So far, the differences have been explained mainly by differences in certain parts of the brain. However, new research shows that the brains of smart people are even wired differently. In smart people, certain parts of the brain are more involved in the flow of information between parts of the brain, while other parts of the brain are less busy.
Understanding the fundamentals of human thinking is an exciting phenomenon for scientists. Differences in cognitive abilities, as well as academic performance in professional careers, are largely due to individual differences in intelligence.
The study, which shows functional differences in people in the brain, was attended by 300 people with different levels of intelligence.
In 2015, the research team published their first experimental results in the journal Intelligence. Scientists have been able to identify parts of the brain - among them the prefrontal cortex - whose changes in activation are closely related to individual differences in intelligence. Until recently, however, it was not possible to investigate how such “intellectual areas” in the human brain are functionally connected.
Earlier this year, a research team reported that in smarter people, the two brain regions involved in cognitive processing are more efficiently connected to the rest of the brain.
The study shows that in smarter people, certain parts of the brain are strictly involved in the exchange of information between different subnets. Any information marked by the brain as important is transmitted to the desired part of the brain quickly and efficiently.