower intelligence. This may be understood as a property of theDIPS.

Methodology and Principal Findings

In our study, a new EEG brain mapping technique, based on the neuralefficiency hypothesis and the notion of the brain as aDistributed Intelligence Processing System, was used to investigate thecorrelations between IQ evaluated with WAIS (Whechsler Adult IntelligenceScale) and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), and the brainactivity associated with visual and verbal processing, in order to test thevalidity of a distributed neural basis for intelligence.

Conclusion

The present results support these claims and the neural efficiencyhypothesis.