The biological basis of intelligence: Benchmark findings

Abstract

The scientific study of the biological basis of intelligence has been contributing to our understanding of individual differences in cognitive abilities for decades. In particular, the ongoing development of electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and genetic methods has created new opportunities to gain insights into pressing questions, allowing the field to come closer towards a comprehensive theory that explains how genotypes exert their influence on human intelligence through intermediate biological and cognitive endophenotypes. The aim of this article is to provide a focused overview of empirical benchmark findings on biological correlates of intelligence. Specifically, we summarize benchmark findings from electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and genetic research. Moreover, we discuss four open questions: (1) The robustness of research findings; (2) the relation between neural parameters and cognitive processes; (3) promising methodological developments; and (4) theory development. The aim of this paper is to assemble the most important and robust findings on the biological basis of intelligence to stimulate future research and to contribute to theory development.