Abstract:

Typically, psychometric assessment instruments are given with paper/pencil or card based methods which make it difficult to deliver and assess intellectual performance while in an MRI. This study was an attempt to validate a computerized version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Picture Completion subtest against the card based version in 20 adult learners. A preliminary fMRI series is included to investigate whether the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity associated with the paradigm is related to learning style preference. Using sparse sampling fMRI techniques, a control condition is contrasted to when participants ‘knew’ what answer they were going to provide.

In 8 task-novice individuals, significant activation was seen in right primary visual and left temporal cortex and is interpreted as task-specific activation related to visual search and naming the item missing from the scene. To our knowledge this is the first fMRI experiment of the WAIS picture completion subtest. While not reaching significance, marginal results suggest a relationship between visual perception and learning modality preference. Preferred learning modalities could be driven by individual differences in bottom-up sensory processing.

This study examined selected relationships between intelligence and learning style preference using the Picture Completion subtest, Perceptual Modality Preference Survey (PMPS), and fMRI. To be able to assess this interaction, the paper/pencil or card based method for the Picture Completion subtest had to be modified and validated for delivery via computer in the MRI environment. Here, we report the methodology used to translate the Picture Completion task of the WAIS into the scanner environment and a preliminary data series evaluating the novel fMRI paradigm. This study was exploratory in nature and used the WAIS Picture Completion subtest to determine adults' intellectual characteristics and relate them to perceptual modality preferences utilizing the PMPS. We hypothesize that preferred sensory modality for knowledge acquisition would relate to activation in the visual cortex during the Picture Completion subtest as measured by the blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal of fMRI. If specific patterns of activation and perceptual modality preference indicators are similar this information can be utilized for instructional planning purposes in the adult-learner.

Keywords:

Cognitive Neuroscience, Biological, Brain-Based, fMRI, Perceptual Modalities.