Network Dynamics Theory of Human Intelligence

Abstract

Scientific discovery and insight into the biological foundations of human intelligence have advanced considerably with progress in neuroimaging. Neuroimaging methods allow for not only an exploration of what biological characteristics underlie intelligence and creativity, but also a detailed assessment of how these biological characteristics emerge through child and adolescent development. In the past 10 years, functional connectivity, a metric of coherence in activation across brain regions, has been used extensively to probe cognitive function; however more recently neuroscientists have begun to investigate the dynamics of these functional connectivity patterns, revealing important insight into these networks as a result. In the present article, we expand current theories on the neural basis of human intelligence by developing a framework that integrates both how short-term dynamic fluctuations in brain networks and long-term development of brain networks over time contribute to intelligence and creativity. Applying this framework, we propose testable hypotheses regarding the neural and developmental correlates of intelligence. We review important topics in both network neuroscience and developmental neuroscience, and we consolidate these insights into a Network Dynamics Theory of human intelligence.