GABAergic inhibition in human hMT+ predicts visuo-spatial intelligence mediated through the frontal cortex
Yuan Gao,
Yong-Chun Cai,
Dong-Yu Liu,
Juan Yu,
Jue Wang,
Ming Li,
Bin Xu,
Tengfei Wang,
Gang Chen,
Georg Northoff,
Ruiliang Bai,
Xue Mei Song
Affiliations
Yuan Gao
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Yong-Chun Cai
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Dong-Yu Liu
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Juan Yu
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Jue Wang
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Ming Li
College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
Bin Xu
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
The prevailing opinion emphasizes fronto-parietal network (FPN) is key in mediating general fluid intelligence (gF). Meanwhile, recent studies show that human MT complex (hMT+), located at the occipito-temporal border and involved in 3D perception processing, also plays a key role in gF. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear, yet. To investigate this issue, our study targets visuo-spatial intelligence, which is considered to have high loading on gF. We use ultra-high field magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure GABA/Glu concentrations in hMT+ combining resting-state fMRI functional connectivity (FC), behavioral examinations including hMT+ perception suppression test and gF subtest in visuo-spatial component. Our findings show that both GABA in hMT+ and frontal-hMT+ functional connectivity significantly correlate with the performance of visuo-spatial intelligence. Further, serial mediation model demonstrates that the effect of hMT+ GABA on visuo-spatial gF is fully mediated by the hMT+ frontal FC. Together our findings highlight the importance in integrating sensory and frontal cortices in mediating the visuo-spatial component of general fluid intelligence.
