Evoked cortical potentials and measurement of human abilities

Studied visual averaged evoked potentials (AEPs) recorded from the frontoparietal scalp of 108 16-68 yr. old Ss. Ss also completed a battery of 16 ability measures. A consistent pattern of reliable correlations of the order of from -.15 to -.32 was found between intelligence and AEPs. Measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence correlated to about the same magnitude with AEPs. There were significant correlations between measures representing simple cognitive processes (e.g., motor-perceptual speed) and evoked potential latency. The average size of ability-latency correlations as well as the number of significant correlations increased as conditions of evoked potential testing which tend to impose alertness on Ss were relaxed. (34 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).