Cerebral lateralization and general intelligence: gender differences in a transcranial Doppler study

Brain Lang. 2005 Mar;92(3):234-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2004.06.104.

Abstract

The present study evaluated cerebral lateralization during Raven's progressive matrices (RPM) paradigm in female and male subjects. Bilateral simultaneous transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound was used to measure mean blood flow velocities (MBFV) in the right and left middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) in 24 (15 females and 9 males) right-handed normal subjects. The female subjects used a left hemisphere strategy, while males used a right hemisphere strategy to successfully solve RPM tasks. This implies that general intelligence is associated with neural systems within one hemisphere that are accessible to a variety of cognitive processes.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cerebral Cortex / blood supply
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology*
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation
  • Cognition / physiology
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Intelligence / physiology*
  • Male
  • Middle Cerebral Artery / diagnostic imaging
  • Middle Cerebral Artery / physiology
  • Sex Characteristics*
  • Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial*