Brain Imaging

Neuroimaging research—and its rich historical antecedents—offers incredible promise toward linking brain structure and function to complex behaviors associated with giftedness, creativity, and talent. Neuroimaging can be undertaken to assess brain traits (e.g., using structural magnetic resonance imaging—sMRI; diffusion tensor imaging—DTI; proton magnetic resonance spec-troscopy—MRS) and brain states (e.g., using functional magnetic resonance imaging—fMRI; positron emission tomography—PET) associated with task performance. Both the trait and state approaches can be combined to select people scoring high and low on measures of these constructs and then compare the state of their brain functioning as they perform relevant tasks. For example, imaging studies have identified a network of areas where intelligence test scores correlate to brain structure and function. Another approach is to image the state of brain function ...