Domain-general and language-specific brain networks are differentially associated with verbal intelligence during development.

Overview

1. Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59, Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100872, China
2. Research Center for Social Psychological Science and Engineering, Renmin University of China, No. 59, Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100872, China
3. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Ability, Jiangsu Normal University, No. 101, Shanghai Road, Xuzhou 221100, China
4. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Avenue, Beijing 100875, China
5. Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO105DD, UK
6. Developmental Population Neuroscience Research Center, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Avenue, Beijing 100875, China
7. School of Brain and Cognition, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Avenue, Beijing 100875, China
8. National Basic Science Data Center, No. 2, Dongsheng South Road, Beijing 100190, China

Abstract

Understanding how verbal intelligence develops requires clarifying the roles of domain-general and language-selective brain systems. Here, we examined this question in an accelerated longitudinal cohort of children and adolescents from Beijing (N = 170) by relating gray matter volume measures to the verbal comprehension index (VCI) of the Wechsler intelligence scale, a widely used measure of verbal intelligence. We observed that individual differences in VCI were more strongly associated with structural maturation of domain-general networks, including the default mode (DM) and multiple-demand (MD) systems, than with the language-selective network, and that these effects varied with age. Independent validation in a Chongqing cohort (N = 150) confirmed significant contributions of domain-general networks during adolescence (13–15 years). These findings highlight a previously underappreciated role of domain-general cortical systems in the development of verbal intelligence during adolescence and provide new insight into the neural basis of abstract verbal reasoning across development.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

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Data and code availability

• Datasets used in this study have been deposited at CCNDC and are publicly available at https://ccndc.scidb.cn as of the date of publication. Accession numbers are listed in the key resources table. • This study does not report original code. • Any additional information required to reanalyze the data reported in this study is available from the lead contact upon request.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

• Authors: added Zihang Zhou (0000-0002-8776-2926); removed Zihang Zhou

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 6 authors, 6 keywords, 6 funders, 78 references.

Cite

This paper

Zhou, Z., Yang, X., Ju, P., Rong, M., Jefferies, E., & Zuo, X.-N. (2026). Domain-general and language-specific brain networks are differentially associated with verbal intelligence during development. iScience, 29(8), 116704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.116704

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