It is better than you think: fluid intelligence across the lifespan

The growth and decline of fluid intelligence is associated with brain structural changes. For example, development of fluid IQ is associated with cortex thickness during the critical period between 6 to 12 years old. On the other end of the lifespan, poor performance in cognitive functioning is attributed to a decrease of frontal gray matter density in elderly populations. In particular, there is a sharp decline in fluid IQ scores after 65 years of age. There is substantial evidence that working memory and fluid intelligence (Gf) share neural substrates, such as the prefrontal and parietal cortices. However, very little research has examined whether the pattern of growth and decline in working memory mirrors that of fluid intelligence. For example, does the decline of working memory skills in elderly populations mirror fluid intelligence? Is the rate of working memory decline similar to the rate of growth

The influence of fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence on memory in frontal patients

It is commonly thought that memory deficits in frontal patients are a result of impairments in executive functions which impact upon storage and retrieval processes. Yet, few studies have specifically examined the relationship between memory performance and executive functions in frontal patients. Furthermore, the contribution of more general cognitive processes such as fluid intelligence and demographic factors such as age, education, and premorbid intelligence has not been considered. Our study examined the relationship between recall and recognition memory and performance on measures of fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence in 39 frontal patients and 46 healthy controls. Recall memory impairments in frontal patients were strongly correlated with fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. These factors were all found to be independent predictors of recall performance, with fluid intelligence being the strongest predictor. In contrast, recognition memory impairments were not related to any of these factors. Furthermore, age and education were not significantly correlated with either recall or recognition memory measures. Our findings show that recall memory in frontal patients was related to fluid intelligence, executive functions and premorbid intelligence. In contrast, recognition memory was not. These findings suggest that recall and recognition memory deficits following frontal injury arise from separable cognitive factors. Recognition memory tests may be more useful when assessing memory functions in frontal patients

Visuo-spatial abilities in chess players

The extent to which the acquisition of expertise in knowledge-rich domains, such as chess, can be influenced by general individual characteristics, such as intelligence, has remained unclear. Some previous studies with children have documented significant correlations between chess skill and performance on some psychometric tests, such as performance IQ (Frydman & Lynn, 1992). However, we found no evidence for a correlation between chess skill and visual memory ability in a group of adult chess players (n=36, age = 28.4). This finding, together with other data in the literature, suggests that there is surprisingly little evidence that chess skill and visuo-spatial ability are associated in adults. Thus, visual memory ability, and perhaps visuo-spatial intelligence, may be relatively unimportant factors in the long-term acquisition of chess skill

The role of the frontal cortex in memory: an investigation of the Von Restorff effect

Evidence from neuropsychology and neuroimaging indicate that the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in human memory. Although frontal patients are able to form new memories, these memories appear qualitatively different from those of controls by lacking distinctiveness. Neuroimaging studies of memory indicate activation in the PFC under deep encoding conditions, and under conditions of semantic elaboration. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the PFC enhances memory by extracting differences and commonalities in the studied material. To test this hypothesis, we carried out an experimental investigation to test the relationship between the PFC-dependent factors and semantic factors associated with common and specific features of words. These experiments were performed using Free-Recall of word lists with healthy adults, exploiting the correlation between PFC function and fluid intelligence. As predicted, a correlation was found between fluid intelligence and the Von-Restorff effect (better memory for semantic isolates, e.g., isolate “cat” within category members of “fruit”). Moreover, memory for the semantic isolate was found to depend on the isolate's serial position. The isolate item tends to be recalled first, in comparison to non-isolates, suggesting that the process interacts with short term memory. These results are captured within a computational model of free recall, which includes a PFC mechanism that is sensitive to both commonality and distinctiveness, sustaining a trade-off between the two

Smart Rescue Drones to Find Snowslide Victims

In the approach of using autonomous robots to find victims on risk zones, there are specific ones that can reach the victims faster, the Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs), better known as Drones. For this to happen, artificial intelligence algorithms were designed to teach them to search for the victims faster. On this paper, a simulation of three drones flying on different environments was made based on a Hidden Markov Models with KNN classifier as an artificial intelligence approach for the learning. The results revealed that for some environments, based on memory to store the paths and the classification of the objects, different hardware settings for the drones can be needed

An investigation into the effect of ageing on expert memory with CHREST

CHREST is a cognitive architecture that models human perception, learning, memory, and problem solving, and which has successfully simulated numerous human experimental data on chess. In this paper, we describe an investigation into the effects of ageing on expert memory using CHREST. The results of the simulations are related to the literature on ageing. The study illustrates how Computational Intelligence can be used to understand complex phenomena that are affected by multiple variables dynamically evolving as a function of time and that have direct practical implications for human societies

In-memory business intelligence: a Wits context

The organisational demand for real-time, flexible and cheaper approaches to Business Intelligence is impacting the Business Intelligence ecosystem. In-memory databases, in-memory analytics, the availability of 64 bit computing power, as well as the reduced costs of memory, are enabling technologies to meet this demand. This research report examines whether these technologies will have an evolutionary or a revolutionary impact on traditional Business Intelligence implementations. An in-memory analytic solution was developed for University of the Witwatersrand Procurement Office, to evaluate the benefits claimed for the in-memory approach for Business intelligence, in the development, reporting and analysis processes. A survey was used to collect data on the users' experience when using an in-memory solution. The results indicate that the in-memory solution offers a fast, flexible and visually rich user experience. However, there are certain key steps of the traditional BI approach that cannot be omitted. The conclusion reached is that the in-memory approach to Business Intelligence can co-exist with the traditional Business Intelligence approach, so that the merits of both approaches can be leveraged to enhance value for an organisation

The relationship between higher-order cognition and personality.

A latent variable approach was used to (1) examine the relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence, (2) compare the relationship between fluid intelligence and two measures of working memory capacity (complex span and n-back), (3) identify higher-order personality factors and (4) determine the relationship between higher-order personality factors, working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. Confirmatory factor analysis followed by structural equation modeling described the complex span and n-back as highly correlated yet distinct constructs. Consistent with previous research, both measures correlated highly with fluid intelligence. Four higher-order personality factors best modeled the structure of personality. Moreover, these four factors had differential relationship to cognitive constructs. The current research provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence, including discrepancies considering the magnitude of the relationship between two types of working memory measures and fluid intelligence, and finally, the influence of a diverse personality structure on working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. Importantly, the study examined these relationships on a broad scale using multiple tasks at a latent level contributing to better understanding of the nature of working memory capacity - fluid intelligence relationship and the influence of personality on higher-order cognition.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Engle, Randall, W

The Crucial Role of Working Memory in Intellectual Functioning

Cognitive psychology offers an important contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying intelligence. In this paper, we synthesize the research showing that, among the different cognitive mechanisms associated with intelligence, working memory has a particularly high explanatory power, especially when considered in its active component involving not only the maintenance (as in short-term memory) but also the manipulation of information. The paper considers two main implications of this finding for the applied and clinical fields. For a start, we examine how intelligence tests take into consideration working memory. Secondly, we consider the highly debated literature on the effects of working memory training on intellectual performance. Theoretical and applied implications for the relationship between working memory and intelligence are discussed

Why and how people of limited intelligence become calendrical calculators

Calendrical calculation is the rare talent of naming the days of the week for dates in the past and future. Calendrical savants are people with low measured intelligence who have this talent. This paper reviews evidence and speculation about why people become calendrical savants and how they answer date questions. Most savants are known to have intensively studied the calendar and show superior memory for calendrical information. As a result they may answer date questions either from recalling calendars or by using strategies that exploit calendrical regularities. While people of average or superior intelligence may become calendrical calculators through internalising formulae, the arithmetical demands of the formulae make them unlikely as bases for the talents of calendrical savants. We attempt to identify the methods used by a sample of 10 savants. None rely on an internalised formula. Some use strategies based on calendrical regularities probably in conjunction with memory for a range of years. For the rest a decision between use of regularities and recall of calendars cannot be made