Elena's Legacy. Texts written by Elena, excerpts from texts she liked, her artworks.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Neuroscience of Intelligence

The Neuroscience of Intelligence

Several scientists have looked at the neural correlates of intelligence. Of course, since the concept is subjective and complicated, the task is a difficult one. Nonetheless, some interesting facts have been established.

For example, Narr et al. (2006) attest that there is a relationship between regional gray matter thickness and IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests. As a brief aside, the brain is composed of gray matter and white matter. Gray matter represents neuronal cell bodies, while white matter consists of axons. Axons are myelinated, and myelin is a fatty substance that speeds transmission, which explains the color. Thus, the authors have examined the association, and found a positive correlation between gray and, to a lesser degree, white matter volumes and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ). However, no such link was present in relation to cerebrospinal fluid quantities.

Further, Jia et al (2011) used fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – a neuroimaging technique taking advantage of BOLD – or Blood Oxygen Level Dependent – changes to study the brain) to highlight neural correlates of numerical inductive reasoning. The researchers attest that there are two components to the process, namely identification and extrapolation. They report that the SPL (Superior Parietal Lobule) extending into the precuneus, and the left DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) were involved in both components. Brain anatomy is discussed in more detail elsewhere.

On the one hand, Gullick et al. (2010) suggest that individual differences in academic achievement in such areas as mathematics, may be caused by dissimilarities in working memory and intelligence. As a rule, the frontal and parietal lobes have been documented as processing numbers. On the other hand, in their study, symbolic number processing was associated with bilateral parietal, temporal and right frontal regions activity.

Additionally, Stout and colleagues (2011) wondered about the neuronal substrates of Early Stone Age toolmaking. Human evolution has correlated with brain expansion, and although there is obviously no prehistorical cortical imaging data, the group carried a positron emission tomography experiment in today’s day and age. The results portrayed enhanced activation of the ventral premotor and inferior parietal elements of the parietofrontal praxis circuits bilaterally, as well as famous Broca’s area in the right hemisphere, during advanced tool craftsmanship.

The brain has often been called the most complex object in the world. While much remains to be discovered, neuroscientists worldwide are relentlessly shedding light on the mysterious, physical workings of the mind. Finally, the reader is referred to other articles and videos examining the neural correlates of cognition, thought, memory, emotion, love, happiness, beauty and decision making.

In addition to these initial seven modalities (spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and musical), naturalistic and existential intelligences were later added to the list. Image: Copyright © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

References:

Gullick, M. M., Sprute, L. A. and Temple, E. (2010). Individual differences in working memory, non-verbal IQ and mathematics achievement and brain mechanisms associated with symbolic and non-symbolic number processing. Learning and Individual Differences: 1-11.
Jia, X., Liang, P., Lu, J., Yang, Y., Zhong, N. and Li, K. (2011). Common and dissociable neural correlates associated with component processes of inductive reasoning. NeuroImage, 56: 2292-9.
Narr, K. L., Woods, R. P., Thompson, P. M., Szeszko, P., Robinson, D., Dimtcheva, T., Gurbani, M., Toga, A. W. and Bilder, R. M. (2007). Relationships between IQ and regional cortical gray matter thickness in healthy adults. Cerebral Cortex, 17: 2164-71.
Stout, D., Toth, N., Schick, K. and Chaminade, T. (2011). Neural correlates of Early Stone Age toolmaking: Technology, language and cognition in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 363: 1939-49.

Why do We Communicate?

Communication is an art form. The ability to communicate with others is one of our most important qualities. It is the only means by which we unite, convince, dispel objections, convey, express our love and other sentiments. In fact, great communication can have a hugely positive impact, from having the power of motivating a company’s workforce to move nations.

We have all witnessed the power of great communication through exemplary political leader, preachers and marketers, such as Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple.

But this art from requires constant work. For example, Steve Jobs was not naturally gifted with the power of great performance, but he was able to hone his skills through years of preparation and practice.

In our everyday technological minefield, we are confronted with a multitude of options that enable us to get our ideas across, but each one of these options comes with certain protocols that help us to achieve the goals efficiently.

While using your iPhone, iPod or iPad, listen instead of talking like a parrot. Image: © Elena

In order to truly communicate with someone, it is very important that you understand what your opponents mean and where they are coming from. Keep in mind thus that the art of communication begins with the art of listening. It is by the art of taking a genuine interest that you will become truly engaged and engaging.

If you listen carefully, this interest will make the person with whom you wish to communicate more inclined to open up and express his or her true concerns and desires (but the greatest thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said. This ability requires certain characteristics, such as willingness to understand what is being asked of you and patience).

Usually, people absorb from 25 to 50 percent of incoming messages coming from a client, a marketer or an interviewer. If you want to absorb more than the usual numbers, it is worthwhile investing the time to practice becoming a good listener. Good listening can make the difference between picking up and not picking up key signals that could determine whether you close a deal, for instance.

And finally, while communicating, you should always be aimed at getting the information you need today, and building a relationship for tomorrow. Prepare by thinking about what questions you may ask. When asking questions, use the strategy of Question, Listen Attentively and Summarize. At the end, sum up the key points and be always polite.

Space Coordinates

The gas giant globe they were now orbiting, the third they had scanned in search of an ancient geological formation in the origin of the Cloud, was not the one they sought.

The navigator studied the set of coordinates, as the captain and the Earth conferred quietly. As he begun to enter the coordinates, however, his index finger betrayed him and missed one digit. Just a slight error in typing into a pad registered in his unconsciousness before he could read the mistake.

Dancing couple and Coordinates. Illustration: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

His brain automatically paused and told him to look again at was he was doing. He saw the error immediately, but also noted that the coordinates were not exactly wrong, they were simply farther down on the list of their intended targets.

Anxious for this to be over? – he teased his one mind, but the longer he stared at the coordinates he had entered, the more something in his stomach tickled.

(Extract from The Rain, the famous SF novel by Elena and George B.)

Psychometric Instruments

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS)

Psychologists employ a variety of psychometric instruments to accumulate treatment data on patients and study participants to gather research data. For example, in psychological studies, surveys, interview questions and questionnaires are used. Alternatively, psychologists also use naturalistic observation when doing research. Naturalistic observation refers to simply observing the behaviour of subjects without any intervention. However, naturalistic observation may cause the Hawthorne effect, or that people behave differently when being watched, and especially when cognizant of being part of a scientific experiment.

Naturalistic observation aims to remain nonintrusive. Image: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Growing up one often hears how important it is to be self-confident and to believe in oneself to succeed. One such psychometric instrument is the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). The GSES was developed by Matthias Jerusalem and Ralf Schwarzer in 1981 and consists of a questionnaire assessing optimism and personal agency. Personal agency refers to one’s belief in one’s ability and competency in bringing about successful results. The concept is somewhat similar to internal locus of control, which in turn correlates with greater motivation. Currently, the scale is available in thirty-three languages.

Experiments have dependent and independent variables. Image: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Another psychometric measure used to operationalize personal efficacy is the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Indeed, coping with life’s hassles and challenges is often discussed in the realm of mental illness. For example, in inpatient psychiatric care units, group therapy often includes learning critical life coping skills, such as time and budget management, social skills and other valuable strategies to overcome mental illness and related struggles. Thus, the CISS is a questionnaire scoring 48 items on a 5-point scale. Three basic coping styles are evaluated, including task, emotion and avoidance oriented coping. The results help mental health professionals, or researchers in the case of psychological research, to better understand individuals’ preferred coping styles as they relate to their personalities. In the psychiatric setting, the results may be important in choice of treatment.

Gestalt Cyberpsychology

The purpose of the present draft is to discuss cyberpsychology and to relate it to cyberspace. Gestalt psychologists were the first to notice certain rules governing the psyche, which they called the laws of perception. Gestalt psychology refers to a school of thought originating in Berlin, Germany. Indeed, psychology stands out as likely the most evident social discipline to turn to regarding virtual worlds. After all, a lot in the online gaming communities has to with the mind and imagination. Still, most psychologists agree that these digital societies may aid individuals to gain valuable socio-cognitive skills, while use of games in education, training and simulation remains widespread.

Further, Websites representing online communities and societies may provide individuals with a sort of second, alternate life in the virtual, Internet world. Indeed, such online communities represent a sort of imaginary, simulated world, with its own structure, groups, opportunities, self-images, and most likely, caveats. Thus, cyberpsychologists would look at something like the aforementioned. Interestingly, cyberpsychology looks at the mind and behaviour as they are expressed in cyberspace. Further, even before computerized tests, imagery was used by psychologists in projective tests. In such psychological assessments, the responder is asked to tell a story based on an image, or to describe the object in the picture. The Rorschach test, or inkblot test, represents one such example.

Cyberreality. Cyberspace and Cyberpsychology. Illustration: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Amazingly, the graphic design and computer generated imagery (CGI) industries similarly involve a lot of psychological theory. To illustrate, alongside Disney animators’ heuristics for animation (Johnston & Thomas, 1981), there appear to be similar rules of thumb when it comes to video game design. Naturally, the worlds of animation and video gaming are very close, both can be 2D and 3D, use avatars and graphics. Consequently, Pinelle et al. (2008) outline the following items that should contribute to a successful (and thus, entertaining, challenging, stimulating and not too difficult, repetitive or tedious) computer, video or console game: consistency, customizability, predictability, proper views, opportunities skipping non-playable content, input mappings, controls, game status, training and help, in addition to visual representations and appealing computer graphics. Nonetheless, the authors warn that their proposed principles may apply to only certain categories of games.

Alternatively, social psychology is a branch of psychology concentrating on events unfolding in the social world, a complex environment. The appearance of social media and social sharing platforms created many novel opportunities for people to interact; however, some authors believe that excessive socializing online may actually reduce the number of quality interpersonal interactions in real life. To date, much research has been conducted on the subject of online communication and relationship building. For instance, a study examined the relationship between social media users’ personalities and their self-presentation online. In the study, participants Facebook images and status updates were analyzed to code how they chose to present themselves to the world.

Additionally, in other studies involving the same social networking Website, Facebook, users were asked to problem solve, answer interview questions or recall information after looking at others’ vacation photos. Interestingly, psychology research shows that people often feel envious when browsing through acquaintances’ online photo galleries, since digital image sharing permits to project an illusory, utopian vision of one’s lifestyle. Not surprisingly, in such experiments, responders solved problems quicker and more efficiently, provided better answers at job interview simulations and reenactments, and remembered more of what they saw after being prompted by photographs evoking envy and jealousy. Theorizing, researchers postulated that envy may result in better problem solving due to a consequent increase in cognitive activity. Therefore, the present written discussion aims at outlining some of the arguments surrounding the psychology and cyberspace debate.