The innovation engine for new materials

Michonne Behin

Major: 

Biopsychology

Mentor(s): 

James Broadway

Faculty Sponsor(s): 

Jonathan Schooler

Faculty Sponsor's Department(s): 

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Project Title: 

Electroencephalogram (EEG) of Intelligence and Mind-Wandering

Project Description: 

Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Surprisingly there are few concrete findings on the neural components and biological basis of intelligence. Additionally, little is known about intelligence in relation to mind- wandering, the diverting of attention while completing a specific task. To study the biological components of intelligence in relation to creativity and mind- wandering, an electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded during a focused-meditation exercise was used as well as performance on psychological tests. The Remote Associates Test (RAT) and Raven’s Matrices tests were used to quantify the participants’ level of creativity and intelligence. Using partial-correlation and multiple regression analyses, we expect to identify portions of variance in EEG frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma) that are differentially related to the cognitivepsychological constructs of mind wandering, intelligence, and creativity. As a preliminary check, our current data was investigated and the basic phenomenon of alpha blocking was present, concluding that the technical aspects of our study are functioning with little error. Further knowledge found in this study may lead to the ability to adjust brain activity through neurofeedback or neurostimulation methods to either remedy deficiencies or enhance proficiencies of intelligence, focusing attention, and creativity.