Black and White cognitive/IQ differences appear at an early age...

rayznack · Apr 6, 2014

An interesting piece in Rushton's 60 page essay on the racial differences in IQ between Whites and Blacks.

It sure goes to show that whatever the source of IQ and cognitive differences, they are noticeable early on, including brain volume differences that exist at birth:

Racial-group differences in IQ appear early. For example, the Black and the
White 3-year-old children in the standardization sample of the Stanford–Binet IV
show a 1 standard deviation mean difference after being matched on gender, birth
order, and maternal education (Peoples, Fagan, & Drotar, 1995). Similarly, the
Black and the White 2.5 - to 6-year-old children in the U.S. standardization sample
of the Differential Aptitude Scale have a 1 standard deviation mean difference. No
data are available for East Asian children at the youngest ages. On the Differential
Aptitude Battery, by age 6, however, the average IQ of East Asian children is 107,
compared with 103 for White children and 89 for Black children (Lynn, 1996).
The size of the average Black–White difference does not change significantly over
the developmental period from 3 years of age and beyond (see Jensen, 1974,
1998b).

Serious questions have been raised about the validity of using tests for racial
comparisons. However, because the tests show similar patterns of internal item
consistency and predictive validity for all groups, and because the same differ-
ences are found on relatively culture-free tests, many psychometricians have
concluded that the tests are valid measures of racial differences, at least among
people sharing the culture of the authors of the test (Jensen, 1980; Wigdor &
Garner, 1982). This conclusion was endorsed by the APA Task Force’s statement:
“Considered as predictors of future performance, the tests do not seem to be
biased against African Americans” (Neisser et al., 1996, p. 93).

...

Race differences in average brain size are observable at birth. A study by
Rushton (1997) analyzed recorded head circumference measurements and IQ
scores from 50,000 children in the Collaborative Perinatal Project followed from
birth to age 7 (Broman, Nichols, Shaugnessy, & Kennedy, 1987). Using the head
circumference measures to calculate cranial capacity at birth, 4 months, 1 year,
and 7 years, at each of these ages, the Asian American children averaged larger
cranial volumes than did the White children, who averaged larger cranial volumes
than did the Black children. Within each race, cranial capacity correlated with IQ
scores. By age 7, the Asian American children averaged an IQ of 110; the White
children, 102; and the Black children 90. Because the Asian American children
were the shortest in stature and the lightest in weight while the Black children
were the tallest in stature and the heaviest in weight, these average race differ-
ences in brain-size/IQ relations were not due to body size.
Click to expand...

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic185351.files/Rushton-Jensen30years.pdf

waltky · Sep 1, 2014

Granny wants to get one o' dem things fer Uncle Ferd...

Electric Current May Boost Memory in People with Cognitive Disorders
August 31, 2014 WASHINGTON People with cognitive problems - including memory loss due to Alzheimers disease - may someday be able to have their memory boosted with electric current. Researchers used a non-invasive procedure called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to jumpstart a region of the brain thats involved in forming memories.

Known as TMS, the technique uses a mild electrical current through the skull to strengthen communication among brain cells involved in memory. It could lead to new treatments for memory impairments caused by trauma, illness or aging. Current therapies - such as surgery and drugs - have not proven effective. The neurons targeted by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation are part of a pathway to the hippocampus, a deep brain region thats involved in the formation of memories.

Neuroscientist Joel Voss at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Illinois explained that the stimulation is painless and non-invasive. What the TMS coil does is it produces a volley of pulses of this stimulation. And so it sounds like a high frequency tapping sound - like a duh, duh, duh, duh tapping sound - with about 20 clicks per second. And those clicks are aimed at the back part of the persons head over the parietal cortex, and each one feels like a very slight tapping sensation on the outside of the head, said Voss.

Researchers use a non-invasive procedure called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to jumpstart a region of the brain thats involved in forming memories.

In a study involving 16 healthy adults, ages 21 to 40, researchers took detailed anatomical pictures of the brain using MRI. The imaging mapped each participants neural network. The subjects were then asked to look at pictures of faces and remember a random word associated with each image. The participants underwent 20 minutes of TMS each day for five consecutive days. During the week, and 24 hours after the final stimulation, the individuals were rechecked on the arbitrary picture-word association test and underwent more brain imaging.

Writing in the journal Science, Voss said his team found the individuals memories had improved after TMS, and the MRI showed the memory neurons became more synchronized with each other and the hippocampus. This specific hippocampal network that we showed that we can manipulate is the exact network that is problematic in a variety of memory disorders, including memory disorders that occur from brain damage after stroke and cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury from concussions or blast injuries... normal memory problems that older adults often experience as well as neurodegenerative disorders of age like Alzheimers disease, said Voss. Voss said the next step is to try to boost the memories of older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. He said healthy people should not try to boost their memories with TMS since its still experimental.

Watch video from Northwestern University on TMS:
Click to expand...

invaderzim · Mar 27, 2016

rayznack said: ↑

An interesting piece in Rushton's 60 page essay on the racial differences in IQ between Whites and Blacks.

It sure goes to show that whatever the source of IQ and cognitive differences, they are noticeable early on, including brain volume differences that exist at birth:
Click to expand...

Are you sure this included the lib's favorite demographic - the "Inbred Hillbilly"?

waltky · Apr 23, 2016

I wouldnt advise my parents to take these medications unless they have to...

The Cold Medicine Thats Linked to Cognitive Problems
April 18, 2016 - A common kind of prescription and over-the-counter medication, including some cold medicines, has been linked to cognitive impairment in older adults, finds a new study published in JAMA Neurology.

Shannon Risacher, assistant professor of radiology and imaging sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine and first author of the new paper, and her colleagues analyzed already existing data from 451 people around ages 70-75 who had normal brains. They examined the results of memory tests, MRI brain scans and other neuroimaging dataall while paying particular attention to people who said they took anticholinergic drugs. These include certain over-the-counter drugs, like Benadryl, Tylenol PM and Advil PM, according to the researcher, along with prescribed medications like some antidepressants, motion sickness medications and bladder control drugs. Anticholinergic drugs block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain.

The researchers found that older people who regularly took at least one anticholinergic drug showed poorer cognition, lower brain volumes and less glucose metabolism in the whole brain and the temporal lobe, which is important for memory, than people who didnt report taking this kind of medications. The link persisted even after the team controlled for the number of medications the people in the study were taking.

Previous research has linked anticholinergic medications to cognitive impairment and worsened memory, the paper points out. More research is needed to determine exactly how these effects might be linked to the drug, and what dosage and duration may be associated with brain changes.

I certainly wouldnt advise my grandparents or even my parents to take these medications unless they have to, says Risacher. Many anticholinergic drugs, like antihistamines and antidepressants, have alternatives. Id suggest that doctors monitor medications and their effects, and to use the lowest dose thats effective.

http://time.com/4297591/cold-medicine-memory-problems/
Click to expand...

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Black and White cognitive/IQ differences appear at an early age...

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