Abstract
Network efficiency characterizes how information flows within a network, and it has been used to study the neural basis of cognitive intelligence in adolescence, young adults, and elderly adults, in terms of the white matter in the human brain and functional connectivity networks. However, there were few studies investigating whether the human brain at different ages exhibited different underpins of cognitive and emotional intelligence (EI) from young adults to the middle-aged group, especially in terms of the morphological similarity networks in the human brain. In this study, we used 65 datasets (aging 18–64), including sMRI and behavioral measurements, to study the associations of network efficiency with cognitive intelligence and EI in young adults and the middle-aged group. We proposed a new method of defining the human brain morphological networks using the morphological distribution similarity (including cortical volume, surface area, and thickness). Our results showed inverted age × network efficiency interactions in the relationship of surface-area network efficiency with cognitive intelligence and EI: a negative age × global efficiency (nodal efficiency) interaction in cognitive intelligence, while a positive age × global efficiency (nodal efficiency) interaction in EI. In summary, this study not only proposed a new method of morphological similarity network but also emphasized the developmental effects on the brain mechanisms of intelligence from young adult to middle-aged groups and may promote mental health study on the middle-aged group in the future.
Highlights
Cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence (EI) were generally regarded as different aspects of the human abilities (Gardner, 1987; Goleman, 1995), and they complemented each other in an additive manner (Van Rooy and Viswesvaran, 2004; Cote and Miners, 2006)
In the surface area network, we found significant negative age × global efficiency interactions in the raw scores of cognitive intelligence subtest, while there was significant positive age × global efficiency interactions in EI: these meant different age-dependent patterns for both cognitive intelligence and EI
Our findings demonstrated that global efficiency of cortical networks facilitated cognitive abilities for young adults; due to dynamic changes of between- and withinnetwork connectivity, the correlation between global efficiency and cognitive intelligence decreased with aging, whereas for EI, the correlation between EI and global efficiency increased with age
Summary
Cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence (EI) were generally regarded as different aspects of the human abilities (Gardner, 1987; Goleman, 1995), and they complemented each other in an additive manner (Van Rooy and Viswesvaran, 2004; Cote and Miners, 2006). It was well-known that they were both related to life outcomes, including academic accomplishment, work performance, and longevity (Mayer et al, 2004; Petrides et al, 2004; Deary, 2008, 2012). Contrary to the negative effects of aging on cognitive intelligence, EI was relatively well-preserved or even improved during aging, which was supported by the evidence that older age was associated with a greater positivity bias, better emotional control, and better emotional stability (Gross et al, 1997; Lachman and Bertrand, 2001; Charles et al, 2003; Phillips and Allen, 2004)
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