ArticleHuman brain mapping2012
Functional brain network efficiency predicts intelligence.
Article in Human brain mapping, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 122 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
122 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Overlapping and dissociable brain activations for fluid intelligence and executive functions.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- The Effects of Cognitive Training on Brain Network Activity and Connectivity in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases: a Systematic Review.Neuropsychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Systematic Review on the Impact of Intelligence on Cognitive Decline and Dementia Risk.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Application of Graph Theory for Identifying Connectivity Patterns in Human Brain Networks: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of virtual reality eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for adolescents with major depressive disorder: a functional Near-Infrared spectroscopy study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Intelligence and eeg measures of information flow: efficiency and homeostatic neuroplasticity.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Brain Connectivity Predicts Placebo Response across Chronic Pain Clinical Trials.PLoS biology · 2016Trial
- Reduced information sharing within the orienting network predicts intelligence in late childhood.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- EEG-Based Characterization of Learning Potential-Related Neural Representations via Dynamic Assessment Tasks.Journal of Intelligence · 2026Article
- Article
- Planning-related hubs and brain network organization during motor decision-making.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- Resting-state EEG connectome topology and social norm processing in healthy young adults.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- Multiscale neural features of tonal bilingualism: linking regional differences in brain network degree centrality to neurotransmitter-gene signatures in Bai-Mandarin bilinguals.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Neural oscillations serving abstract reasoning are differentially associated with inflammatory markers in people with HIV.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- The network architecture of general intelligence in the human connectome.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Higher integration of the whole-brain resting state theta band network is associated with spatial working memory.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Association between usage intensity of short video platforms and altered brain function: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Lower resting-state EEG mean eigenvector centrality is associated with higher math anxiety.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Electrophysiological resting-state signatures link polygenic scores to general intelligence.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Inflammatory, White Matter, and Neurodegenerative Mechanisms in Fluid Ability Decrements in Chronic Mild-to-Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury.Journal of neurotrauma · 2025Article
62 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The neuronal causes of individual differences in mental abilities such as intelligence are complex and profoundly important. Understanding these abilities has the potential to facilitate their enhancement. The purpose of this study was to identify the functional brain network characteristics and their relation to psychometric intelligence. In particular, we examined whether the functional network exhibits efficient small-world network attributes (high clustering and short path length) and whether these small-world network parameters are associated with intellectual performance. High-density resting state electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in 74 healthy subjects to analyze graph-theoretical functional network characteristics at an intracortical level. Ravens advanced progressive matrices were used to assess intelligence. We found that the clustering coefficient and path length of the functional network are strongly related to intelligence. Thus, the more intelligent the subjects are the more the functional brain network resembles a small-world network. We further identified the parietal cortex as a main hub of this resting state network as indicated by increased degree centrality that is associated with higher intelligence. Taken together, this is the first study that substantiates the neural efficiency hypothesis as well as the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT) of intelligence in the context of functional brain network characteristics. These theories are currently the most established intelligence theories in neuroscience. Our findings revealed robust evidence of an efficiently organized resting state functional brain network for highly productive cognitions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.