Shankar Vedantam’s Article, Brain Development and Intelligence Linked, Study Says

Article Review

On March 30, 2006, Shankar Vedantam’s article, “Brain Development and Intelligence Linked, Study Says” was published in The Washington Post. A group of scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health conducted numerous brain scans on 309 children who were between the ages of 6 and 19. These children had either high IQs or average IQs. The result? Children with a high intellectual intelligence have brains that develop differently than the brains of children who do not have as high an intellectual level. In fact, it is the cortex that develops differently. The cortex, the outer layer which covers the dominant part of our brain, takes part in complex thinking. As we approach early adulthood, this covering begins to thin as it disposes of unused neurons, cells, and connections. However, this research finds that the cortex thickens until a much later age in children with higher intelligence. At first, highly intelligent children have a thinner cortex than average children. After reaching its maximum thickness, around the age of 11 or 12, the cortex begins to thin rapidly. In children of average intelligence, the cortex is the thickest around the age of 8 years. It then began to gradually thin following this stage.

Scientists have made a major breakthrough by finding this link between the brain and intelligence. However, the famous nature versus nurture debate still exists. Are we born with a gene which gives us this trait of prolonged thickening of the cortex? Or does our environment enhance this attribute in us?

This article introduces a key development in the science world. Never before has there been a known connection between intelligence and the brain. With this newly founded information, maybe scientists and