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Imaging Intelligence
By Douglas Eby The use of advanced medical imaging technologies is yielding
information
not only about pathologies such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's, but
also
the biology underlying healthy cognitive skills. At the Brain Imaging
Center
of the University of California , Irvine , researchers led by Dr.
Richard
Haier have been examining the physiology of thought processes through
EEG
(electroencephalography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
studies.
PET allows precise localization and quantification of tissue uptake of a radioactive isotope-tagged sugar (glucose), and visually mapping task-related metabolism , even in deep brain structures. A recent project found that sugar metabolism (indicating brain
activity and
energy levels) was much lower for skilled subjects performing a spatial
task
(the challenging Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices test) , compared
with
less skilled subjects : indicating greater brain eficiency (less sugar
fuel
consumption) with higher skill levels. Following up on this intriguing study, Dr. Haier is studying whether brain activity level drops in an individual over time , as they increase their skill at a progressively more challenging computer game (Tetris). Future projects will provide better understanding of gender
differences in
math skills. For years, the scores of women on the SAT-M (Scholastic
Aptitude
Test math section) have been significantly lower than men's. A Federal
Court
order in New York has banned the use of the SAT as the sole criterion
for
awarding state scholarships, on the grounds it is sexually
discriminatory.
(10) Given that research has consistently shown no gender differences in general intelligence, or in early childhood basic abilities, including math (girls even learn to count earlier : due perhaps to superior verbal ability ?), there have been wide-ranging speculations as to the tested differences in math performance which start showing up around tenth grade . Psychologist Jacquelynne Eccles-Parsons has developed an
expectation
- value
model of achievement , in which she proposes that academic courses will
be
chosen only if a student has both positive expectations for success and
strongly
values the subject matter. By junior high school , boys have higher
expectations
of their math ability , and girls often see math as irrelevant or
antifeminine
(8). Research on task performance, and brain damage studies,
indicate
women
have greater bilateral representation ( less lateralizaton ) of verbal
and
visual-spatial skills in the brain , and there is speculation that
spatial
tasks , and hence some types of math capabilities , may benefit from
the
greater lateralization found in men (7). But in a recent study ( confirming similar ones since 1983 ) , math performance differences between gifted males and females were substantially decreased , if not reduced to zero , when the effects of time limits ( such as present in the SAT-M ) were minimized. The authors conclude: "Given the similar cognitive ability
level
of males
and females , both genders seem to have the same potential for success
on
the SAT-M. The differences between males and females could lie in the
refinement
of the process skills necessary to solve math problems or in the
identification
of the most efficient problem-solving path." (5) The clarification of
such
process skills is one of the goals of Dr. Haier's work, and may also
be
aided by nonlinear dynamics (chaos theory) modeling of EEG (brainwave)
patterns (1), and by artificial intelligence enhanced ICAI (intelligent
computer aided instruction) programs such as BUGGY, which can
determine
a student's 'misconceptions' (bugs) about basic arithmetic skills. It may be that women use different procedures than men for some types of problem solving, including math. A variety of psychosocial factors affect math learning and
performance by
women , including anxiety about testing and implications about their
femininity
and social acceptance . The Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U relationship
between
anxiety and performance has been confirmed by many studies , including
recent
PET research showing changes in cortical metabolism suggesting a neural
mechanism
reducing cognition under conditions of high anxiety (6). Though many changes have been made resulting in more women enrolling in engineering and medical schools, "there are now even fewer institutions where girls can be leaders and achievers without feeling like freaks. The popular culture - through television , movies , magazines
-
incessantly
drums in the message to young women that it is better to be popular ,
sexy
and 'cool' than to be intelligent , accomplished and outspoken " (10).
Pressures
confronting girls and subtly - or not so subtly - demanding conformity
to
gender stereotypes are at work "from earliest infancy , so that
[girl's]
minds are purified of positive conceptions of 'female scholar'...before
[achievement] can be conceived as possible" (3). Women may perceive
math
as an integral part of traditionally male/androcratic technology
involved
with domination, conquest, Star Wars and social fragmentation. Math
may
be a "mode of knowing [which] itself breeds intellectual habits,
indeed
spiritual instincts , that destroy community." (9) But new scientific
thought
in a wide spectrum of disciplines is coming to include themes of
interconnectedness, of "relationship rather than hierarchies and
mechanistic
compartmentalization...more holistic and 'feminine', a science of
empathy, utilizing both reason and intuition." (4) And perhaps brain imaging will greatly illuminate how such integrative intelligence operates. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ References 1 Alper, Joseph. The chaotic brain : new models of behavior. Psychology Today, May 1989. 2 Barr, A. and Feigenbaum,E. The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence , V2 . 1982. 3 Daly, Mary. Pure Lust - Elemental Feminist Philosophy.1984 4 Eisler, Diane. The Chalice and the Blade. 1987. 5 Gallagher, Shelagh. Predictors of SAT mathematics scores of gifted male and gifted female adolescents. Psych. Women Qrtly , June , 1989 6 Gur , Ruben C. Imaging the activity of the human brain. National Forum - the Phi Kappa Phi Journal. Spring , 1987. 7 Hunter College Women's Studies Collective. Women's Realities, Women's Choices. 1983. 8 Hyde, Janet Shibley. Half the Human Experience - The Psychology of Women. 1985. 9 Palmer, Parker J. The way we know and the way we live. Noetic Sciences Review, Spring , 1989. 10 Ravitch, Diane. Back to basics. The New Republic, Mar 6, 1989. ~ ~ ~
GT
Adults blog gifted/talented/high ability résumé of Douglas Eby ~ ~ ~
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