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Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient or IQ is a score derived from a set of standardized tests developed to measure a person's cognitive abilities ("intelligence") in relation to their age group. An IQ test does not measure intelligence the way a ruler measures height (absolutely), but rather the way a race measures speed (relatively). Modern IQ tests produce scores for different areas (e.g., language fluency, three-dimensional thinking, etc.), with the summary score calculated from subtest scores. The average score, according to the bell curve, is 100.
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Mind & Brain News
January 1, 2026
Dec. 31, 2025 New research reveals a brighter side of ADHD, showing that adults who recognize and use their strengths feel happier, healthier, and less stressed. People with ADHD were more likely to identify traits like creativity, humor, and hyperfocus as ...
Dec. 30, 2025 Cannabis products with higher THC levels may slightly reduce chronic pain, particularly nerve pain, according to a review of multiple clinical trials. The improvement was small and short-lived, while side effects were more common. Products with ...
Dec. 29, 2025 ADHD stimulants appear to work less by sharpening focus and more by waking up the brain. Brain scans revealed that these medications activate reward and alertness systems, helping children stay interested in tasks they would normally avoid. The ...
Dec. 28, 2025 Tiny lab-grown brains are offering an unprecedented look at how schizophrenia and bipolar disorder disrupt neural activity. Researchers found distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify ...
Dec. 28, 2025 Weight loss restored healthy metabolism in both young and mid-aged mice, but the brain told a different story. In mid-aged animals, slimming down actually worsened inflammation in a brain region tied to appetite and energy balance. While this ...
Dec. 28, 2025 A major new review has put hundreds of alternative autism treatments under the microscope—and most didn’t hold up. Scientists analyzed decades of research and found little reliable evidence that popular approaches like probiotics, acupuncture, ...
Dec. 25, 2025 A new study suggests temporal lobe epilepsy may be linked to early aging of certain brain cells. When researchers removed these aging cells in mice, seizures dropped, memory improved, and some animals avoided epilepsy altogether. The treatment used ...
Dec. 25, 2025 A new study suggests that dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain. Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive, disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue. When the missing ...
Dec. 24, 2025 Alzheimer’s has long been considered irreversible, but new research challenges that assumption. Scientists discovered that severe drops in the brain’s energy supply help drive the disease—and restoring that balance can reverse damage, even in ...
Dec. 22, 2025 MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from related molecules by only two atoms. With the ...
Dec. 22, 2025 New research suggests Alzheimer’s may start far earlier than previously thought, driven by a hidden toxic protein in the brain. Scientists found that an experimental drug, NU-9, blocks this early damage in mice and reduces inflammation linked to ...
Dec. 22, 2025 A new study shows dopamine isn’t the brain’s movement “gas pedal” after all. Instead of setting speed or strength, it quietly enables movement in the background, much like oil in an engine. When scientists manipulated dopamine during ...
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Dec. 29, 2025 Researchers have created a protein that can detect the faint chemical signals neurons receive from other brain cells. By tracking glutamate in real time, scientists can finally see how neurons ...
Dec. 26, 2025 Everyday sights and sounds quietly shape the choices people make, often without them realizing it. New research suggests that some individuals become especially influenced by these environmental ...
Dec. 24, 2025 The familiar fight between “mind as software” and “mind as biology” may be a false choice. This work proposes biological computationalism: the idea that brains compute, but not in the ...
Dec. 23, 2025 When we watch someone move, get injured, or express emotion, our brain doesn’t just see it—it partially feels it. Researchers found eight body-like maps in the visual cortex that organize what we ...
Dec. 23, 2025 Your eyes may reveal when your brain is working overtime. Researchers found that people blink less when trying to understand speech in noisy environments, especially during the most important ...
Dec. 21, 2025 Eating full-fat cheese and cream may be associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a large study that tracked people for more than 25 years. Those who consumed higher amounts of these ...
Dec. 19, 2025 Researchers have revealed that so-called “junk DNA” contains powerful switches that help control brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s disease. By ...
Dec. 19, 2025 Spending a few hours a week helping others may slow the aging of the brain. Researchers found that both formal volunteering and informal acts, like helping neighbors or relatives, were linked to ...
Dec. 19, 2025 A new bioluminescent tool allows neurons to glow on their own, letting scientists track brain activity without harmful lasers or fading signals. The advance makes it possible to watch individual ...
Dec. 19, 2025 After injury, the visual system can recover by growing new neural connections rather than replacing lost cells. Researchers found that surviving eye cells formed extra branches that restored ...