The study of human intelligence has captivated scholars, philosophers, and medical practitioners since ancient times. With modern brain imaging technologies and advanced analysis methods, researchers now have unprecedented opportunities to explore the biological basis of intelligence.
This article aims to summarize macro-structural associations with intelligence based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from healthy individuals. Rather than offering an exhaustive review, our objective is to showcase various research findings using traditional and modern approaches, allowing for analysis of correlations with different degrees of regional specificity.
The review encompasses studies investigating relationships between intelligence and global (e.g., brain volume), regional (e.g., lobar volume), and highly localized (e.g., voxel-level) brain measurements. These measures encompass a range of brain structures (e.g., whole brain, cerebral cortex, corpus callosum) and cerebral characteristics (e.g., volume, concentration, thickness).
Additionally, this article highlights that despite advancements, many questions about the biological foundations of intelligence remain unanswered. Challenges include overlapping study results, limited research findings, and constraints in spatial image resolution and other acquisition parameters. Therefore, conclusions regarding the neural architecture underlying higher cognitive functions remain speculative.
