Visual Motion Intelligence Test To Measure IQ

A science study by researchers at the University of Rochester have found a link between the brain's ability to filter out background movement and its intelligence. Test reveals that those who automatically suppress visual background movement scored higher in standard intelligence tests.

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a score that is determined by a series of tests. The score reveals the value of intelligence a person has. The average score set for a specified age group is 100 (tests differ from age group to age group). About 95% of people score an IQ between 70 and 100.

A study by James R. Flynn showed a consistent increase in IQ over time. Known as the Flynn effect, IQ scores increases three points every ten years. Observations reveal that the Flynn effect is consistent across regions.

IQ tests are updated periodically to standardize the test scores to an average of 100 points. The latest study on the relationship between visual movement and intelligence may help develop a natural, non-verbal and culturally unbiased way of determining one's IQ.

V5 Region of Visual Cortex Responsible For Tracking Fast Moving Object

In a study conducted by UC Berkeley scientists, research shows that for the brain to process fast moving objects, the V5 region of the visual cortex accurately predicts where and how these objects move.

The part of the brain responsible for processing visual information is the Visual Cortex. It can be found in the back of the brain in the Occipital Lobe. Each hemishphere of the brain has its own visual cortex with the right one processing signals from the left visual field and the left one processing signals from the right visual field.

The visual cortex can be grouped into 5 regions; V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5. Each region is responsible for a specific role in visual processing such as spatial recognition and information (V1), long term and short term visual memory (V2), processing of motion- coherent and global (V3) color and shape recognition (V4) and tracking of moving objects (V5).

Finding out specific roles of each region is still an ongoing process and the recent UC Berkeley study show that the V5 region is important in tracking fast moving objects where the speed of the object may be faster than how the brain processes the information.

The V5 region of the visual cortex is also known as the Middle Temporal (MT). This region is believed to be responsible for the processing of motion and moving objects.

Darkness Therapy In Treatment of Visual Brain Disorders Like Amblyopia

Depriving normal visual experience in one eye early in life produces a reduction in visual acuity (amblyopia) for that eye (blue circles) while the acuity of the other eye is normal (red). The visual acuity of the amblyopic eye remains low compared to the fellow eye, but after immersion in complete darkness the amblyopic eye very quickly recovers to match the visual acuity attained by the normal eye.
Credit: Current Biology, Duffy et al.

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Canada are using total immersion in darkness in the treatment and therapy for visual brain disorders such as amblyopia.

Amblyopia, also known as 'lazy eye', is a condition when one eye does not develop a proper nerve pathway to the brain. The other eye is unaffected by this and sends stronger neuro-electrical signals than the weaker one. This confuses the brain and eventually it ignores the signals coming from the weaker eye. This results in damaged and impaired vision.

Usual treatment for Amblyopia is to cover the stronger eye with an eye patch to force the weaker eye to strengthen and stimulate impulses for that eye. This allows the person to restore normal vision.

Treating Amblyopia during early childhood, especially before the age of 5, increases the chance of successfully treating it. The earlier it is detected, and the underlying cause corrected with spectacles and/or surgery, the more successful the treatment in equalizing vision between the two eyes.

Kevin Duffy and Donald Mitchell of Dalhousie University believe that darkness therapy, where the patient is immersed in total darkness is another way of treating amblyopia and other visual brain disorders without the use of surgery, drugs, and other procedures.

Researchers Study Visual Intelligence Through Facebook Users

What is visual intelligence?

Visual intelligence put simply is being "picture smart". It is the ability to recreate and manipulate and modify ones perception of the world in one's mind visually.

It is the spatial understanding of shapes, patterns, designs, and colors. Visual intelligence refers to the ability to reproduce the outer world environment internally in one's mind through images. Chess players, painters, architects, sculptors, theoretical physicists, war strategists, navigators, illusionists, graphic artists, designers, cartographers, and film makers are said to have enhanced visual intelligence.

A team of researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have developed a web application to test the visual intelligence of Facebook users through the social network. The new platform will enable researchers to test different cognitive skills and to obtain large amounts of data that determine what parameters affect the brain's visual capacity.

Any Facebook user can download this application (available in both Spanish and English languages), which consists of different tests for measuring visual intelligence and calculation ability.

Gonzalo García de Polavieja, CSIC researcher and head of the enquiry who works for Cajal Institute states: "It is the first time that we use a social network for a cognitive research. This will enable us to obtain large amounts of information on the cognitive capacity of Internet users worldwide. Once we collect that information, we will analyze it in order to obtain innovative models and results on visual ability".