Aron K. Barbey

Aron Keith Barbey (born January 6, 1977) is an American cognitive neuroscientist, who investigates the neural architecture of human intelligence and brain plasticity.[1][2] Barbey is the Emanuel Donchin Professorial Scholar of Psychology and a Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois.[3][4][5] He is director of the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,[6][2] and founding director of the Center for Brain Plasticity at the Beckman Institute, where he leads the Intelligence, Learning, and Plasticity (ILP) Initiative.[3]

Aron K. Barbey
Beckman Institute, 2014
Born1977
Nationality United States
Alma materEmory University National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Known forNetwork Neuroscience Theory
Scientific career
FieldsCognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuropsychology
InstitutionsBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

He has used both classical lesion methods and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to better understand neural architecture and its relationship to intelligence.[3] Barbey used lesion mapping to study Vietnam veterans who had suffered brain trauma. He was able to record diagnostic images of their brains and relate this anatomical data to their documented problems, creating a "brain atlas" linking cognitive functions to neural organization. [6][7] He has suggested a framework called “structured event complex theory” that describes the inferential architecture of the prefrontal cortex.[8]

His research group examines the effects of physical fitness,[9] nutrition[10][11][12][13] and cognitive neuroscience interventions (including TDCS)[6] on brain health and intelligence across the human lifespan. In 2019, Barbey was awarded the Mensa Foundation Prize for his neuroscientific work studying human intelligence.[3][14][15]

Education and career

Aron Barbey received a B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia in 2007.[16]

From 2007-2011 Barbey was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Cognitive Neuroscience Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.[16][1] There he studied Vietnam veterans affected by brain trauma. They experienced differential deficits depending on the locations and size of their injuries.[6] Barbey also served as an adjunct professor of psychology at Georgetown University, Washington, DC beginning in 2008.[16]

In 2011 Barbey was appointed to the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois, and became an Institute Affiliate of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.[16] By 2012, he was the director of the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory at the Beckman Institute.[2] In 2018, the Center for Brain Plasticity at the Beckman Institute was formed, under the leadership of co-directors Aron Barbey and Neal J. Cohen, leaders of the center's Intelligence, Learning, and Plasticity (ILP) Initiative.[17]

Professional Activities

Aron Barbey is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.[18] Barbey is also on the Editorial Boards of NeuroImage,[19] Intelligence,[20] and Thinking & Reasoning.[21] He is a co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience (2021).[22]

Research
External media
Audio
Dr. Aron Barbey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Emotional Intelligence, The Academic Minute, April 27, 2013, WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Video
“Brain Injury, Intelligence & Impairment @ University of Illinois”, TheScienceCoalition, July 16, 2012

Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Intelligence

Barbey’s research investigates the effects of human brain damage on intellectual and social functions, with particular emphasis on the prefrontal cortex.[6][1]

Studies of patients with frontal lobe damage have a long history in the neuroscience of intelligence and provide a direct way to test whether regions in the prefrontal cortex are necessary for specific intellectual abilities. However, it was only recently that the limited applicability and specificity of small sample studies of focal brain damage were overcome by contemporary lesion mapping approaches.[23][24]

In a series of studies,[1] Barbey's research group investigated almost 200 patients with focal brain injuries and mapped the architecture of executive, social, and emotional brain systems. His research has helped to identify and characterize the neural systems underlying general intelligence,[25][6][10][26] emotional intelligence,[6][27][28] social intelligence,[29] fluid intelligence,[30][31] working memory,[32] cognitive flexibility,[33] and discourse comprehension.[34]

Barbey's research has also revealed molecular genetic markers that predict general intelligence following traumatic brain injury.[35][36]

Cognitive Neuroscience Methods to Enhance Human Intelligence

A central goal of Barbey's research is to establish and validate cognitive neuroscience-directed interventions to enhance human intelligence. Barbey is the Principal Investigator of the IARPA-sponsored INSIGHT project, along with co-investigators Arthur F. Kramer, Neal J. Cohen, and Charles H. Hillman.[37][38][6]

Network Neuroscience Theory of Human Intelligence

Barbey has proposed a Network Neuroscience Theory of Human Intelligence that emphasizes brain plasticity, in which "general intelligence reflects individual differences in the efficiency and flexibility of brain networks"[14] and "the capacity to integrate information across the brain as a whole".[14] According to this view, "crystallized intelligence" involves the ability to rapidly access existing representations of knowledge and experience while "fluid intelligence" involves the ability to solve novel problems in ways that are adaptive and flexible.[14][39]

Funding

Barbey's Decision Neuroscience Laboratory is supported by large-scale private and federal research grants and contracts, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL),[6] President Obama's White House BRAIN Initiative,[40] the Director of National Intelligence's research agency, IARPA,[41] and contracts for $10 million from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the study of individual optimization of human performance in the U.S. military using artificial intelligence.[42]

Selected books
  • Barbey, Aron K.; Karama, Sherif; Haier, Richard J., eds. (Jan 31, 2021). Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108727723.
  • Barbey, Aron K.; Johnson, Elizabeth J.; Dauncey, Margaret Joy, eds. (January 23, 2019). Nutritional Cognitive Neuroscience Research at the Crossroads of Nutrition, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Frontiers Media SA.

Selected papers
  • Barbey, Aron K.; Colom, Roberto; Paul, Erick J.; Grafman, Jordan (2014). "Architecture of fluid intelligence and working memory revealed by lesion mapping". Brain Structure and Function. 219 (2): 485–494. doi:10.1007/s00429-013-0512-z. PMID 23392844. S2CID 17485196.

References
  1. Anthes, Emily (October 2, 2014). "Vietnam's Neuroscientific Legacy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  2. "Faculty Profile: Aron Barbey" (PDF). Synergy (21 (Spring)). Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. 1 May 2012. p. 7.
  3. Brown, Charles (April 16, 2019). "Mensa Honors Barbey for Neuroscience Research on Human Intelligence". American Mensa. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  4. Trustees University of Illinois And Committees of the Board (July 25, 2019). "PROMOTIONS RECOMMENDED TO BE EFFECTIVE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2019-2020 ACADEMIC YEAR URBANA-CHAMPAIGN" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. "PEOPLE". Center for Brain Plasticity. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  6. Noonan, David (2016). "How to Plug In Your Brain". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution.
  7. Yates, Diana (29 July 2014). "Team studies the social origins of intelligence in the brain". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  8. Raymont, Vanessa; Salazar, Andres M.; Krueger, Frank; Grafman, Jordan (2011). ""Studying Injured Minds" – The Vietnam Head Injury Study and 40 Years of Brain Injury Research". Frontiers in Neurology. 2: 15. doi:10.3389/fneur.2011.00015. PMC 3093742. PMID 21625624.
  9. Johnson, Thomas M. (August 10, 2017). "Firmer, fitter frame linked to firmer, fitter brain". National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and bioengineering. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  10. Walton, Alice G. (December 21, 2018). "New Research Suggests That Food Really Does Affect How We Think". Forbes. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  11. Paddock, Catharine (21 December 2018). "Mediterranean diet nutrients tied with healthy brain aging". Medical News Today. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  12. Yates, Diana (December 13, 2016). "Nutrition Linked to Intelligence and Brain Health in Older People". Neuroscience News. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  13. Cartwright, Will. "Study Links Lutein and Brain Health, Intelligence in Older Adults". Senior Resource Guide. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  14. Taulbee, Chip (April 16, 2019). "Inside the Network Neuroscience Theory of Human Intelligence". MENSA. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  15. "Mensa Honors Aron K. Barbey for Brain Connectivity Research". Mensa Foundation. April 16, 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. Board of Trustees, laws, University of Illinois (December 2, 2011). "Board Meeting December 2, 2011 APPOINTMENTS TO THE FACULTY, ADMINISTRATIVE/PROFESSIONAL STAFF, AND INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC STAFF" (PDF). University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Retrieved 22 April 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. Lawrence, Ashley (April 18, 2018). "IHSI, Beckman Institute Launch New Center for Brain Plasticity". Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  18. "Editorial Board". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  19. NeuroImage - Editorial Board. NeuroImage. Elsevier.
  20. Intelligence - Editorial Board. Intelligence. Elsevier.
  21. "Editorial Board". Thinking & Reasoning. 22 (4): ebi. 25 August 2016. doi:10.1080/13546783.2016.1229160. S2CID 219627557.
  22. Barbey, Aron K.; Karama, Sherif; Haier, Richard J., eds. (Jan 31, 2021). Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108727723.
  23. Bates, Elizabeth; Wilson, Stephen M.; Saygin, Ayse Pinar; Dick, Frederic; Sereno, Martin I.; Knight, Robert T.; Dronkers, Nina F. (2003). "Voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping". Nature Neuroscience. 6 (5): 448–450. doi:10.1038/nn1050. PMID 12704393. S2CID 5134480.
  24. Glascher, J.; Rudrauf, D.; Colom, R.; Paul, L. K.; Tranel, D.; Damasio, H.; Adolphs, R. (2010). "Distributed neural system for general intelligence revealed by lesion mapping" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (10): 4705–4709. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.4705G. doi:10.1073/pnas.0910397107. PMC 2842050. PMID 20176936.
  25. Anderson, Michael L. (December 12, 2014). After phrenology : neural reuse and the interactive brain. A Bradford Book. pp. 46–48. ISBN 9780262028103. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  26. Haupt, Angela (April 2012). "Researchers Map Brain Regions Linked to Intelligence". US News and World Report. Health News.
  27. Haupt, Angela (Jan 2013). "Scientists Complete 1st Map of 'Emotional Intelligence' in the Brain". US News and World Report. Health News.
  28. Ghose, Tia (January 23, 2013). "Emotional Smarts Tied to General IQ". Scientific American. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  29. Kurzweil, Ray (August 1, 2014). "The social origins of intelligence in the brain". Kurzwei laccelerating intelligence. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  30. Marano, Hara Estroff (2018). "Not by Fish Alone". Psychology Today (May). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  31. Bergland, Christopher (Jun 21, 2016). "Superfluidity: Fluid Intelligence Goes Beyond Brain Size". Psychology Today. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  32. Simioni, Alison C.; Dagher, Alain; Fellows, Lesley K. (August 2017). "Effects of levodopa on corticostriatal circuits supporting working memory in Parkinson's disease". Cortex. 93: 193–205. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2017.05.021. PMID 28675834. S2CID 9169524.
  33. Ione, Amy (October 20, 2016). Art and the brain : plasticity, embodiment, and the unclosed circle. Brill Rodopi. p. 30. ISBN 9789004322981.
  34. Bhana, Yusuf (December 5, 2013). "Exploring the Source of Language Comprehension: Scientists are mapping the brain in order to pinpoint areas crucial to language comprehension". TranslateMedia. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  35. E. R., Bennett; K., Reuter-Rice; D. T., Laskowitz (2016). "9 Genetic Influences in Traumatic Brain Injury". In D., Laskowitz; G., Grant (eds.). Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group. PMID 26583176.
  36. Haier, Richard J. (December 28, 2016). The Neuroscience of Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. p. 62.
  37. "INSIGHT, A Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Brain Training System (INSIGHT)". Clinical Trials.gov. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  38. "Beckman Scientists Launch INSIGHT Study" (PDF). Synergy (6 Spring). Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. 2014. p. 12.
  39. Williams, Shawna (November 1, 2018). "The Biological Roots of Intelligence Imaging, behavioral, and genetic data yield clues to what's behind effective thinking". The Scientist. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  40. Yates, Diana (April 9, 2013). "President Obama wants to map the human brain. What would we gain?". Illinois News Bureau. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  41. "University professor investigates brain training interventions to enhance intelligence". The Daily Illini. March 12, 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  42. "DARPA Awards $10M to Barbey and Colleagues for Projects on Human Performance Optimization". News. Beckman Institute of Illinois. August 9, 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
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