The Neuropsychological Characteristics of Academic and Creative Giftedness

Author(s)
Geake, John
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
Evidence for interpretable neural correlates of giftedness comes from two main lines of enquiry. First, studies comparing the neural functioning of gifted children with age-matched peers not identified as gifted consistently report that gifted subjects display enhanced frontal cortical activation and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity. Second, studies which compare the neural function and structure of high-IQ adults with those of average IQ consistently report that high-IQ subjects display relatively enhanced inferior lateral prefrontal cortical(PFC) activations, together with relatively enhanced activations in a network of other cortical regions including the inferior parietal cortex. The salience of PFC activations is supported by neuroanatomical studies in which the grey matter densities of high-IQ subjects in frontal regions are significantly higher than average. These data can account for enhanced executive capability as one important neuropsychological characteristic of gifted people and a more efficacious working memory as another.
Citation
International Handbook on Giftedness, v.1, p. 261-273
ISBN
9781402061615
1402061617
Link
Publisher
Springer
Edition
1
Title
The Neuropsychological Characteristics of Academic and Creative Giftedness
Type of document
Book Chapter
Entity Type
Publication

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