General cognitive function and the brain’s structural connectome

Résumé fourni par la source

Abstract General cognitive function (‘ g ’) reflects a broad capacity for flexible information processing, yet how brain-wide structural connectivity supports it remains unclear. In 38,824 individuals (26–84 years) across three cohorts, we show that g is supported by a widely distributed white matter network. Across streamline count, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD), meta-analytic associations with g were widespread at global, nodal and edge levels, spanning all cerebral lobes and key subcortical structures and dependent on both inter- and intra-hemispheric connectivity, particularly ipsilateral long-range inter-lobar connections. White matter node- g associations spatially mirrored independent cortical morphometry- g associations, indicating convergence of grey and white matter contributions. Effect sizes increased with age: MD associations became more negative and FA more positive, especially in frontal regions. Edge-level findings replicated across cohorts and predicted g in a hold-out sample. These findings suggest g reflects a distributed structural communication backbone which becomes increasingly important with age.

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