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The effects of life stress and neural learning signals on fluid intelligence.

Friedel, E; Schlagenhauf, F; Beck, A; Dolan, RJ; Huys, QJ; Rapp, MA; Heinz, A; (2015) The effects of life stress and neural learning signals on fluid intelligence. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci , 265 (1) 35 - 43. 10.1007/s00406-014-0519-3. Green open access

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Abstract

Fluid intelligence (fluid IQ), defined as the capacity for rapid problem solving and behavioral adaptation, is known to be modulated by learning and experience. Both stressful life events (SLES) and neural correlates of learning [specifically, a key mediator of adaptive learning in the brain, namely the ventral striatal representation of prediction errors (PE)] have been shown to be associated with individual differences in fluid IQ. Here, we examine the interaction between adaptive learning signals (using a well-characterized probabilistic reversal learning task in combination with fMRI) and SLES on fluid IQ measures. We find that the correlation between ventral striatal BOLD PE and fluid IQ, which we have previously reported, is quantitatively modulated by the amount of reported SLES. Thus, after experiencing adversity, basic neuronal learning signatures appear to align more closely with a general measure of flexible learning (fluid IQ), a finding complementing studies on the effects of acute stress on learning. The results suggest that an understanding of the neurobiological correlates of trait variables like fluid IQ needs to take socioemotional influences such as chronic stress into account.

Type: Article
Title: The effects of life stress and neural learning signals on fluid intelligence.
Location: Germany
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s00406-014-0519-3
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0519-3
Language: English
Additional information: �© The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1443137
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