Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands.
Department of Human Biology, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa.
Cereb Cortex. 2022 May 31;32(11):2343-2357. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab330.
The left temporal lobe is an integral part of the language system and its cortical structure and function associate with general intelligence. However, whether cortical laminar architecture and cellular properties of this brain area relate to verbal intelligence is unknown. Here, we addressed this using histological analysis and cellular recordings of neurosurgically resected temporal cortex in combination with presurgical IQ scores. We find that subjects with higher general and verbal IQ scores have thicker left (but not right) temporal cortex (Brodmann area 21, BA21). The increased thickness is due to the selective increase in layers 2 and 3 thickness, accompanied by lower neuron densities, and larger dendrites and cell body size of pyramidal neurons in these layers. Furthermore, these neurons sustain faster action potential kinetics, which improves information processing. Our results indicate that verbal mental ability associates with selective adaptations of supragranular layers and their cellular micro-architecture and function in left, but not right temporal cortex.
左颞叶是语言系统的一个组成部分，其皮质结构和功能与一般智力相关。然而，该脑区的皮质层状结构和细胞特性是否与言语智力有关尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用神经外科切除的颞叶皮质的组织学分析和细胞记录，并结合术前智商分数来解决这个问题。我们发现，一般和言语智商得分较高的受试者左侧（而非右侧）颞叶（Brodmann 区 21，BA21）较厚。这种增加是由于 2 层和 3 层厚度的选择性增加所致，伴随着这些层中神经元密度降低，以及锥体神经元的树突和细胞体增大。此外，这些神经元维持更快的动作电位动力学，从而改善信息处理。我们的结果表明，言语智力与左侧而非右侧颞叶的超颗粒层及其细胞微观结构和功能的选择性适应有关。
