Furthermore, we discuss the first studies that show that specific populations of brain cells associate with intelligence. In particular, the recent availability of very large cohorts with hundreds of thousands of individuals have propelled exciting developments in the genetics of intelligence. Here, we discuss the latest developments in the search for the biological basis of intelligence. The emergence of transcriptomics and cellular neuroscience of intelligence might, however, provide a third strategy and bridge the gap between identified genes for intelligence and brain function and structure. Nothing is known about how properties of brain cells relate to intelligence. However, at present, research into the neurobiology of intelligence is divided between two main strategies: brain imaging studies investigate macroscopic brain structure and function to identify brain areas involved in intelligence, while genetic associations studies aim to pinpoint genes and genetic loci associated with intelligence. Somehow, the secret must lie in the cells in our brain with which we think.

Understanding the biological foundations of these differences is of great interest to basic and applied neuroscience.

What is the neurobiological basis of human intelligence? The brains of some people seem to be more efficient than those of others.

Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Neurons brain